Medicare & Medicaid
The rules are the latest response to growing dissatisfaction about drug costs from the public, lawmakers and those who run programs like Medicaid.
The delay affects episode payment models put into place under President Obama.
CMS has chosen seven payers in selected regions as partners offering their own payment incentives to primary care practices.
Lawsuit alleged the insurer made patients appear sicker than they were in order to collect higher Medicare payments than it deserved.
New process allows them to start and finish their application through a third-party website managed by direct enrollment partners.
Medicaid expansion was associated with a 4 percentage point increase in operating margins for rural hospitals.
The cost of the Senate Finance Committee bipartisan bill to modernize Medicare would be offset by $455 million in savings.
Study points to decreased funding for Medicaid as underlying reason; More than half of children's hospital's patients are insured by Medicaid.
Best way to address these problems is to create greater transparency, and simplify the pricing structure, PRI says.
Uncertainty surrounding the Affordable Care Act will lead insurers to continue to pull back from some online marketplaces or exit them altogether.