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.
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), who is slated to be the next chairman of a House committee overseeing drug prices, said Wednesday that his top priorities on the issue are allowing Medicare to negotiate prices and speeding the approval of cheaper generic drugs.
Express Scripts Holding Co. and other pharmacy-benefit managers make money by negotiating drug prices on behalf of health-plan providers. The list prices that pharmaceutical companies set for their drugs diverge wildly from their real cost, and PBMs widen and feast on the gap, which helps make them some of the principal beneficiaries of America’s byzantine pricing system.
Supporters of the nation’s health law condemn them. A few states, including California and New York, have banned them. Other states limit them.
Access to high-quality healthcare was a recurring theme last week at the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions’ annual conference in Washington, D.C.
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.
The scene is shadowy, and the background music foreboding. On the TV screen, a stream of beleaguered humans stand in an unending line.
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.
CVS expects to close its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna after the Thanksgiving holiday.
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.
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.