The Department of Health & Human Services' Office of the Inspector General and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have extended waivers to the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law for certain accountable care organizations through Nov. 2, 2015, reports Becker's Hospital Review. 

Prescription drug spending (or Part D) has accounted for more than 60 percent of the slowdown in Medicare benefits since 2011, according to an analysis presented in Health Affairs.

Only 11 percent of people without health insurance are aware that open enrollment is set to begin, according to The New York Times.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a beta release of an online search tool to help users better navigate its Open Payments website, which went live with data on physicians' corporate relationships on Sept. 30, reports The Wall Street Journal.

President Obama has brought in Ron Klain, a crisis-response operative and former chief of staff to two vice presidents, to handle the government’s response to Ebola, reports The New York Times.

With 10 million individuals in the U.S. now on insurance rolls thanks to the Affordable Care Act, many worried that the already overburdened industry would burst at the seams. A UCLA study appears to put some of those concerns to rest, reports California Healthline.

In response to news that a nurse has contracted Ebola, a spokesperson from the Centers or Disease Control and Prevention announced that the agency would issue more specific instructions and explanations on the use of protective gear, reports The New York Times.

California’s health insurance exchange, Covered California, has awarded $184 million in contracts without the competitive bidding and oversight that is typical for state government, reports Fox News.