CMS issued requests for applications from Medicare Part D plans and state Medicaid agencies to join the voluntary “Better Approaches to Lifestyle and Nutrition for Comprehensive hEalth,” known as BALANCE, model. Under the model, CMS will negotiate with manufacturers on…
Policy Updates
West Virginia lawmakers proposed a bill in January that would require payers covering cancer chemotherapy to also cover scalp cooling. Scalp cooling can help prevent or limit hair loss during chemotherapy. Under HB 4089, along with the mandate, insurers would…
Washington state lawmakers pitched a bill in January that would prompt health insurance carriers on its benefit exchange to contribute to an abortion savings program. SB 6182 seeks to establish a fund to assist those who face barriers to abortion…
Blue Shield of California nonprofit parent company Ascendiun launched a national healthcare reform movement focused on value-based care, cost and tech advancement — and is calling on the government to help — according to a news release. The campaign, called…
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced legislation March 2 that would reverse the Medicaid and ACA changes enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and expand Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing services for…
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Indiana lawmakers have passed legislation banning health insurers from penalizing hospitals for using out-of-network providers, a direct rebuke of Elevance Health in its home state. The bill received final legislative approval on Feb. 26 and now heads to Gov. Mike…
BCBS Tennessee COO Scott Pierce voiced concerns over pending state bills — accusing them of eventually “forcing higher prices” — in Feb. 26 op-ed columns published in the Leaf Chronicle and The Tennessean. Mr. Pierce took issue with four state…
A coalition of more than 60 employer groups, insurers, patient advocacy and labor organizations sent a letter Feb. 24 to the Treasury Department, Labor Department and HHS, urging the Trump administration to crack down on what they describe as systemic…
President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address Feb. 24 to plug TrumpRx, criticize the ACA and call out possible Medicaid fraud. While the president addressed affordability more broadly, immigration, and trade, healthcare took up some of his…
The Alabama Senate has passed legislation that would impose new requirements on insurers that use AI to make prior authorization decisions, including a mandate that any decision to deny a request must be made by a physician or other qualified…