Susan Morse

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Reconciliation bill with Medicaid cuts passes House

The House early Thursday morning passed President Trump’s reconciliation bill in a 215-214 vote, sending it to the Senate where some Republicans are reportedly balking at its adding $3.8 trillion to the federal deficit.

CMS to begin auditing all Medicare Advantage plans

Beginning immediately, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is auditing all eligible Medicare Advantage contracts in what the agency is calling a significant expansion of its efforts.
The agency will expand its workforce of medical coders fro…

UnitedHealth shares drop again on kickback allegations

Shares of UnitedHealth Group got battered again Wednesday morning on a report that it paid kickbacks to nursing homes to reduce costly hospital transfers.

Court order blocks HHS from cutting $11 billion in public health funding

For the second time, a federal judge in Rhode Island has barred the Department of Health and Human Services from cutting $11 billion in public health funding to states.

Court rejects drugmakers replacing 340B upfront payments with rebates

A federal court has rejected a lawsuit by several drugmakers that sought to change the 340B Drug Pricing Program from an upfront payment model to a backend rebate structure.

HIMSSCast: Scaling integration for pediatric care

Danish Qureshi created his third startup, Zarminali Pediatrics, using $40 million in seed funding led by General Catalyst.
But the CEO had more personal reasons for creating the Chicago-based pediatrics company that has since expanded to four states wi…

RFK Jr. faces criticism, protest over $715B in Medicaid cuts

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced pushback on the Health and Human Services budget during two congressional hearings on Wednesday and protest during one that reportedly resulted in the arrest of Ben and Jerry’s cofounder Ben Cohen.

$715B Medicaid cut passes House committee in reconciliation bill

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday passed the budget reconciliation text by a vote of 30 to 24.
The committee approved the bill following a marathon 26-hour markup. The resolution will now go to the full House.
The House Budget Com…

CMS closing loophole it says states exploit to benefit illegal immigrants

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued a proposed rule to close a Medicaid tax loophole it said is exploited by some states to benefit illegal immigrants.
States inflate the federal payments and use the money to free up funds for non…

Hospital groups say Medicaid cuts threaten financial stability

Hospital groups say the GOP budget resolution would cut Medicaid coverage to millions and further hurt struggling providers.
The budget resolution released late Sunday includes at least $715 billion in cuts to Medicaid, a federal program that shares co…