Medicare & Medicaid
News articles in this section include actions by federal regulators like the CMS and HHS, as well as information on Medicare and state Medicaid coverage and benefits.
The Biden administration plans to pull the plug on a contentious Trump-era demonstration that would tie Medicare outpatient drug pay to other wealthy countries’ drug prices, according to a CMS proposed rule on Friday. Hospitals had opposed the “most favored nation” drug policy, arguing that it would hurt their bottom lines and put the entire ...
California announced another round of coronavirus vaccine incentives on Friday, offering up to $50 apiece to more than 11 million people in the state who get their health insurance through Medicaid. The money is part of a new $350 million plan to get more of the state’s Medicaid population vaccinated as the state is seeing ...
September 30, 2021, marks the conclusion of the COBRA Subsidy Period, which was introduced by the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act in March 2021. As we approach the looming expiration date, employers (or health insurance carriers, if the employer is subject to Cal-COBRA) must send one final notice to Assistance Eligible Individuals (AEIs) announcing the ...
The Senate’s release of its bipartisan infrastructure plan signals that lawmakers are poised to throw former President Donald Trump’s belated bid to lower Medicare drug prices under the bus — not to mention trains, bridges, tunnels and broadband connections. That’s because the massive spending bill is the first of two likely to at least delay ...
The Senate is poised to pass a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package that will delay until 2026 a controversial Part D rebate rule. While most of the new funding in the package, the text for which was released Sunday, goes toward infrastructure projects such as new roads or information technology, there are several healthcare-related provisions that could impact the industry.
Insurers pushed back at the Biden administration’s efforts to extend the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period by another month and require them to post standardized plan options.
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in late July voted unanimously to advance four pieces of legislation aimed at reining in prescription drug prices. The legislation, which would enhance the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to initiate enforcement actions against drug companies, now moves to the Senate floor for a vote. * The Stop STALLING Act would give the ...
A bipartisan group of four senators requested Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s support to allow less costly prescription drugs to be imported from Canada. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Angus King (I-Maine) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) sent a letter to the secretary on Monday asking him to back policies permitting states and tribes to import certain prescription drugs from Canada. ...
More than 400 advocacy groups are calling for Congress to act quickly to permanently expand flexibilities for telehealth that could go away after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency expected to run through 2021. The 430 groups sent a letter to congressional leadership on Monday underscoring the urgency for action now amid concerns from providers ...
The budget package Democrats are assembling in Congress would likely provide the biggest jolt to the American health care system since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, according to sources familiar with work on the plan.