Plus, MACPAC presses for states to have power to restrict Medicaid coverage of some drugs

This Week

Mar 25, 2023

DOJ, state attorneys general drop appeal to UnitedHealth-Change Healthcare deal ruling


#FierceMadness: Feinberg, Faulkner advance to Sweet 16 after tight matchups


MACPAC calls for states to have power to restrict Medicaid coverage of some accelerated approval drugs - Robert King

 

Featured

DOJ, state attorneys general drop appeal to UnitedHealth-Change Healthcare deal ruling

After several months without any official word, the federal government and several states have called off plans to appeal a judge's ruling that allowed UnitedHealth Group to close its acquisition of Change Healthcare.
 

Top Stories

#FierceMadness: Feinberg, Faulkner advance to Sweet 16 after tight matchups

The NCAA basketball tournament is officially underway, and that means the Fierce Healthcare team is back with another bracket competition as well.

MACPAC calls for states to have power to restrict Medicaid coverage of some accelerated approval drugs

States should have the power to restrict Medicaid coverage of drugs cleared via the FDA's accelerated approval pathway just like in Medicare, a new MACPAC report said.

Microsoft's Nuance integrates OpenAI's GPT-4 into voice-enabled medical scribe software

Nuance says the new application, DAX Express, is the first fully automated clinical documentation application to combine conversational and ambient AI with the advanced reasoning and natural language capabilities of OpenAI’s GPT-4.

Google launches Open Health Stack for app developers, unveils new AI partnerships

Google continues to build out its health-related initiatives leveraging artificial intelligence to help consumers find information on internet searches, advance language-generating tech and offer new tools for developers to build health apps.

Elizabeth Warren pushes FTC to 'carefully scrutinize' CVS-Oak Street deal

A top progressive senator is urging the Federal Trade Commission to take a closer look at CVS Health's acquisition of Oak Street Health.

Cleveland Clinic, IBM unveil first quantum computer dedicated to biomedical research

Two years after announcing a 10-year tech partnership, Cleveland Clinic and IBM unveiled the IBM-managed quantum computer installed on-site to accelerate healthcare research.

House lawmakers seek to ban spread pricing in Medicaid in latest PBM reform effort

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers reintroduced legislation that would ban pharmacy benefit manager spread pricing in Medicaid managed care, the latest reform effort being touted by Congress.

CMS ruling paves way for virtual reality companies to obtain reimbursement from payers

CMS' approval of a device that the makers say helps relieve chronic lower back pain might pave the way for virtual reality companies to be reimbursed for products.

Here are the 20 highest paid specialties in 2022 as average physician pay drops 2.4%: Doximity

Average physician pay fell by 2.4% from 2021 to 2022, according to Doximity data. Economic pressures like inflation and Medicare payment cuts are leading many doctors to pursue supplemental side gigs.
 
Fierce podcasts

Don't miss an episode

'Podnosis': The importance of nuanced care for neurodivergent adults, and a lawyer's fight in the opioid crisis

This week on "Podnosis," we discuss the importance of nuanced care for neurodivergent adults, given that 20% of the world's population is neurodivergent. We also discuss the landmark $10 billion agreement to settle with CVS and Walgreens and how cases like this can force change in the healthcare industry.
 

Resources

eBook

The Change Healthcare 2022 Revenue Cycle Denials Index

The Change Healthcare 2022 Revenue Cycle Denials Index provides a review of national medical claim denial trends, with strategies to help decrease denial rates.
eBook

Humanizing Revenue Cycle Management

See how over 90% of healthcare organizations have seen improvements to business-critical metrics after working to make RCM more patient-focused
Research

Interoperability: Why It’s Critical to Health Plans

Learn how interoperability and digital transformation can create new opportunities for health plans far beyond regulatory requirements.
 

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