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

Trump Sets Deadline for New Healthcare Plan

President Donald Trump has requested a new plan to provide a solution for skyrocketing health insurance premiums and an alternative to the Affordable Care Act by January 30. The president has repeatedly suggested "sending money directly to consumers" as an alternative to the ACA enhanced premium tax credit subsidies expiring at the...
CMS Rules

Medicare Premiums Set to Increase 10% in 2026

Last Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles and the 2026 Medicare Part D Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts. This included an announcement that traditional Medicare premiums would rise 10% year-over-year. The Medicare Part B premium, which...
Rural Hospitals Brace for Medicaid Cut Impact Arizona News

Rural Hospitals Brace for Medicaid Cut Impact

Across the country and in Arizona, hospitals both urban and rural are preparing for Medicaid cuts, which are anticipated to significantly compromise the delivery of care for safety net providers. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, is projected to reduce federal spending on the Medicaid program by $900...
CMS Rules

CMS Issues Guidance on Provider Tax Limits

Late last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance on how it intends to implement restrictions on Medicaid provider taxes, as required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Donald Trump earlier this year. The guidance outlines a transition timeline for states to...

AHCCCS Posts Amended Rules for DDD Cuts

Last month, Governor Katie Hobbs intervened to pause the implementation of new Medicaid rules to assess the hours of service for Arizona children with developmental disabilities. Last week, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) posted new, amended rules through an emergency rulemaking process. The rule arises out of...
Arizona News

Kennedy to Visit AZ Amid Measles Outbreak, Vaccine Reformulation

Ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Trump administration appears to be weighing major changes to vaccine composition. Also, as the measles outbreak in Arizona grows to the second largest of its kind this year, Health and Human...

Oak Street and Optum Health Struggle to Inspire Confidence

Oak Street Health, the Medicare-focused primary care chain owned by CVS Health continues to grapple with rising medical costs. Optum Health is similarly fighting market challenges to establish UnitedHealth's care delivery arm in a volatile provider market. This week, Oak Street announced that it would cut 219 jobs in restructuring...

Congressional Republicans Mull ACA Subsidy Alternatives

President Donald Trump has ordered Congress to forgo the promised vote on extending ACA subsidies that convinced eight Senate Democrats to vote to end the government shutdown last week. Instead, the president has proposed sending subsidy money "directly to consumers," as Republicans rush to create a plan that could meet that...
Arizona News

Senate Dems Defect to End Government Shutdown

Eight Senate Democrats defected to end the government shutdown without a deal to restore ACA premium subsidies, leaving many Americans with tough choices as the ACA open enrollment period rolls on. The shutdown continued for more than a month after Democrats held out to renew the tax credit subsidies offered to health insurers in...
Trump Champions Deal with Novo, Lilly for Weight Loss Drug Price Cut National News

Trump Champions Deal with Novo, Lilly for Weight Loss Drug Price Cut

Last week, President Donald Trump announced agreements with pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to reduce the cost of brand-name GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and expand coverage to Medicare beneficiaries. The deal essentially trades high, customer-limiting prices for volume through access to the Medicare market. In exchange,...

FDA Announces It Will Remove Black Box Warnings on Hormone Therapy for Menopause

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it would reverse a 2003 decision to put health warnings on hormone therapy products for menopausal women. Dr. Marty Makary, FDA Commissioner, made the announcement Monday, saying that the potential health benefits outweigh the risks that require the label. STAT explains that the...
Arizona News

House Democrats Move to Block WISeR Model

House Democrats have introduced legislation that would block the Trump administration's plan to use AI to implement prior authorization in traditional Medicare. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) model earlier this year for testing in six states,...
CMS Rules

CMS Announces GENEROUS Model, MFN Drug Pricing for Medicaid

Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new voluntary drug pricing model for Medicaid programs called GENErating Cost Reductions fOr U.S. Medicaid (GENEROUS). The awkward acronym is directly from CMS. The GENEROUS model aims to allow state Medicaid programs to purchase drugs at lower costs, and will...
CMS Rules

CMS Finalizes 2026 Physician Fee Schedule, Changes Telehealth Rules & MSSP

Last Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule for the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The rule includes a 2.5% pay boost for physicians but creates a 2.5% reduction for 7,700 billing codes for services. It also makes changes to telehealth reimbursement and the Medicare Shared Savings...
Arizona News

Gov. Hobbs Announces GovRx

This week, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs announced an initiative with the Arizona Department of Health Services to provide Arizonans with a card that could help them save money on prescription drugs. The card is the culmination of an August 6 executive order aimed at lowering drug prices. The card will offer an 18% discount for named...
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