Health Policy Weekly Archive

August 25, 2023

CMS issues draft guidance for Part D’s “smoothing mechanism”

August 18, 2023

Biden Administration fights back against IRA lawsuits

August 11, 2023

Societal perspective in value assessment

June 3, 2022

If a political announcement happens in May, will it make a sound? Better to wait until October: 2022 Part B premiums stay put

June 24, 2022

PET Sounds: Wouldn’t it be nice (if they weren’t needed)

June 17, 2022

9-0 decision on 340B cuts. What to order for lunch isn’t that unanimous

June 10, 2022

Like watching a cousin you don’t always like (but he’s still family) get in trouble: FTC continues inquiry into PBM business practices

May 6, 2022

What happens at the pharmacy counter doesn’t stay at the pharmacy counter: DIR fees reform

May 20, 2022

If you give a patient copay assistance, best price isn’t along for the ride

April 8, 2022

Turns out the road less taken has way more bumps: CMS finalizes NCD for Alzheimer’s treatments

April 29, 2022

Minding the gap. Ensuring patients can go with the flow

April 22, 2022

Hospitals say IPPS not enough

April 1, 2022

Money that’s what I want. President Biden’s FY 2023 budget

March 25, 2022

Waste not, want not. 10% wastage fine should be tried in school cafeterias

March 18, 2022

Hoop, there it is. Part B premiums may decrease

March 11, 2022

Like a dog with a bone:

Senate hearing on lowering the cost of prescription drugs

November 23, 2020

Things That Come in 4s: Ninja Turtles, Suits in a Deck of Cards, Deadly Horsemen...and Final Rules on a Friday

June 9, 2023

Merck sues US government over Medicare price negotiation 

June 30, 2023

CMS revises guidance on Medicare drug price negotiation

June 23, 2023

CMS announces new coverage pathway for certain Breakthrough Devices 

June 2, 2023

CMS to expand coverage of Alzheimer’s drugs but retain registry requirement 

June 16, 2023

CMS Office of the Actuary releases 2022-2031 national health expenditure projections

May 19, 2023

CMS should learn from ICER’s early patient engagement mistakes

May 12, 2023

Unwinding Medicaid enrollment post-PHE 

April 14, 2023

The tribe has spoken: CMS releases Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule 

March 31, 2023

Prevention is better than a cure, until yesterday 

March 3, 2023

Is ICER a tool? A smokescreen? Both? Plans use of ICER for coverage decisions

March 24, 2023

XTANDI not part of March(-in) Madness 

March 19, 2021

Slaughter-ing pharma M&A?

March 17, 2023

When the dance is over, the jig is up.
Time to get into the MFP guidance 

March 10, 2023

Biden’s budget: Like when a kid asks for a real excavator for their birthday—good to know, it isn’t going to happen 

February 3, 2023

Whenever, wherever we’re meant to be together:
340B win for manufacturers

 

February 24, 2023

Manufacturers got burned by the IRA; now PBMs are back in hot seat

February 17, 2023

How many abbreviations can you stick in an article? HHS’ CMMI puts out FAQ on CMS efforts with CGT and FDA, not related to IRA

February 10, 2023

Running interference on rebate guidance

December 20, 2019

The Wait for the Importation Proposal Is Over: Hallelujah! Holy Cow! Where’s the Tylenol?

December 18, 2020

December 17, 2021

Not on the naughty list: Califf confirmation hearing

December 16, 2022

Summing up this year: PTO plans wrecked by MA/Part D rule

December 13, 2019

Like Sands Through an Hourglass…Legislative Efforts Unlikely To Go Anywhere

MOVE THIS

December 10, 2021

Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future for the Build Back Better Act (BBBA)

December 9, 2022

It’s beginning to look a lot like IRA implementation, everywhere you look

December 6, 2019

Quadfecta: Running Through Commissioners

December 4, 2020

Health Policy Weekly

December 3, 2021

Spending bill funds government into February but does not forestall Medicare sequester cuts

December 2, 2022

340B ADR proposed rule: Breaking the #1 (and #2) rule of Fight Club

November 22, 2019

Plucking Hospitals and Insurers: Transparency Requirements

November 20, 2020

Thankful for Rules, They Keep Things Interesting

November 19, 2021

Cluck is ticking on the Build Back Better Act

November 18, 2022

Healthcare isn’t taxing: CBO looks at employer-sponsored insurance

November 15, 2019

BIO Says, Now Go Away or I Will Taunt You for a Second Time: CMS Releases 2020 Medicare Info

November 13, 2020

Step 1, Gather the Key Ingredients: Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board Announced

November 12, 2021

Doesn’t everyone read legislative text cozy near a fire pit? Status of the Build Back Better Act

November 11, 2022

It always feels like somebody’s watching me: Bring on the GOP oversight

November 8, 2019

When Fri-YAY Becomes What-the-OPPS?

