Monday, October 11, 2021: Providers

Smaller hospitals, especially in rural areas, are struggling to comply with the hospital price transparency rule. While large systems have the means to work companies such as Epic Systems and Cerner to organize claims and prices, smaller hospitals have a harder time...

Monday, October 11, 2021: Payers

The CMS released new data showing that nearly four times as many Medicare Advantage (MA) plans scored the highest quality rating possible for 2022 as compared with the year before. Seventy-four MA plans with prescription drug coverage earned five out of five stars, up...

Monday, October 11, 2021: Life Sciences

Merck & Co. and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP said they asked the FDA to authorize their COVID-19 antiviral pill, which curbed hospitalizations and deaths in a late-stage study. According to Merck CEO Robert Davis, the “extraordinary impact of this pandemic...

Monday, October 11, 2021: D.C. News

Congressional Democrats are weighing changes to their signature drug pricing proposal in an effort to win over moderates. The changes include getting rid of a proposed cap on prices linked to the prices paid in other countries. Representative Scott Peters, one of the...

Friday, October 8, 2021: Providers

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) questioned if the medically underserved area (MUA) is precise enough to identify safety net providers that need more help. An analysis from the group found that 18 percent of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries...