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.

Hackers were inside an Iowa hospital’s network for two weeks

St. Anthony Regional Hospital confirmed patient data was taken by cybercriminals, but the August incident is still being investigated.

Bill introduced in Congress would raise physician reimbursement by 1.9%

The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act aims to change the annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services physician fee schedule, which cut reimbursement by 2.8% for 2025.

Lawmakers introduce radiologist-endorsed, bipartisan bill to halt Medicare cuts

Greg Murphy, MD, R-N.C., and colleagues are proposing the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act, which would halt a 2.8% reduction to the conversion factor.

Good AI governance can spell the difference between smashing success and mere learning experience

Discussions of AI governance may cause many an eye to glass over, but the discipline is as crucial to the ascent of AI in healthcare as big training datasets drawn from diverse patient populations.

private equity corporatization business consolidation

Private equity owns 900 patient care centers in Philadelphia, report finds

Physical therapy practices in greater Philadelphia are of particular interest to private equity firms, with 271 locations owned by six companies. The report comes from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP).

Pharmacy fined $39M for fraud after 7-day trial

Florida-based Assured RX was found to be complicit in billing a Connecticut health plan $10M, sending kickbacks to co-conspirators who formerly worked for the state.

physician tracking patient data and reporting on outcomes

American College of Radiology updates imaging appropriateness criteria with 8 new topics

ACR is adding new entries covering scenarios such as brain tumors, inflammatory ear disease, and lung cancer staging after therapy.

Q&A: Medicaid evolving to meet the mental health and material needs of patients

The former Medicaid Director of Texas, Gary Jessee, tells HealthExec that state healthcare programs are raising the bar for care access and quality, even for patients covered by commercial plans.

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