November 6, 2020

SWEET! Impact of Making Insulin “Preventive” for Diabetes

November 5, 2021

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in: Drug pricing provisions

November 4, 2022

Drop it like it’s hot? Rules for everyone

November 1, 2019

Bo Knows Sports. We Know Biosimilars.

October 30, 2020

Are Their True Colors Beautiful Like a Rainbow? Plan Transparency Final Rule Released

October 29, 2021

Abra cadabra. Lobbyists make drug pricing proposals disappear

October 28, 2022

Son, can you play me a memory? Looking back at CMMI proposals

October 25, 2019

Who’s on First, Health Care Is on Second, I Don’t Know Is on Third

October 23, 2020

This, Too, Shall Pass: Election Politics and 2021 Scenario Planning

October 22, 2021

CMMI: Strategic approach more sophisticated than throwing spaghetti at a wall

October 21, 2022

When the best you can say about your work is meh. CMMI model evals

October 18, 2019

Avoiding Prison Is Good: New Proposed Rules Offer Safe Harbor for Stark + Anti-Kickback

October 16, 2020

340B: I Wish I Knew How to Quit You

October 15, 2021

Stars in eyes as open enrollment starts

October 14 2022

CMS plants CEDs in JAMA

October 11, 2019

Avoiding Prison Is Good: New Proposed Rules Offer Safe Harbor for Stark + Anti-Kickback

October 9, 2020

It’s Not Always About You, ACA: The Supreme Court Looks at PBMs

October 8, 2021

Not quite D-feet but clock ticking

October 7, 2022

Not all that goes up comes down: Price increases and spending trends

October 4, 2019

Sometimes the Original Title Is Just More Descriptive: Trump Executive Order

October 2, 2020

Send Us Your Tim Hortons, Your Molson, Your Barenaked Ladies, and Some Statins. Please and Thank You.

October 1, 2021

Like everyone, our best guess uses fortune paper origami. Yes, no, maybe for Congress to pass a multi-trillion dollar reconciliation bill

January 6, 2023

Manufacturers may need additional guidance to ensure consistent ASP calculations

January 27, 2023

No surprises indeed. CMS holds first National Stakeholder Call in 2023

January 20, 2023

How much can you bench? EOM stats

January 13, 2023

Is ICER a tool? A smokescreen? Both?
Plans use of ICER for coverage decisions

 

September 27, 2019

Impeachment: At Least it Made Less News out of Drug Pricing in Congress?

September 25, 2020

Urine It to Win It: Advancing Kidney Health

September 24, 2021

Foot off the gas: Stalling expedited pathway to coverage

September 23, 2022

In a Civil Union: Senators have questions about IRA

September 20, 2019

Like When You Watch the Olympics and Think, Yeah I Could Do That: House-Proposed Drug Bill Could Normalize Drug Pricing Proposals

September 18, 2020

That’s So 2020: a Price-Control Order From a Republican President

September 16, 2022

It’s not enough, it’s never enough:
Medicare provider payment still political

September 13, 2019

Policy by FAQ: Why Bother With Formalities? Coupons Don’t Count Toward OOP

September 11, 2020

IPPS Finally Here. CMS Finalizes MS-DRG for CAR-T Therapy

September 9, 2022

Stopping plan sticky fingers and putting the money where it belongs—with patients

August 27, 2021

A quick update and original research before we take an end-of-summer break

August 21, 2020

P Is for Progress: Kidney Health Initiative Update

August 20, 2021

It’s like when you hear Déjà vu on the radio for the 20th time minus the strawberry ice cream. Drug pricing reform

August 14, 2020

Examining Kamala Harris’ Position on Healthcare

August 12, 2022

A less useful IRA: Drug pricing legislation about to be signed into law

August 7, 2020

OPPS, I Did It Again. CMS Releases MPFS and OPPS Proposed Rules

August 6, 2021

Bats rely on insects and nectar; hospitals rely on IPPS payment increases

August 5, 2022

IPPS time for an NTAP update

July 31, 2020

If You Schedule a Meeting and No One Shows Up, Did It Ever Happen? Drug Pricing Executive Orders

July 30, 2021

Time to discus: FDA approves first interchangeable

July 29, 2022

Fool me once, but fool me twice? Manchin back on Democrat reconciliation bill

July 23, 2021

OPPS, ASC me again? I was distracted with Olympics coverage

July 22, 2022

I like big OPPS and I cannot lie: CY 2023 OPPS proposed rule

July 17, 2020

The (COVID-19 Test) Price Is (Not) Right

July 16, 2021

Anything is popsicle this summer. EO includes drug pricing and importation

July 15, 2022

Like a river float—fun but not really going anywhere: Senate Democrats’ new drug pricing legislation

