November 20, 2018
The lower premiums in urban areas were partially connected to more competition among plans and providers. Having more plans also means they can spread the financial risk rather than having one or two payers shoulder all of it, leading to lower premiums. Read More
November 20, 2018
The scene is shadowy, and the background music foreboding. On the TV screen, a stream of beleaguered humans stand in an unending line. Read More
November 20, 2018
NPs and PAs have recently taken on a larger role in primary care. Health experts say those roles will help fill primary care gaps in the coming years with physician shortages expected. Read More
November 20, 2018
CVS expects to close its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna after the Thanksgiving holiday. Read More
November 13, 2018
During a yearslong examination of drug prices, there’s been no shortage of criticism for growing list prices, and in recent months, some companies have heard the talk and lowered their prices. Now, top PBM Express Scripts is rolling out a new formulary to help support the moves—and the plan could heap more pressure on players in competitive drug classes. Read More
November 13, 2018
More than two weeks after announcing that the Obamacare website, HealthCare.gov, had been hacked, the Department of Health and Human Services has revealed that the breach exposed a wealth of information, including partial Social Security numbers and immigration status. Read More
November 6, 2018
California’s Medicaid program made at least $4 billion in questionable payments to health insurers and medical providers over a four-year period because as many as 453,000 people were ineligible for the public benefits, according to a state audit released Tuesday. Read More
November 6, 2018
“Perverse” incentives in the insulin supply chain lead to artificially high prices, as well as limited competition in the markets, according to a bipartisan report released Thursday by two lawmakers. Read More
November 6, 2018
In a highly controversial move, the Food and Drug Administration approved an especially powerful opioid painkiller despite criticism that the medicine could be a “danger” to public health. And in doing so, the agency addressed wider regulatory thinking for endorsing such a medicine amid nationwide angst about overdoses and deaths attributed to opioids. Read More
October 30, 2018
The union representing 100,000 nurses across California has shifted its “Medicare-for-all” campaign from California to the national stage, perhaps relieving political pressure on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom to fulfill what the union sees as his top campaign promise: Delivering a single-payer health care system in the nation’s largest state. Read More