Melanie MacEachern

Freelance writer with skills and knowledge in healthcare policy, reproductive justice and art history. Skilled administrative assistant. Graduated from University of Michigan.

Author's Posts

National News

UnitedHealthcare CEO Murdered in New York

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed early Wednesday morning in midtown Manhattan in what is being described by the New York Police Department (NYPD) as a "brazen targeted attack." Surveillance video footage shows the gunman approaching...
AMA 2024 Overdose Epidemic Report National News

AMA 2024 Overdose Epidemic Report

This week, the American Medical Association (AMA) published its annual Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force Overdose Epidemic Report. The report covers the overdose epidemic, harm reduction efforts, naloxone access and mortality statistics. It also investigates industry response to the issues surrounding the epidemic and promotes...
National News

Medicare Advantage Market Expansion Expected Under Trump Administration

Medicare Advantage insurers are confident that the second Trump administration will be helpful to their goals for growth and expanding their market share. The MA program is bigger than ever, costing the Medicare program $500 billion for 2024 alone, despite the rise in regulatory enforcement under President Joe Biden. According to STAT...
Nursing Home Staffing Mandate - Republican Lawmakers Seek Repeal National News

Nursing Home Staffing Mandate - Republican Lawmakers Seek Repeal

The nursing home industry appears relieved Donald Trump was re-elected and many industry insiders are anticipating a swift rollback of the Biden administration's controversial nursing home staffing requirement. The nursing home staffing requirement is the only major regulatory change for nursing homes after the death of 200,000...
National News

Medicare Advantage & PDP Market Choices Disrupt 2025 Market

The Medicare Advantage Part D landscape is in flux as insurers reassess their market presence and react to federal regulations. The annual enrollment period (AEP) ends this Saturday, December 7. The AEP includes enrollment in Medicare Advantage Part D plans, standalone Medicare Advantage plans and prescription drug plans (PDPs). Like...
National News

Manhattan Institute Issue Brief: Cutting Medicaid

After a campaign season that was light on healthcare topics like Medicaid, a new issue brief from the Manhattan Institute might signal where Republicans are looking to cut spending for the public payor program. Spending growth is the central issue of the issue brief, and it takes issue with the program's rising expenses in a vacuum....
Arizona News

Trump Administration Expected to Implement Medicaid Reforms

Although the topic of Medicaid was largely left out of both campaigns this election cycle, the incoming Trump administration is expected to make some major policy changes to the safety net health program now covering 69 million Americans. Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are likely bargaining chips to make...
Arizona News

UnitedHealthcare Wins Star Rating Suit, CMS Must Update Medicare.gov

UnitedHealthcare has won its lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) over its star ratings calculations for 2025. The agency must now recalculate its rating and immediately publish a revised score. UnitedHealthcare (UHC) sued in September and petitioned for an expedited ruling so that revised ratings would...
National News

Would Dr. Oz Privatize Medicare?

President-elect Donald Trump elevated television Dr. Mehmet Oz when he nominated the television personality to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), it likely spells good news for private insurers invested in Medicare Advantage (MA). Turns out, Dr. Oz is a major advocate for privatizing...
National News

Trump Nominates RFK Jr. to Lead HHS

President-reelect Donald J. Trump has spent the past week announcing his nominees for his administration's cabinet. Last Thursday, he announced he would appoint environmentalist attorney and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (RFK) to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been a...
National News

Trump Nominates Dr. Oz to Lead CMS

On Tuesday, President-elect Donald J. Trump announced that he would appoint television personality and Medicare-Advantage-For-All proponent Dr. Mehmet Oz to be the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Trump announced that he would nominate the celebrity cardiothoracic surgeon to head up CMS in a...
Arizona News

Change Healthcare Still Recovering from Cybersecurity Attack

This week, Change Healthcare's clearinghouse platform has finally been restored as the outage officially touches nearly a third of all Americans. Change Healthcare's clearinghouse services for health care related billing and payments were backed up following the February ransomware attack that disrupted prescription transfers, claims...
National News

Numerous Resources Tracking the Transition to Value-based Care

The transition to value-based care has been ongoing for years. Although advances have certainly been made over the past decade, many have noticed that the switch is taking quite a while. This week, several experts and organizations weigh in on why the transition is slow, and what could speed it up. Consistently, the leading issues...
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