A group of hospitals have sued HHS Secretary Alex Azar, arguing he should reverse a policy that prevents hospitals from getting reimbursed for Medicare-related bad debts pending at outside collection agencies. The policy has raised hospital debt payments by about $1.35 million, the lawsuit claims.
The New York Times reported that in a memo, Alex Azar stated that the power to sign new rules is "reserved" for him, a move that one expert called a "power grab." It is unclear how it will affect authorizations of vaccines against the coronavirus.
The progress in artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping patient care, across various dimensions, from facilitating faster discharge to curating treatment plans and suggesting lifestyle changes.
The Trump administration announced on Friday that it would reimburse providers at Medicare rates if they treat uninsured patients for Covid-19. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said the funds would be pulled from $100 billion allocated to hospitals as part of the recently-passed stimulus bill.
The proposed rule would make it easier for patients to obtain and share their health records. EHR giant Epic Systems raised concerns over the proposed rule, while competitor Cerner said it was fully in support.
President Donald Trump must appoint a new commissioner of the FDA by Nov. 1. Ned Sharpless has served as acting commissioner since Scott Gottlieb's departure in March.
The Washington Post and other outlets reported that the administration has withdrawn a proposal to end rebates between pharmacy benefit managers and drugmakers.
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled Monday that the Department of Health and Human Services lacked the authority to impose the rule, which it adopted in May.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. ruled in favor of pharma companies challenging the rule in court because of what he said was a lack of statutory authority from the HHS to govern drug marketing.
New proposed rules from HHS would require government health plans and health plans sold on the federal ACA exchanges to give patients free access and control over their health information by 2020 and to implement an HL7 FHIR-based API to open up data access to third party apps and developers.
On an earnings call, Cigna CEO David Cordani seemed largely nonplussed about the potential rule's impact on the company's bottom line, even after the insurer's blockbuster acquisition of Express Scripts.
The future looks bright for the integrated specialty pharmacy model – for health systems, providers, and most importantly, for patients.
The proposed rule, which will be officially published on Wednesday, is part of the Trump administration's blueprint for reducing out-of-pocket drug prices. However, others have said it could raise premiums and have doubted how much power the administration truly has.
The CEO of country's largest managed care organization speaks on the group's larger strategy on community health and addressing the larger social issues affecting patients.
The industry's main lobbying group, PhRMA, updated its direct-to-consumer ad guidelines to include pricing information, but HHS secretary says voluntary action is insufficient.
Transparency in pricing negotiations is key to ensuring costs are brought down, experts say, pointing to state-level legislation to mandate it.
Cracking down on manufacturer rebates for PBMs is part of administration plan to cut drug and out-of-pocket costs.