July 10, 2020

Waiting in the Weeds for You: Democratic Task Force Agrees on Drug-Pricing Platform

July 2, 2021

You can almost feel the finger wag: Biden pushes ahead on ACA changes

July 1, 2022

Here today, gone tomorrow. Back again next year. Oncology Care Model

June 26, 2020

I’ll Have the MRI for $1,500: Judge Upholds Hospital Price Transparency Rule

June 25, 2021

Writing with a dull pencil is pointless: New drug pricing principles

June 19, 2020

Finding Value in Unexpected Places: Happiness in a Late-Day Rule Drop

June 18, 2021

Did Miss Cleo predict this one? ACA upheld

June 12, 2020

Photocopier Toner Companies Suffer Another Blow: Electronic Submissions of HCPCS Applications

June 11, 2021

Is the FDA advisory committee a potted plant?

June 5, 2020

WHO Cares. We All Should, Too

June 4, 2021

President Biden’s budget proposal for FY 2022 is “DOA”

May 29, 2020

Millennium Falcon Not Included: Vaccines Hit Operation Warp Speed

May 21, 2021

PIVOT: HRSA responds to contract pharmacy arrangements under 340B

May 15, 2020

Upsetting the Apple CAR-T: CMS Rules Offer Some Treats (and Some Bruises)

May 14, 2021

It's a light week in health policy news

May 8, 2020

Is Your Homework Finished? Senate Dems Ask About National Strategic Plan

May 7, 2021

A peony saved is a peony earned. March has lions and lambs, April has showers, May brings drug pricing talks

May 1, 2020

Call Me Maybe: Additional Information on Flexibility in Medicare

April 30, 2021

Baby, one more time: Third stimulus package

April 24, 2020

A Half Trillion Here, A Half Trillion There, and Pretty Soon You’re Talking Real Money

April 23, 2021

Who run the world? Girls. HHS nomination update

April 17, 2020

So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance: Opening Up America Again

April 16, 2021

Like the trees, re-leafed about nomination hearing

April 10, 2020

Hopping for a Cure. FDA Accelerates Approval of Possible Coronavirus Treatments

April 9, 2021

In anticipation of some special sauce, (Big) MAC—hold the claim, please

April 3, 2020

CMS Relaxing Regulations to Facilitate COVID-19 Care and Protect Healthcare Workers

March 27, 2020

John Maynard Keynes Would be Beaming

March 26, 2021

A percent not cut is a percent earned

March 20, 2020

Federal Government Continues Actions to Control Spread of Coronavirus

March 12, 2021

The ARP of the deal: COVID relief package signed

March 6, 2020

Wanna Join Our Fans of Fauci Club? Federal Government Coronavirus Response

March 5, 2021

No cost and—bonus—you get an experience that makes you unsure whether to laugh or cry

February 28, 2020

If Part B Ain’t Broke, Maybe Leave It Alone

February 26, 2021

Our quiet days might be over, a new Becerra-iff in town

February 21, 2020

Sweetening the Pie: Revised Definition for “Biologicals” Could Create Competition

February 19, 2021

Judge tells hospitals to slow their roll with the 340B lawsuit

February 18, 2022

McTwists: 340B program stays above the fold

February 14, 2020

Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours: Administration’s 2021 Budget Plan

February 12, 2021

Blowing the lid off Medicaid rebates

February 11, 2022

Congress Burrow(ed) the Build Back Better Act; Biden attempts comeback

February 7, 2020

Was Congress Like This in 1917? SOTU Highlights Trenches

February 5, 2021

Rules, rules, go away, come again another day

February 4, 2022

BOOST: Medicare Advantage plans would get 8% increase

January 31, 2020

A Political Football: If It Looks Like a Block Grant and Acts Like a Block Grant…

January 29, 2021

Anyone else picture the Mutombo finger wag? EO reverses previous policy and looks to expand coverage

January 28, 2022

Focus away from Build Back Better to Pre Pandemic Planning. Cue PTSD

January 24, 2020

Unequal to the Task (This Year): ACA Denied Fast Track

January 22, 2021

Changing of the guard: new administration, new players

January 21, 2022

Money is honey but drugs can improve lives: Insights on Rx spending

January 17, 2020

Can’t Triple Stamp a Double Stamp but Can Keep Challenging ACA

January 15, 2021

There’s always a critic: legal challenge filed against rebate rule

January 14, 2022

And just like that… More barriers to treatment for Alzheimer’s patients

January 10, 2020

Start Me Up: Maryland’s New Prescription Drug Affordability Board Takes Shape

January 7, 2022

Getting back on the horse: Proposed MA/Part D rule

September 17, 2021

If the devil is in the details, this plan is an angel: Administration releases drug pricing proposals

February 25, 2022

The Cat in the Hat says we probably overspent on that.

OIG reports excessive Medicare payment