ONE-ON-ONE WITH TRUMP’S MEDICARE AND MEDICAID CHIEF SEEMA VERMA
By Sarah Varney Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, sat down for a rare one-on-one interview with Kaiser Health News senior correspondent Sarah Varney. They discussed her views on President Donald Trump’s plan for sustaining public health insurance programs, how the administration would respond if Obamacare
REDUCE HEALTH COSTS BY NURTURING THE SICKEST? A MUCH-TOUTED IDEA DISAPPOINTS
By Dan Gorenstein and Leslie Walker Improving health and lowering costs for the sickest and most expensive patients in America is a dream harder to realize than many health care leaders had hoped, according to a study published Jan.8 by the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers tested whether pairing frequently hospitalized
FUJIFILM PLANS TO ACQUIRE HITACHI’S MEDICAL IMAGING BUSINESS
Fujifilm is planning to acquire Hitachi’s medical imaging business in hopes of competing with larger global rivals in the space, according to a Dec. 18 report in Nikkei Asian Review. The purchase of the division could run just north of $1.55 billion, estimates the Review, and is expected to place
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT STRIKES DOWN PORTION OF OBAMACARE
By Julie Rovner A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans dealt another blow to the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, agreeing with a lower-court judge that the portion of the health law requiring most people to have coverage is unconstitutional now that Congress has eliminated the tax penalty that
ANALYSIS: IN MEDICAL BILLING, FRAUDULENT CHARGES WEIRDLY PASS AS LEGAL
By Elisabeth Rosenthal Much of what we accept as legal in medical billing would be regarded as fraud in any other sector. I have been circling around this conclusion for the past five years, as I’ve listened to patients’ stories while covering health care as a journalist and author. Now, after
CMS VERMA ATTACKS CRITICS OF MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENT, PUSHES FOR TIGHTER ELIGIBILITY
By Phil Galewitz Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, Nov. 12 sharply attacked critics of her plan to force some Medicaid enrollees to work, a policy that led to thousands of people losing coverage in Arkansas. “We cannot allow those who prefer the status quo to weaponize the legal
NOTHING BUT NET: MARK CUBAN LOOKING FOR NEW WAY TO PAY FOR HEALTHCARE
Dallas Maverick basketball owner Mark Cuban surprised attendees at the HLTH conference in Las Vegas in October with a thoughtful approach to a new business model to pay for healthcare. Serial investor, TV personality and Dallas Mavericks’ owner Cuban wants to use his own efforts to replace many of the core
BREAKING NEWS: Purdue Pharma reaches $12B settlement for OxyContin role in opioid epidemic
BREAKING NEWS: OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has tentatively reached a settlement with more than 2,000 cities and counties, as well as with 23 state attorneys general who sued the company over its alleged role in the U.S. opioid epidemic. Under the proposed deal, the Sackler family — which owns
TRUMP’S‘PHENOMENAL’ HEALTH PLAN: WHAT MIGHT THAT LOOK LIKE?
By Julia Appleby While many Capitol Hill Republicans want to avoid a repeat of the Affordable Care Act repeal debate, President Donald Trump keeps promising a health plan that will be “phenomenal” and make the GOP “the party of health care.” Last month, Medicare chief Seema Verma said, “We’re actively
PHARMA CASH ROLLS INTO CONGRESS TO DEFEND AN EMBATTLED INDUSTRY
By Emmarie Huetteman, Jay Hancock and Elizabeth Lucas In the heat of the most ferocious battle over drug prices in years, pharmaceutical companies are showering U.S. senators with campaign cash as sweeping legislation heads toward the floor. In the first six months of this year alone, political action