Insurance

A proposal to reduce Medicare Part B payment rates for hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program has been approved 14-3 by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission.

Millions of unpaid family members care for elderly parents or relatives. But as baby boomers age, the government faces a quandary because there will be fewer adults age 45 to 64 available to fill that role.

What we're reading, January 13, 2016: at a recent healthcare investor conference pharmaceutical company executives showed no concern over public outrage of rising drug prices; the American Hospital Association urges MedPAC withdraw 340B payment proposal; and California lawmaker reintroduces "right-to-try" bill.

Ahead of the president’s final State of the Union address, Democrats announced new plans to investigate drug prices in 2016.

Medicare's accountable care organization (ACO) initiatives now include a total of 477 participants across 4 different model types, including the 21 just announced as part of the new Next Generation ACO Model.

A new study finds that projected and planned-for modifications to Medicare Advantage by CMS could lead to major changes in payments based on geographic locations.

A new 5-year program has been created to focus on the health-related social needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

In their Viewpoint in JAMA Oncology, Sanket S. Dhruva, MD, and Vinay Prasad, MD, MPH, have raised objections to CMS’ turnaround on coverage decision for the antibody blinatumomab.

Puerto Rico’s community health centers face grave challenges because of a lack of funding.

What we're reading, December 24, 2015: more than half of Affordable Care Act co-ops will be closed by the end of 2015, but this could have been avoided; 5 senators are pressing CMS for information on containing drug costs; and a task force does not recommend screening all teens and children for high cholesterol.

A new study finds that Medicare recipients can prevent hospital admissions if they seek medical assessment from clinical home visits, which increase the number of visits to the doctors while reducing the costs of healthcare because of treatment in less-costly sites.

Featuring stories about single-payer healthcare, studies on alcohol, and superbugs.

What we're reading, December 18, 2015: HHS report finds generic drug prices rising faster than inflation; UnitedHealthcare's real-time drug approval tool; and government overcharged by private Medicare Advantage plans.