Month: January 2023
President Joe Biden intends to end the Covid-19 national and public health emergencies on May 11, the White House said Monday. That means that many Americans could have to start paying for Covid-19 testing and treatment after the declarations cease.
California’s decision last month to cancel the results of a long-planned bidding competition among commercial health plans in its Medicaid program has some industry insiders and consumer advocates wondering whether the state can stand up to insurers and force improvements in care for millions of low-income beneficiaries.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said on Thursday that House Republicans will not target Medicare or Social Security in their negotiations over the debt ceiling.
The $1.7 trillion spending package Congress passed in December included a two-year extension of key telehealth provisions, such as coverage for Medicare beneficiaries to have phone or video medical appointments at home. But it also signaled political reluctance to make the payment changes permanent, requiring federal regulators to study how Medicare enrollees use telehealth.
In 2021, the U.S. spent 17.8 percent of GDP on health care, nearly double the average of 9.6 percent for high-income countries, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund. Health care spending per capita in the U.S. was three or four times greater than for countries like South Korea, New Zealand and Japan. Researchers ...
With pharmaceutical companies hiking prices on nearly 1,000 drugs in January, some consumers might experience sticker shock next time they pick up prescriptions. The price increases come as a new federal law requires companies to pay Medicare a rebate if they increase prices above the rate of inflation. Other Inflation Reduction Act provisions — such as capping Medicare recipients’ out-of-pocket ...
The Biden administration on Monday finalized an oft-delayed plan to step up audits of Medicare Advantage insurers in order to identify and recover overpayments. Why it matters: Studies and audits have identified billions of dollars of excess payments to health plans that weren’t supported by patients’ medical records, but federal officials in the past backed off many ...
From defining “fiduciary” and “employer” to seeking feedback on pooled employer plans, the Department of Labor has released an ambitious regulatory agenda for the next six months. “Our Regulatory Agenda additionally reflects our ongoing commitment to the Biden Administration’s prioritization of economic security, raising wages, supporting worker organizing and empowerment, and addressing the threat of climate change, ...
Sen. Bernie Sanders has long made no secret that he thinks drug companies and health insurers are ripping off Americans. But now he’s chairman of the Senate health committee. Why it matters: Sanders has signaled an early focus of the committee’s work will be drug prices, and manufacturers are bracing for some contentious hearings. * “I ...
As congressional lawmakers in the House slog through the early stages of negotiating over the debt ceiling — the amount of money the U.S. government can borrow — there’s been concern that those discussions could include spending cuts to Medicare. However, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has now made assurances that Medicare is off-limits during these negotiations (as is Social ...