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What We're Reading: Senate Opioid Bills; Michigan's Medicaid Work Requirements; Missouri Abortion Ruling
The Senate appears ready to pass a package of opioid bills this week; Michigan is asking for the Trump administration’s approval for work requirements for Medicaid; the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2017 ruling that blocked enforcement of a Missouri law that kept the state from enforcing new regulations on doctors providing abortions.
Senate Readying Package of Opioid Bills
Michigan Asks Trump Administration to Approve Medicaid Work Requirements
Missouri Wins Federal Court Case Allowing It to Further Regulate Doctors, Clinics Providing Abortions
The Senate appears ready to pass a package of opioid bills this week, The New York Times reported. It includes one that will try to prevent the shipment of fentanyl and other opioids to the United States from China through the mail; one that accelerates research to develop nonaddictive painkillers and other alternatives to opioids; one that allows the FDA to stipulate that opioids be sealed in plastic blister packs or limiting supply; and one that authorizes Medicaid payment for infants born exposed to opioids at special treatment centers. If approved, the Senate bill would be reconciled with the previously passed House measure.Michigan is asking for the Trump administration’s approval for work requirements for Medicaid, and said if the proposal is not approved it will end its Medicaid expansion. The Hill reported that under the state’s proposal, beneficiaries between the ages of 19 to 62 will have to work, volunteer, or train for jobs for at least 80 hours a month. There are 12 exemptions to the requirements. Michigan wants to start the program in 2020. If approved, Michigan would become the fifth state with Medicaid work requirements.The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2017 ruling that blocked enforcement of a Missouri law that kept the state from enforcing new regulations on doctors providing abortions, Reuters reported. The law requires doctors who perform abortions to be affiliated with hospitals and abortion clinics to be licensed as ambulatory surgical centers. Planned Parenthood sued the state over the law in 2016.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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