The Senate Finance Committee will hold the hearing for Dr. Mehmet Oz's nomination for the position of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator on Friday, March 14.
The highly-anticipated hearing comes a month after the...
The measles outbreak in West Texas has now spread to a third state and experts believe the scope of the outbreak is much greater than reported. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., continues to downplay the role of vaccinations in stemming measles outbreaks.
As of Tuesday, the Texas Department of Health...
Citrus Heights Respiratory and Rehabilitation, a 204-bed skilled nursing facility, and Springdale Village Post Acute, a 122-bed skilled nursing facility, both located in Mesa, are now part of the Ensign Group. According to a recent industry report, SNF bed prices have dropped year over year from $97,700 to $83,800 in 2024 - way below the...National News
Two parallel reports, one focusing on Medicaid provider fraud and patient abuse or neglect, and the other targeting Medicaid state eligibility rules, provide readers with data based on annual 2024 data and case outcomes as well as estimates of eligibility fraud based on infrequent Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) audits.
The...Arizona News
This week, major hospital systems, including CommonSpirit Health and Community Health Systems, filed a wave of antitrust lawsuits against Elevance Health, Health Care Service Corp., and other Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ). The providers have opted out of the $2.8 billion antitrust...Arizona Comings & Goings
Sara Salek, MD is now the chief medical officer (CMO) for Roya Health and the medical director of children’s services at Copa Health. She was formerly the CMO of AHCCCS.Arizona News
Last Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a budget blueprint that includes $880 billion in spending cuts for programs overseen by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. While the expectation is that cuts will impact Medicaid, there is little specificity on what they would mean for the program and the shape of the...National News
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is undergoing a continued shakeup since Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. was confirmed as Secretary and the influence of Elon Musk's advisory "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) task force and unclear guidance from the Trump administration creates conflicts between lifetime agency...Arizona News
Subsidies for health insurance plans through enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire by the end of the year, and new studies show the change will have major economic ramifications across the country, including Arizona.
Since they were authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the enhanced subsidies lowered monthly...National News
Last Friday, scientists studying LGBTQ health received notice from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that their ongoing federal grants were terminated.
Researchers have had to deal with freezes and delays in funding for their biomedical research since President Donald Trump took office, but the termination of existing grants is...Arizona News
The West Texas measles outbreak has risen to 159 cases with 22 hospitalizations. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. published a public statement on the agency's efforts to assist controlling the outbreak, including support for vaccination programs.
The outbreak that began in January has spread from Gaines...Arizona News
Last week, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury and Labor that would create an enforcement mechanism for the 2019 executive order on hospital price transparency.
The executive order modifies the demands of the original 2019 directive, including an...CMS Rules
A new rule published in the Federal Register ends public comment on the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) policies for benefits, contracts and grants within the agency. The rule could severely impair public transparency into policymaking at the agency.
HHS will instead comply with the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946...White Papers, E books, Reports and more
Although this presentation by the MedPAC Commission is informational only and includes no recommendations to Congress, it does include a variety of data and details on the 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) market, including enrollment totals, vertical integration trends, payment policies and coding intensity changes year-over-year within MA...Arizona News
This 1.2-million-square-foot expansion on the Mayo Clinic Arizona campus in Phoenix includes the construction of a new procedural building, expansion of the Mayo Clinic Specialty Building, the integration of leading-edge technology, the addition of 11 new operating rooms and two new patient units supporting 48 additional beds.
Richard...
The report highlights how certain Medicare Advantage plans are creating growing challenges for rural hospitals, impacting patient care and financial sustainability.
Medicare Advantage payers often reimburse hospitals below cost, delay or deny crucial payments, and impose onerous and unnecessary administrative burdens that prevent or...
While telehealth usage among Medicare beneficiaries has declined since the pandemic peak, more than 10% of traditional Medicare enrollees used virtual care in 2023. Providers, patients, and digital health stakeholders are urging federal lawmakers to ensure continued Medicare reimbursement for telehealth before current flexibilities...
Casey Osborne is now the lead director over value-based care strategy and business development at Aetna, a CVS Health Company. He was formerly the VP of value-based strategy for Equality Health after serving in leadership roles at Cigna and Phoenix Children’s Hospital....
Karlynne Martin is the new director of new market development and contracting for Verda Healthcare, a new MA plan slated to enter the Arizona market in 2026.
Martin was formerly the director for network contracting and strategy for Arizona Priority Care....
Christian H. León is now the regional market president and chief commercial officer at IntraCare. He was formerly president of Equality Health Network....
Tom Grote has retired as the CEO of Banner|Aetna after eight years leading the joint venture health insurance company. His career included 30 years at Aetna.
Congratulations Tom!...
Tina Campas is now the senior director of patient access at HonorHealth. She was previously the executive director of client services for Elevate Patient Financial Solutions.
Theresa Costales,MD became the chief medical officer for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) in January 2025. Costales comes from Connections Health Solutions as Arizona Medical Director overseeing clinical operations at the Urgent Psychiatric Center in Phoenix and the Crisis Response Center in Tucson, for several...
Ahead of expected federal cuts to the Medicaid program, the Urban Institute has published a study that demonstrates that loss of federal funding means that people will lose health coverage.
The study, "Reducing Federal Support for Medicaid Expansion Would Shift Costs to States and Likely Result in Coverage Losses" analyzed the impacts...
Last Friday, UnitedHealth Group stock took a major hit after reports that the Department of Justice is investigating its business practices.
The company weathered a difficult year after facing a massive cyberattack a year ago at its subsidiary Change Healthcare and the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson late last...
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