HHS Announces Price Cuts for 10 Medicare Drugs
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has negotiated lower prices for 10 of the most expensive and widely used drugs covered under Medicare, which is expected to save the Medicare program $6 billion in the first year and reduce out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries by $1.5 billion.
CMS Proposes Payment Cut for Physicians
CMS issued a proposed rule that announces and solicits public comments on proposed policy changes for Medicare payments on or after Jan. 1, 2025.
FDA Modernizes Informed Consent Guidance, Aligning with Common Rule Changes
FDA has published new draft guidance on informed consent that lines up with revisions to the Common Rule made in 2017, offering up-to-date recommendations on starting the process with the sharing of essential clinical trial information in ways that patients can understand.
CDC Releases New Guide to Address Healthcare Worker Burnout
The CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released a guide for hospital leaders to improve healthcare worker wellbeing.
HHS Releases Final Rules Protecting Consumers Purchasing Short-Term Health Plans
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury have released the Short-Term, Limited- Duration Insurance and Independent, Noncoordinated Excepted Benefits Coverage, or “Junk Insurance,” final rules. Short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) is a type of health insurance that is typically designed to fill temporary gaps in coverage when an individual is transitioning from one source of coverage to another.
HHS Finalizes Rule Expanding Access to Care and Increasing Protections for Medicare Part D Plans
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), is finalizing policies to ensure Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans best meet the needs of people with Medicare.
New Rule Expands Access to Health Information and Improves Prior Authorization Process
CMS finalized the CMS Interoperability and Prior Authorization Final Rule to improve the electronic exchange of health information and prior authorization processes for medical items and services.
CMS Finalizes Rule to Advance Health Equity
CMS finalized policies to support primary care, advance health equity, assist family caregivers and expand access to behavioral and certain oral healthcare.
$13M NIH Grant Funds Research to Rejuvenate Immune System in Older Adults
University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers have received a $13.1 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to continue studies aimed at rejuvenating the immune system of older people to improve health throughout the lifespan.
New Guidance Recommends All Federal Facilities Have Access to Naloxone
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration have announced new guidance recommending that all federal facilities across the nation include overdose reversal medications in their safety stations on site.
