Category: Healthcare Finance News

Special Affordable Care Act enrollment period is extended to August 15 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is extending the special enrollment period for Affordable Care Act coverage from May 15 until August 15.
The action provides new and current enrollees an additional three months to enroll or re-evaluate th…

AHIP, others applaud House bill focused on audio-only telehealth for Medicare Advantage

America’s Health Insurance Plans has praised the introduction of a bill that would improve access to audio-only telehealth for seniors in Medicare Advantage. The bill, which was originally introduced in July 2020, was revived by the U.S. House of Repre…

Electronic prior authorizations reduce burden, time spent, finds AHIP and RTI

Handling prior authorization requests electronically as opposed to manually can reduce the median time between submitting a PA request and receiving a decision — clocking in at around three times faster for a time reduction of about 69%, according to …

Senate to vote this week on Medicare sequester cuts moratorium

Although a vote has yet to be officially scheduled, the Senate is expected to vote on a hotlined version of H.R. 1868.
 

AstraZeneca is questioned over potential use of outdated information in its COVID-19 clinical trial

AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from its COVID-19 vaccine clinical  trial, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board said late Monday.
The outdated information may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data, the board said in n…

Cleveland Clinic teams with Lilly and Anthem on heart surgery option for Lilly health plan

Cleveland Clinics boasts expertise in cardiac surgery, and now that expertise is available to eligible Eli Lilly and Company employees, retirees and their family members through the Cleveland Clinic Cardiac Concierge Program. 
The new program is in col…

NAACOS asks HHS Secretary Becerra to grow Medicare ACO programs

The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) sent a letter on Monday congratulating Xavier Becerra, secretary of the D

Hospitals urge Congress to pass legislation extending moratorium on Medicare sequester cuts

New analysis shows that as many as half of U.S. hospitals will have negative operating margins throughout 2021.

AstraZeneca vaccine shows 79% efficacy in phase III trial

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine has just undergone a phase III trial in the U.S., demonstrating 79% efficacy at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 11% efficacy at preventing severe disease and hospitalization.

Biden administration shares latest round of HHS staff appointments

The new appointees join tens of thousands of career officials during a time when expertise is critical to tackling the ongoing pandemic.