Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

Medicare

Imaging advocates express frustration with final hospital outpatient payment rule

Medicare is reassigning one CPT code for SPECT scans, which will result in a 57% reduction in reimbursement for certain imaging exams. 

artificial intelligence money robot dollar AI

House lawmakers propose bill to bolster payment for imaging AI

The Health Tech Investment Act would assign all U.S. FDA-cleared AI devices to a new classification under the hospital outpatient payment system. 

Cigna

Rad Partners affiliate Empire State Radiology inks in-network deal with Cigna

Located in the Long Island community of Rockville Centre, New York, ESR’s new agreement spans multiple years, beginning on Nov. 15. 

physician burnout

AI news & views in brief: AI as healthcare cure-all, AI-experienced med students, more

If we would just let it do its thing, AI could fix practically everything that’s wrong with U.S. healthcare. 

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

HHS out with bold AI strategy to ‘unleash a new era of wellbeing for a healthier America’

The Department of Health and Human Services has unfurled a roadmap for aligning its approach to AI adoption in healthcare with the broad AI aspirations of President Trump. 

artificial intelligence ai in healthcare

FDA commissioner claims Biden administration hid heart risks of COVID-19 vaccines from public

The allegation came days after an internal FDA memo linked the vaccines to the deaths of multiple children. A group of former FDA commissioners pushed back against the content of that memo.

Thumbnail

Kaiser Permanente agrees to $46M settlement over data incident affecting 13.4M people

The managed care company does not admit to doing anything wrong. The data breach constituted its use of third-party tracking technology on its website, which shared data with Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Meta and others.

Thumbnail

Plan to extend ACA tax credits finds bipartisan support in the House

The new proposal to extend expanded subsidies for health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act is being backed by 35 Republicans and Democrats—but as the New York Times points out, it will be hard for the bill to get a floor vote.