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. 

5 objectives in CMS’s rural health strategy

“For the first time, CMS is organizing and focusing our efforts to apply a rural lens to the vision and work of the agency,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, said in a statement.

Can a radiologist be sued for failing to follow up with a referring physician?

In an imaging landscape where 64 percent of recommendations for supplemental screening are ignored by referring physicians, radiologists face a legal question: To what extent are they responsible for making sure colleagues follow through on their advice?

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Why Trump’s proposed healthcare cuts may go nowhere

President Donald Trump is looking to a rarely-utilized process called “rescission” to cut $15 billion in federal spending he already signed into law earlier this year—with much of the reductions coming from programs like the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

3 key takeaways from a new survey on California’s breast density law

California’s breast density law is scheduled to expire in January 2019. To gauge the feelings of people most affected by this possible expiration, Are You Dense and Are You Dense Advocacy surveyed more than 500 women between the ages of 40 and 74 who live in California and have had a mammogram within the last two years.

CMS draws line on reforms by rejecting lifetime limits in Medicaid

Kansas’s proposal to impose a three-year lifetime limit on Medicaid benefits has been formally rejected by CMS, with Administrator Seema Verma, MPH, saying the agency has to ensure the program “remains a safety net for those that need it most.”

Does it impact performance metrics when DBT exams are interpreted right away?

There is “no statistically significant difference” in radiologist performance metrics when screening digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) examinations immediately compared to screening them later when the patient has left the facility, according to a new study published by Academic Radiology.

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CMS approves New Hampshire to impose Medicaid work requirements

New Hampshire will become the fourth state to impose work requirements on Medicaid beneficiaries, according to a May 7 joint statement from CMS, HHS and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu.

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Trump claims ACA is dead—but IRS still plans to enforce employer mandate

At last week’s campaign-style rally in Michigan, President Donald Trump claimed he’d done away with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when the 2017 tax bill repealed the individual mandate. But folks at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), though, would disagree. A recent report from the New York Times examines IRS's plan to send out penalty notices to more than 30,000 businesses in the U.S.