NIH Grants $9 Million to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for SCID Research
The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases division has awarded nearly $9 million to researchers from Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Boston Children’s Hospital to study the lowest dose of chemotherapy needed for babies with severe combined immunodeficiency(SCID) undergoing bone marrow transplant, the standard treatment for SCID.
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Faith-Based Hospitals’ Exemption from ERISA
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that faith-based hospitals’ pension plans qualify for the “church plan” exemption from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
More Small Practices Exempt from MACRA Under New Draft Rule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid would exempt physician practices with less than $90,000 in Medicare revenue or fewer than 200 unique Medicare patients per year from complying with the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015.
Report Shows Hospital-Acquired Conditions Continue to Decline
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released a preliminary update to the National Scorecard on Rates ofHospital-Acquired Conditions that show a 21 percent reduction in hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2015.
NIH Awards Grant to Study the Connection Between Autism and Autoimmunity During Pregnancy
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a $3 million grant to Feinstein Institute for Medical Research scientists to study the relationship between a mother’s autoimmunity during pregnancy and the risk of autism spectrum disorder in her child.
HHS Renames AIDS.gov to HIV.gov
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has officially changed the name of AIDS.gov, the federal government’s source for information about HIV, to HIV.gov.
HHS Launches Webpage to Empower Patients
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched anew page on its website that highlights regulatory and administrative actions it is taking to support a patient-centered healthcare system.
New Educational Initiative Introduced to Raise Awareness of Chronic Care Management
Connected Care is a new educational initiative to raise awareness of the benefits of chronic care management (CCM)services for Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.
Drug Companies Can Be Fined for Overcharging Hospitals Under 340B Drug Discount Program
Under a new rule, the Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services can issue fines of up to $5,000 for each incident to drug manufacturers that knowingly and intentionally overcharge 340B hospitals for drugs purchased under the program.
CMS Delays Implementation and Expansion of Bundled Payment Programs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim rule to delay the implementation of its bundled payment program for cardiac care, as well as for expansion of its Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) program.
