Congress Saves Big Health Care Decisions For Last

There's plenty for health care interest groups in Congress' year-end spending package, but some had to make significant concessions: There will be no pandemic commission, doctors will have to swallow some Medicare payment cuts and FDA oversight of diagnostic tests will not change.

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Congress Reaches Major Health Policy Deal On Medicare, Medicaid, And Pandemic Preparedness

Leaders in Congress have reached a sweeping deal to ease Medicare pay cuts to doctors, make major changes to post-pandemic Medicaid policy, and to help prepare for future pandemics.

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Big Changes To The Retirement System Are Included In Congress’s End-Of-Year Bill

Tucked into the $1.7 trillion government spending bill for 2023 lawmakers unveiled Tuesday are a range of significant reforms to help Americans save more for retirement. These include increasing the age for required minimum distributions from retirement plans to pushing businesses to get more employees enrolled in plans. The bill also includes ideas that may help younger ...

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California’s Office Of Health Care Affordability Outlines Roadmap To Delivering Better Value And Outcomes For Patients

California took another step toward slowing the escalation of healthcare cost growth with the formal launch of the Office of Health Care Affordability at a briefing in Sacramento on November 30. The long-awaited state agency’s goals are to lower the cost of care by setting spending targets for payers and providers – including hospitals – ...

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CMS Proposes Cap On Nonstandard ACA Plans, Network Adequacy Standard Changes For 2024

The Biden administration wants to limit to two the number of nonstandardized Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchange plans an insurer can offer on HealthCare.gov in 2024 as part of an effort to make it easier for consumers to pick a plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Monday the proposed Notice of ...

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Modest Increases In Premium Found In Health Benefits Survey

The latest survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) concerning employer-sponsored health benefits found modest increases in employers’ and employees’ costs in 2022. In its 24th Employer Health Benefits Survey (EHBS), KFF found the average annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance in 2022 were $7,911 for single coverage and $22,463 for family coverage. These amounts were up from ...

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Are Indoor Holiday Parties Safe As COVID, Flu And RSV Spread? We Asked Three Experts

The past three years the holidays have been clouded with pandemic concerns. Now, with COVID, the flu and RSV circulating — what should folks look out for at gatherings? The Sacramento Bee service journalism team posed the same questions to three California hospitals. The following doctors provided emailed responses: * Dr. Matthew Eldridge, chief of ...

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More Than 7 Million Incorrect Diagnoses Made In US Emergency Rooms Every Year, Government Report Finds

A new study finds that nearly 6% of the estimated 130 million people who go to US emergency rooms every year are misdiagnosed, which translates to about 1 in 18 patients getting the wrong diagnosis. The report, published Thursday by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, reviewed nearly ...

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Thousands Of Working Californians Can Slash Health Insurance Premiums After IRS Rule Change

The Biden administration moved this week to eliminate the so-called “family glitch,” giving 391,000 California residents a way to slash those costs starting this week. When the U.S. Affordable Care Act went into effect, it excluded workers from buying insurance coverage for their families on state-based exchanges if they could get a job-based policy for ...

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CMS Proposes New Medicare Advantage And Part D Reforms On Prior Authorization, Marketing

The Biden administration released a proposal to streamline Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D plan prior authorization and add health equity requirements to star ratings. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule Wednesday outlining policies for MA and Part D plans for the 2024 coverage year and implementing drug price provisions in ...

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