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.

Senate bounces spending bill back to House with 2.5% Medicare rad fix
In addition, there are no restrictions on pass-through entity taxes (PTET), which “benefits independent physician practices,” one expert notes.
Medicare cost-cutting initiative targets ‘wasteful, inappropriate’ interventional radiology services
Interventional radiologists criticized the CMS proposal, believing it could lead to excess morbidity and mortality in Medicare.
103K Medicare beneficiaries issued new IDs after ‘data incident’ at CMS
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said “malicious actors” created fake accounts for Medicare beneficiaries through the agency’s patient portal, using stolen data from an unknown source. The incident is being investigated.
FDA announces recall of Baxter infusion pumps with mismatched software
Spectrum V8 and V6 infusion pumps may have accidentally had their software switched, which could result in underinfusion or a fluid overload. While no injuries have been reported, for safety the affected pumps need to be removed from where they are used and sold.
Medtronic’s new ECMO system receives a key approval
According to Medtronic, its VitalFlow ECMO system was designed and developed with the user experience in mind.

Axios: Higher US drug prices don’t translate to better health

The United States pays far more for prescription drugs than other countries, but health outcomes aren’t much better—and sometimes, they’re worse—according to Axios.

Judge may block $69B CVS-Aetna deal

Though regulators have signed off on the $69 billion merger between CVS Health and Aetna, a U.S. District Court judge is poised to block the deal, The New York Post reported.

PwC: Top health industry issues for 2019

Healthcare organizations are already looking ahead into 2019, and there are six trends to be aware of for the coming year, according to PwC’s report, “Top health industry issues of 2019: The New Health Economy Comes of Age.”

4 key takeaways from a new report on sports-related concussions

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has updated its guidance on caring for children and adolescents with sports-related concussions (SRCs), publishing the latest version in the December issue of Pediatrics.

Envision renews contract with UnitedHealthcare after billing practices battle

After months of back-and-forth, Envision Healthcare has renewed its contract with UnitedHealthcare.

Breast cancer screening guideline from Canadian group emphasizes shared decision-making

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care has issued updated breast cancer screening recommendations for women ages 40 to 74 who are not at an elevated risk, publishing them in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The new guideline emphasizes the importance of women making screening decisions with their healthcare providers.

MITA, patient advocates urge lawmakers to repeal medical device tax by end of 2018

The Right Scan Right Time patient and survivor community network of the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA) met with Senators at Capitol Hill last week urging for permanent repeal of the medical device tax, according to a recent MITA news release.

Patient group pushes U.S. Senate to permanently repeal medical device tax

Members of Right Scan Right Time, a patient and survivor group managed by the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), flew to Capitol Hill last week to push for the permanent repeal of the medical device tax.

Policy & Regulations

Senate bounces spending bill back to House with 2.5% Medicare rad fix

Medicare cost-cutting initiative targets ‘wasteful, inappropriate’ interventional radiology services

103K Medicare beneficiaries issued new IDs after ‘data incident’ at CMS

FDA announces recall of Baxter infusion pumps with mismatched software

Medtronic’s new ECMO system receives a key approval