STAT+: DOJ investigating Community Health Systems’ hospitals
Community Health Systems is facing a new federal probe into its hospital billing practices more…
Category: policy
Colorado could cap payments for Amgen’s Enbrel
You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and…
STAT+: As regulators play catch up with AI, tech startups say uncertainty is slowing them down
The federal government’s plan to boost its oversight of the use of artificial intelligence tools…
STAT+: Obamacare plans don’t have to cover weight loss drugs. The government is considering changing that
WASHINGTON — Drugmakers are doing everything to tap the bottomless well of demand for new…
STAT+: Banning surprise medical bills is raising costs elsewhere
Without question, the new federal law banning surprise billing is achieving its goal of protecting…
Key congressman blasts HHS for lack of cooperation on Covid-19
The Health and Human Services Department’s lack of cooperation with a congressional committee investigating the…
STAT+: Medicare Advantage enrollment races past 33 million
Roughly 33.4 million adults older than 65 and people with disabilities were enrolled in a…
STAT+: Louisiana, Oregon deals show health insurer acquisitions aren’t a sure thing anymore
A deal is never really done until it’s done. On Tuesday, two different proposed insurance…
HHS fills key vaccine advisory panel slots
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it is filling eight vacancies,…
Long Covid research funding at NIH gets a nearly 50% boost
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has dedicated an additional $515 million to a major initiative…
STAT+: Lawmakers eye partial increase for Medicare doctor pay
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are considering increasing doctors’ Medicare pay in an upcoming government funding package,…
STAT+: Private equity investment in Medicare Advantage drops
Major insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare and Humana have edged out private equity firms from investing…
STAT+: Judge tosses PhRMA lawsuit over Medicare power to negotiate drug prices
WASHINGTON — A federal district judge on Monday granted the Biden administration’s request to dismiss…
No one’s pleased with the government’s pitch for 2025 Medicare Advantage rates
You’re reading the web version of Health Care Inc., STAT’s weekly newsletter following the flow of money…
STAT+: States are ramping up scrutiny of health transactions, as more provider groups look for buyers
UnitedHealth Group’s Optum has bought an untold number of physician practices over the years. It…
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STAT+: FTC doubles down in Welsh Carson anesthesia case to limit private equity’s physician buyouts
Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission is eager to make Big Physician a lot smaller. Last…
STAT+: Senators start work on Medicare physician payment reform
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators is starting work on legislation to reform how…
STAT+: Lasers, cardiology, clinical trials: 2023’s top private equity targets
By some measures, private equity investment lagged in 2023, a year marked by growing distress…
STAT+: Key House Republican on health care plans exit from Congress
WASHINGTON — Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of a crucial House committee that handles…
STAT+: Senate Democrats push for stronger rules around AI in Medicare Advantage
Senate Democrats on Thursday said Medicare should take more urgent and aggressive action to prevent…
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In a showy hearing, Bernie Sanders gets few answers about lower drug prices
WASHINGTON — Call it Sen. Bernie Sanders’ prescription drug pricing theater. The hearing, featuring Merck…
Gilead sours on the ‘don’t eat me’ business
Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get…
New pharma CEOs in the hot seat
You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and…
STAT+: As Medicare drug pricing negotiations begin, AstraZeneca stays mum on government’s offer
LONDON — Medicare’s first-ever drug pricing negotiations are officially underway. But neither government officials nor…
STAT+: More than half the slots on a key vaccine advisory panel are vacant. Where’s HHS?
A critical government advisory committee charged with charting U.S. vaccination policy appears to be atrophying,…
STAT+: Government warns Medicare Advantage insurers not to deny care based on AI
In recent months, the federal government has repeatedly told Medicare Advantage insurers that they cannot…
STAT+: Medicare threatens to pull funding from HCA’s embattled Mission Hospital
Five years after investor-owned HCA Healthcare took over an esteemed nonprofit hospital in North Carolina,…
CDC and social media: The new misinformation war
You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and…
STAT+: Cano Health’s downfall offers a warning for Medicare Advantage
Private Medicare just isn’t the gold mine it once was. Case in point: Cano Health,…
Let the Medicare Advantage lobbying begin
You’re reading the web version of Health Care Inc., STAT’s weekly newsletter following the flow of money…
STAT+: New Medicare Advantage rule is boon for providers, drag on insurers
Starting this year, private Medicare plans have to cover their members’ hospitalizations at the higher…
STAT+: Senate working group proposes 340B reforms
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators released a draft of legislation to resolve controversial…
Medicare drug price negotiation’s day in court
You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and…
Methadone treatment gets first major update in over 20 years
The federal government is unveiling new regulations meant to modernize methadone treatment, the first major…
STAT+: Judge skeptical of arguments against Medicare drug price negotiation
WILMINGTON, Del. — Today was the first time that a federal judge asked questions in-person…
Congressmen: This Covid hearing ‘could have been an email’
WASHINGTON — House Republicans have repeatedly accused Biden health officials of withholding and censoring documents…
Cigna to sell Medicare Advantage plans to Blue Cross Blue Shield insurer for $3.3 billion
Cigna is officially exiting the Medicare business, agreeing to sell all of its Medicare insurance…
STAT+: CMS will use outcomes-based agreements in bid to help Medicaid pay for sickle cell gene therapies
In response to concerns over multimillion-dollar price tags for new gene therapies for sickle cell…
STAT+: FDA’s Woodcock reflects on more than 30 years at agency — and hints at what’s next
WASHINGTON — It’s the end of an era for the Food and Drug Administration’s longtime…
Can the government ask social media sites to take down Covid misinformation? SCOTUS will weigh in
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will this March hear arguments centered on the government’s role…
Supreme Court slates abortion pill case for March
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will hear arguments about access to the abortion medication mifepristone…
Pricey sickle cell treatments raise daunting new challenges for Medicaid programs
Living with sickle cell disease has not been easy on Kourtney Cunningham. The genetic blood…
STAT+: Merck, Johnson & Johnson CEOs agree to testify in Congress on high drug prices, avoiding Bernie Sanders’ subpoena
WASHINGTON — Merck CEO Robert Davis and Johnson and Johnson CEO Joaquin Duato have agreed…
STAT+: Democrats urge government to rein in Medicare Advantage overpayments and denials
The Biden administration is about to set the ground rules for next year’s Medicare Advantage…
STAT+: FTC sues to block a proposed hospital deal in North Carolina
The federal government is suing to block a proposed hospital deal in North Carolina, alleging…
Merck CEO refused to testify in Senate because he’s not an expert in drug pricing, Bernie Sanders says
WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday jabbed the CEO of Merck for telling congressional…
Bernie Sanders’ showdown with pharma CEOs is coming to a head
You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and…
STAT+: Humana projects a tough road for Medicare Advantage, sinking its stock
Humana’s Medicare Advantage business is faring even worse than the company let on last week,…
STAT+: Key Senate panel considers Medicare bonuses for hospitals that prevent drug shortages
WASHINGTON — A key Senate committee is proposing that Medicare pay bonuses to hospitals that…
STAT+: FDA OKs — but doesn’t require — a non-cancer-causing chemical for sterilizing devices
The chemical used to sterilize half of all medical devices in the United States is…