Policy and Legislation
Healthcare spending by the Canadian federal government will reach a record high level of $30.3 billion in 2013-14, according to an announcement made this week by the nation's Ministry of Health.
Under a withering barrage of pressure from the insurance industry, seniors groups and congressional members from both sides of the aisle, CMS on Monday did an about-face and significantly raised its 2014 growth percentage estimate for the Medicare Advantage program.
Bruce Greenstein, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals will step down amid state and federal investigations into a $185 million Medicaid contract awarded to a company where he briefly worked.
Maryland officials have proposed what analysts call the most ambitious initiative in the country to control soaring medical spending, a plan that would bring relief to employers and consumers footing the bill while bluntly challenging the state's powerful hospital industry.
Home care companies have an opportunity to expand their businesses and shape coordinated care efforts by offering their services to hospitals seeking to avoid patient readmissions, say home care experts.
MedPAC has released its annual report to Congress on Medicare Payment Policy, including payment update recommendations for all the major Medicare FFS payment systems and limited Medicare Advantage (MA) recommendations.
While the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate was naturally expected to drive the previously uninsured to non-group plans, it has become increasingly clear that the individual market is also bracing for a potentially significant influx of currently insured enrollees who are driven there both by choice and necessity.
The Office of Inspector General issued a "special fraud alert" cautioning that physician-owned distributorships (PODs) are "inherently suspect" under the anti-kickback statute and listing suspicious characteristics of these entities that may increase the risk of fraud and abuse.
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) says it will survey the 115 HIPAA-covered entities that were audited last year to gain insight about their audit experiences.
As the investigation into a fatal outbreak of fungal meningitis continues, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration proposed Friday that the agency gain new authority to regulate pharmacy compounding, including charging fees to fund an expanded safety framework.