Author's posts
House passes bill to increase Medicare transparency for ambulatory surgery centers
The House bill would require the CMS to explain why the agency blocks Medicare payments to ambulatory surgery centers for certain services.
How states are defining essential health benefits
Alabama and Illinois are the first states to take advantage of new flexibility to define the essential health benefits that certain insurers must provide. Their approaches show how some seek to bolster their ACA markets while others weaken them.
As opioid crisis fuels patient-brokering fraud, Congress urged to act
An addiction treatment representative urged House lawmakers to consider legislation to help stop patient-brokering fraud, but policymaking on the issue is complicated by states’ regulatory roles.
CMS ends hyperbaric oxygen treatment experiment despite savings
The CMS will not continue an experiment that saved Medicare millions of dollars by reducing the use of non-emergency hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Providers had complained that the demonstration was too burdensome.
UnitedHealth could drop Northwestern docs from network
UnitedHealth Group is warning insurance plan members that they could lose in-network status with their Northwestern physicians after this year. The insurer and Chicago-area based Northwestern Medical Group each said they were trying to hammer out a…
Rutgers and RWJBarnabas Health finalize partnership
Rutgers University and RWJBarnabas Health officially launched a public-private partnership they say will create New Jersey’s largest academic health system.
ACA membership buoys Centene’s second-quarter revenues
Health insurer Centene Corp. grew revenue in the second quarter of 2018 by covering more members enrolled in the Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges, and expanding its business in new states.
Senate officially confirms Wilkie as VA secretary
Newly confirmed VA Secretary Robert Wilkie will be in charge of rolling out VA Choice reforms as Congress battles over the program’s funding.
Former Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove goes to Google
Dr. Toby Cosgrove, who served as CEO of the Cleveland Clinic from 2004 until the end of 2017, will advise the Google Cloud healthcare and life sciences team.
CBO underestimates Medicare Part D savings by $4 billion due to oversight lapse
The Congressional Budget Office underestimated how much Medicare would save by $4 billion through changes to the Part D program. The office has reassured Republicans it will increase oversight to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
