Tag: cost
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Analysis: Pulling Back Curtain on Hospital Prices Adds New Wrinkle in Cost Control
As President Donald Trump was fighting with Congress over the shutdown and funding for a border wall, his administration implemented a new rule that could be a game changer for health care. Starting this month, hospitals must publicly reveal the contents of their master price lists — called “chargemasters” — online. These are the prices that most…
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What Can Physicians Charge for Medical Records?
The State of Alabama Board of Medical Examiners amended its rules that govern the fees physicians may charge to provide patients with copies of their medical records.2 The rules are set forth in Section 540-X-9-.10(2) of the Alabama Administrative Code, and the new rules became effective April 13, 2018. Here are the key dos and…
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Judge Rejects Bid to Revive ACA Subsidies
A federal judge has denied several states’ attempt to compel the Trump administration to continue paying cost-sharing reduction payments. Attorney generals from 18 states and the District of Columbia had filed a motion in the U.S. District Court seeking a temporary injunction that would reinstate the payments, which the administration decided to end earlier this…
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Tentative Bipartisan Deal Reached to Restore CSR Payments
Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate reached a bipartisan deal “in principle” to restore Obamacare cost-sharing reduction payments for two years in exchange for more state flexibility in the health care act. The proposed plan would also restore more than $100 million in funding for health care outreach. The bipartisan bill gained momentum later in…
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Congress Squares Off Over Drug Pricing and a Controversial Drug Discount Program
House Democrats are calling foul on Republican assertions that cuts to a little-known discount drug program will eventually reduce skyrocketing drug prices. At a hearing Tuesday, Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) said high drug prices should be investigated separately from the focus on oversight of the drug discount program, known as 340B. “I think we need…