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. 

CMS issues coronavirus guidance to healthcare providers

CMS has issued a guidance on the new coronavirus, COVID-19, for healthcare providers to stay up to date on the screening, treatment and transfer procedures to follow as well as how to better protect seniors in nursing homes. CMS also called on hospital emergency departments to screen for the disease when patients present symptoms.

March 10, 2020

Operating in healthcare, AI could land someone in medicolegal limbo

If medical AI makes a goof and causes a patient harm, the provider using the technology may be liable for malpractice. Or will the AI vendor be on the hook?

March 9, 2020

HHS, ONC finalize interoperability rules, mandating health record access

Patients will soon have free digital access to their health records thanks to the finalization of two new interoperability rules finalized by HHS and the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). The rule also dictates how patient information is exchanged across the healthcare system.

March 9, 2020
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Aetna, Cigna waive costs of coronavirus testing for members

Health insurers are jumping on board to provide free diagnostic and telemedicine services to members at high risk of having the new coronavirus, COVID-19.

March 6, 2020

Net prices of drugs have jumped 60% since 2007

The prices of prescription drugs have risen 60% over an 11-year period, as have discounts that widen medical gaps, according to a new study published in JAMA.

March 5, 2020
Medical societies are asking Congress to be involved in Medicare reform efforts.

$8.3B package for coronavirus approved

Congress approved an $8.3 billion package to fight the spread of coronavirus and respond to the growing crisis.

March 5, 2020
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FTC receives support––and pushback––for interfering in hospital merger

The healthcare industry has voiced its support and pushback after the FTC sued to block a merger between two hospital systems in Philadelphia.

March 3, 2020

Supreme Court will take up ACA lawsuit

The Supreme Court will listen to the legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act that has been working its way through the lower courts. The court made its decision to hear the case Monday, March 2.

March 2, 2020

Around the web

Five of the largest U.S. medical societies focused on cardiovascular health are one step closer to seeing their paradigm-shifting proposal become a reality.

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions and Society of Thoracic Surgeons have both shared statements in support of the ban, which is already being challenged in court. The American Hospital Association, meanwhile, opposes the policy shift, saying it “errs by seeking to create a one-size-fits-all rule”

Alison Bailey, MD, co-chair of the business of cardiology sessions at ACC.24, emphasized that reimbursement cuts can have a long-term negative impact on patient. 

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