UnitedHealth said it costs an average of $9,400 annually to cover a low-income, subsidized enrollee on the marketplace with $7,000 of that cost falling on the federal government. For someone eligible for Medicaid thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the overall cost is $5,400—with $5,100 coming from federal funds.

Direct federal funding for abortions has been prohibited by Congress for decades, but conservative lawmakers have sought to deny all federal funding to groups like Planned Parenthood for having any involvement in abortion services.

Three sponsors of Medicare Part D plans—UnitedHealth Group, Humana and CVS Health—account for more than half the program’s total enrollment. If proposed mergers involving smaller players like Aetna, Express Scripts and Cigna move ahead, the market would become even more concentrated.

Could Illinois become the 36th state that requires mammography providers to notify patients when it is determined they have dense breast tissue?

Vermont has become the first state to pass a law to allow prescription drugs to be imported from Canada, but the plan still has to be approved by HHS—a tall order considering HHS Secretary Alex Azar’s comments that pharmaceutical imports are a “gimmick” and may be unsafe.

Kyle Pitsor, vice president of government affairs for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), testified this week about the potential impact tariffs proposed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) could have on NEMA member companies and the electrical and medical imaging industries.

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) announced this week that it supports the FDA’s decision to promote the adoption of “quality management principles” in the servicing of medical devices.

Primary care physicians and non-physician practitioners have seen their compensation rise more rapidly than specialists, which the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) said is evidence of the worsening shortage of primary care doctors.