The Federal Trade Commission called out health privacy as a main area of focus — and a reason why it needs more funds — in its 2024 budget request released on Tuesday. The agency has been increasingly aggressive in cracking down on companies trafficking consumers’ sensitive healthcare data, with recent enforcement actions against digital health […]
FTC Says Health Privacy Key Priority in 2024 Budget Request Read More »
Medicaid enrollees and the health insurance companies that cover them face major disruptions in the coming months as states resume removing people who no longer qualify from the program. Medicaid redeterminations have been on pause for more than two-and-a-half years to enable people to remain covered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government offered states
A State-by-State Look at the Impact of Medicaid Determinations Read More »
Pfizer’s planned $43 billion acquisition of Seagen will be a major test for the Federal Trade Commission since the monopoly-regulating agency revised its views of what constitutes anti-competitive behavior in the pharmaceutical industry. The buyout, which the companies expect to close later this year or early next, will substantially expand Pfizer’s presence in cancer treatment,
In Pfizer-Seagen Review, FTC Has Chance to Set New Pharma Precedent Read More »
In one of the more high-profile healthcare merger and acquisition deals in Connecticut in recent years, VillageMD announced earlier this month it acquired Rocky Hill-based Starling Physicians, which offers primary, specialty and urgent care services across 30 Greater Hartford locations. The deal, terms of which weren’t disclosed, came as a surprise to some, including Connecticut
CT Healthcare Regulator Opens Inquiry into VillageMD-Starling Physicians Deal Read More »
California has a new regulatory review process that could have implications for healthcare mergers and acquisitions and similar transactions in the state. By way of background, after nearly two years of negotiations with state legislators, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law healthcare omnibus bill SB 184 on June 30, 2022, which created the new Office
Thousands of patients have called on a federal court to reverse a landmark ruling allowing a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary to develop mental and substance abuse coverage guidelines they allege deviate from clinical standards. The plaintiffs filed a petition to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that urges a three-judge panel to rehear their
Appeal Sought in Landmark UnitedHealth Class-Action Case Read More »
Payers have unsurprisingly voiced their displeasure with the proposed risk adjustment changes to MA, but providers are also taking issue with the rule’s quick coding transition. The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and the American medical Group Association (AMGA) were among the voices from the provider side expressing concern for the MA advance notice rule
Providers, Not Just Payers, Push Back against Medicare Advantage Pay Rule Read More »
Hospitals and physicians are squaring off over a proposed Biden administration rule that would ban noncompete agreements — contractual clauses common in the health care industry that prevent workers from working for a competitor for a certain amount of time after leaving a company. Lobbying giants like the American Hospital Association and the U.S. Chamber
Noncompete Rule Puts Doctors, Hospitals at Odds Read More »
A group of federal lawmakers seeks to remove regulatory barriers that inhibit psychedelics in research and compassionate use cases. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an updated version of the Breakthrough Therapies Act to the Senate. If passed, the bill would make it easier to use Schedule 1 drugs with a breakthrough
A Group of Lawmakers Want to Make It Easier for Psychedelic Research, Compassionate Use Read More »
President Joe Biden’s budget proposal for fiscal 2024 may lack major new healthcare initiatives, but his policy agenda includes numerous items that would affect providers, health insurance companies and patients. The Biden administration released details Thursday of the president’s plans, which touch on Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the health insurance exchanges, the
Biden Budget Plan Outlines Health Priorities Read More »
