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. 

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Individual mandate repeal won’t be as bad for insurance coverage as previously thought

The Congressional Budget Office has scaled back its projections of coverage losses from the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate being repealed, estimating 8.5 million people will be uninsured in 2027 due to the penalty being eliminated by Republicans’ tax legislation beginning next year.

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Anthem, Colorado hospitals butt heads over imaging policy

Health insurance giant Anthem implemented its controversial imaging policy in Colorado last fall which has limited CT and MRI coverage for the nearly one in five patients with private insurance in the state, according to a Denver Post report. Some experts question the motivation of the move.

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Illinois hospitals’ tax exemptions at risk in court case

According to the State Journal-Register, the court case rests on whether the 2012 statute makes a clear requirement that the hospitals’ charitable services at least equal the value of what they would otherwise pay in taxes. The plaintiff, Constance Oswald, has argued the law replaces the standard charitable requirement and therefore violates the Illinois Constitution and previous court rulings.

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Anthem to buy palliative care provider Aspire

After months of sitting out of the flurry of mergers and acquisitions between insurers and providers, Anthem has made its first move by announcing it will acquire Aspire, the largest non-hospice, community-based palliative care provider in the U.S.

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Hospital debt is big business for banks and law firms

The $20 billion in tax-exempt bonds not-for-profit hospitals sell on average every year can lead to $300 million going to banks and law firms handling debt deals—with those costs potentially encouraging hospitals to raise prices even as they’re exempt from paying taxes to their communities.

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Yearly mammograms starting at 40 offer women the best odds of surviving breast cancer

Women who prioritize annual mammograms starting at the age of 40 have the greatest chance of catching, treating and surviving breast cancer, a study published this month in the Journal of the American College of Radiology suggests.

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Mayo Clinic sells off health plan to Wisconsin’s WEA Trust

It marks the not-for-profit WEA Trust’s first entry into the private employer insurance market, having offered group coverage for Wisconsin state employees since its founding in 1970.

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‘Right-to-try’ legislation approved by Congress

The House approved legislation to allow terminally ill the “right to try” experimental drugs not yet approved by the FDA on a largely partisan vote, sending the bill to a supportive President Donald Trump.