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NQF, Aetna join forces to tackle social determinants
The National Quality Forum and the Aetna Foundation’s initiative will identify best practices that address social determinants of health and reduce health disparities over the next nine months.
Judge questions Trump administration motives on association health plans
U.S. District Judge John Bates homed in on the paper trail of Obamacare criticism as he challenged the rationale behind the Labor Department’s expansion of association health plans.
Massachusetts General Hospital plans to build new $1 billion facility
Massachusetts General Hospital plans to build a new 12-story building with about 450 single-bed patient rooms to alleviate capacity challenges and growing demands for services.
MACPAC wants Congress to slow down DSH cuts
A federal advisory panel on Medicaid wants Congress to gradually slow down reductions in payments to disproportionate-share hospitals and to change an outdated methodology used for allocating spending under the program.
Optum sues to stop ex-executive from taking secrets to Amazon-Berkshire-JPMorgan venture
Optum has sued to block a former executive from working at Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan’s new healthcare cost-saving venture, claiming the executive stole trade secrets.
Senate GOP leaders join coalition disputing organ allocation policy change
A 22-senator coalition has asked HHS Secretary Alex Azar to explain the department’s role in a proposal to end the geography-based system for distributing organs for transplant. The new policy has not gone into effect yet.
Trump vows to end balance billing
President Donald Trump threw his support behind curbing balance billing practices, saying his administration has “stopped a lot” of industry pricing tactics already.
Uninsured rate reaches highest point since 2014
The number of U.S. adults who do not have health insurance was higher in the fourth quarter of 2018 than it has been since the Affordable Care Act was implemented four years before, according to survey data from Gallup.
Hospital: ‘Poor decisions’ by staff giving outsize pain meds
Mount Carmel Health System has fired the intensive-care doctor who gave potentially fatal doses of pain medicine to at least 27 patients, reported its findings to the authorities and put six pharmacists and 14 nurses on paid leave pending further…
California’s drug pricing plan could pare down 340B program
California’s former Gov. Jerry Brown wanted to pare back the 340B program in his state but hospitals defeated his proposal in the legislature. Now the executive order on manufacturer negotiation from new Gov. Gavin Newsom has the potential to…
