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Advanced practice and nurse practitioners bring more profit, productivity to medical practices
Physician-owned practices with more non-physicians earned $100,748 more in net income, according to a new report from the Medical Group Management Association.
HHS wins delay in Medicare backlog case
A federal judge has granted HHS more time to respond to a series of ideas filed by the American Hospital Association to reduce the denied Medicare claims backlog. The provider trade group had attempted to fight the extension in court.
Former VA official named new CMO of Ascension Medical Group
Ascension Medical Group has picked former VA official Dr. Baligh Yehia as the organization’s chief medical officer.
Bayer to stop sales of birth control device tied to injuries
The maker of a permanent contraceptive implant subject to thousands of injury reports from women and repeated safety restrictions by regulators said Friday that it will stop selling the device in the U.S.
New Catholic directives could complicate mergers and partnerships
Catholic officials, ethicists and observers said the rules approved by U.S. bishops last month could toughen church scrutiny of merger or partnership agreements, notably the pending huge merger of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health.
Drug rebates’ legal protections are on the chopping block
HHS is taking steps to remove legal protections for drug rebates that favor pharmacy benefit managers. It’s unclear whether the changes will actually lead to lower drug prices, experts say.
Anthem overturned most ER claims it denied under controversial policy
Anthem’s policy led to a big spike in coverage denials among ED patients in three states last year, according to a senator’s report. But Anthem ended up reversing the majority of denied claims that patients appealed.
CMS may propose restarting $10B risk-adjustment payments
The CMS sent a rule to the White House for review that may resume risk-adjustment payments to insurers. Patient advocates have claimed the agency was trying to sabotage the insurance exchanges by eliminating billions in payments.
Maryland updates price transparency website with new data, petition
Consumers can now sign a petition that lobbies Maryland providers and insurers to reveal their costs via the state’s updated price transparency website.
California ACA rates to rise almost 9% next year
The 1.4 million Californians who buy coverage on the state’s individual insurance exchange will pay more in 2019 in part because the federal government zeroed out the federal penalty for not enrolling in coverage.
