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.

White House to end civil service protections for 50,000 federal workers
President Donald Trump's administration said an executive order to implement Schedule F, to make it easier to fire federal works that don't align with its agenda of "draining the swamp," is forthcoming.
Proposed HHS budget would close NINR, cut nursing programs
The American Nurses Association is warning that eliminating support for the training and research offered by the National Institute of Nursing Research could be devastating to the public, as many programs support specialties such as maternal and mental health.
FDA warns that certain coronary imaging catheters are being removed from market over safety concerns
A catheter sheath detached during use and was left in the patient’s body. It was successfully removed, but the FDA said it is now evaluating the potential risk to others going forward. There is no official recall at this time.
FDA clears new cold cathode tomosynthesis system
Cold cathode tubes make for smaller systems that are lighter in weight and require less energy to operate, also resulting in decreased costs.
Arkansas the 30th state to pass legislation bolstering coverage for breast imaging
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Senate Bill 123 into law on April 14 following its passage by the state legislature, weeks after Virginia passed a similar bill.

Hospital price transparency closing in

Is your organization ready to meet the new federal requirements on hospital price transparency? The policy is set to go live on New Year’s Day.

Medicaid solidifies value-based drug payments

The revised system gives states greater leeway than they’ve had to cut value-based purchasing deals with pharma companies on innovative but expensive drugs.

COVID-19 congress coronavirus Washington

Congress mitigates radiologist pay cuts, passing year-end spending bill with $3B cash infusion

Lawmakers also finalized a long-discussed ban on surprise medical bills and pushed back the radiation oncology payment model's go-live date.

Surprise medical billing ban nears finish line with inclusion in final government spending deal

Congress approved the measure on Dec. 21, targeting out-of-network radiology care with a new arbitration process.

Radiology providers see improvement, but continued concern in ‘No Surprises’ medical billing proposal

Lawmakers are pushing to include the measure in an end-of-year legislative package, but practice leaders are worried they're moving too fast.

Congress votes to give U.S. service members, veterans permanent access to DBT screening

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act now moves on to President Trump, who has indicated his plans to veto the bill for non-healthcare reasons.

Telehealth visits key to maintaining interventional radiology exam volumes, revenue during pandemic

At their peak, virtual consults accounted for 22.8 mean weekly visits at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, physicians explained.

How CMS Grants New Technology Add-On Payments and Determines Substantial Similarity

Policy & Regulations

White House to end civil service protections for 50,000 federal workers

Proposed HHS budget would close NINR, cut nursing programs

FDA warns that certain coronary imaging catheters are being removed from market over safety concerns

FDA clears new cold cathode tomosynthesis system

Arkansas the 30th state to pass legislation bolstering coverage for breast imaging