Medicare
Medicare Part B enrollees to get $90 payments, Trump says| STAT
President Donald Trump is promising more payments to voters just ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections — this time, to more than 20 million seniors, giving them $90 each to help pay for Medicare premiums. The announcement, made late Friday night by Trump on social media, comes after the president last month said about […]
Trump’s final GLOBE rule will save Medicare much less money
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration published a final rule aimed at lowering Medicare prices for drugs administered in doctor offices. It applies to only four companies. The Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing, or GLOBE, is one of two mandatory pilot programs that are part of President Trump’s plan to get drugmakers to lower prices […]
Medicare proposes to reduce hospital reimbursement for 340 billion drugs
Tara covers health care stories. His stories focus on hospitals, doctors, and how their business practices affect patients, especially when private equity gets involved. She also writes about health insurance and ideas for improving our failing health care system. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70. Medicare wants to cut payments to hospitals for […]
Trump decides to demand lower drug prices under Medicare
You’re reading the web edition of DC Diagnosis, STAT’s biweekly newsletter on health and medicine policy and politics. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The NIH director started the Pete & Bobby fitness challenge, but I didn’t see Jay Bhattacharya doing pull-ups. And you can decide what you […]
New Medicare Advantage proposal would create a $13 billion windfall for insurers
Bob Herman covers health insurance, government programs, hospitals, doctors and other providers, describing how money influences these companies and shapes what we all pay for care. He is also the author of the Health Care Inc. newsletter. You can reach Bob on Signal at bobjherman.09. Medicare Advantage insurers received a Thanksgiving gift, as President Trump’s […]
Trump Administration Joins Medicare Drug Negotiations
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday celebrated drug price reductions it achieved through a program created by Democrats — despite Republicans’ long-standing antipathy toward the policy. The Inflation Reduction Act, a 2022 law supported only by Democrats and signed into law by then-President Biden, allowed the Trump administration to obtain lower prices on 15 […]
Medicare Officially Cuts Payments for Outpatient Surgeries and Procedures
Tara Bannow covers hospitals, providers and insurers. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70. Medicare on Friday followed through on its earlier proposal to reduce payment for surgeries, outpatient procedures and other services that it says can be made more efficient starting in 2026. This controversial decision represents a significant change in the pricing […]
Medicare Coverage of Major Pain Procedures May End
One in five Americans with chronic pain could soon lose access to evidence-based interventions that have been around for decades. Impending changes in Medicare coverage threaten access to local anesthetic blockade or “peripheral nerve block” procedures. Medicare administrative providers across the country have recently proposed eliminating coverage of these minimally invasive, non-opioid treatment options for […]
CMS reverses pause on Medicare physician payments amid shutdown | STATUS
Tara Bannow covers hospitals, providers and insurers. You can reach Tara on Signal at tarabannow.70. Update: This story has been updated to show that CMS has reversed its previous statement that it would suspend all Medicare payments to doctors. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Wednesday evening that it would not suspend all […]
Court rules against Novo Nordisk on Medicare price negotiations
A federal appeals court has unanimously rejected Novo Nordisk’s challenge to Medicare’s drug price negotiation program, a ruling that will allow the government to group products containing the same ingredient together for the purpose of choosing which drugs to negotiate. The pharmaceutical industry is on a losing streak on this issue, at least in the […]