Last Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill ahead of the Christmas deadline. The legislation includes big news for the healthcare sector, which responded to the bill with mixed feelings.
One major health policy provision in the package extends key Medicare telehealth flexibilities and...
On Tuesday morning, Congressional lawmakers unveiled a titanic omnibus spending bill that includes a 2% cut to Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors, an extension of the telehealth and hospital-at-home waivers, and several other measures that would unwind policies enacted during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) prior to the...Arizona News
The 2022 Midterm Elections have concluded, and while election officials in Arizona continue to tally votes, health industry stakeholders and lobbying officials are already set to work boosting their issues and setting sights on the end-of-the-year budget reconciliation in Congress.
In Arizona, Senate Republicans have selected a new...Arizona News
President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the returns in the 2022 Midterm Election would not provide support that Congressional Democrats would need to pass legislation codifying abortion protections into federal law.
Republicans have taken control in the U.S. House of Representatives by a slight majority, and while Democrats have...National News
Medicare Advantage prior authorization reform has strong support as legislation passed through the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee last Wednesday with unanimous support.
Representative Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), who introduced the Improving Seniors Timely Access to Care Act, said the committee vote sets the stage for a floor vote...National News
Last Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced a reconciliation package that includes drug pricing reforms, a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits enacted under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), in addition to deficit reduction and investments in climate and energy security. Senator Joe...
With cases of COVID-19 back on the rise in Arizona and across the country, epidemiologists and experts are asking if yet another Omicron surge looms on the horizon.
In Arizona, nearly 5,500 new cases were recorded over the past week. There were 41 new deaths related to COVID-19 in Arizona, bringing the state total to 30,320. These...
On Monday, the American Hospital Association (AHA) released a report on the new costs incurred on hospitals and health systems, including the effects of workforce shortages, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic inflation. The report demonstrates a struggle within the American healthcare system to absorb rising costs, even with the relief...
COVID-19 has fallen out of the national spotlight, as cases and death counts fall week-over-week. But there are still challenges present. The threat of the BA.2 variant that caused a post-Omicron resurgence in Europe demonstrated COVID-19 still requires vigilance, effort and funding to overcome.
In Arizona this week, there were 6,840...
The White House is calling on Congress to act swiftly and pass another round of COVID-19 related funding, noting the consequences for testing, vaccination, boosters, monoclonal antibody treatments, surveillance and research in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic will be dire. This week, more than $5 million in Phase 4 Provider...National News
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted unanimously last Thursday to support a recommendation of no change to the physician fee schedule for 2023. Stakeholders and industry advocates immediately responded with frustration.
In 2020, Medicare paid $64.8 billion to 1.3 million clinicians, which was lower overall than...National News
Last Friday, the House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act, the massive social and climate spending bill that carries the promises of the Biden presidential platform. After several months of negotiations between democrats and revisions in the plan for how the bill would get passed, the bill is considerably smaller and...Arizona News
President Joe Biden's spending package, including a massive infrastructure bill and budget reconciliation bill that initially would have cost $3.5 trillion, is being whittled down to $1.9 or even $1.75 trillion total, and healthcare programs are on the chopping block.
The president informed House progressives on Tuesday that...National News
Analysis released by insurance lobbyist America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) shows that adding vision, dental and hearing benefits to traditional Medicare will increase premiums and plans for Medicare Advantage plans unless adjustments to Medicare Advantage payments are included.
Congress is currently considering adding the...National News
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate passed President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure bill which proponents say focuses on the administration's key priorities in addition to investment in roads, bridges, airports and waterways, for which $1 trillion was allotted. Immediately after passing with a thin majority, Democrats began discussing budget...
