Health Headlines for Wednesday, April 25
Hospitals To Be Required To Post Prices Online As Part Of CMS Push To Increase Transparency
Kaiser Health News
The price lists may still be confusing to consumers, though, because standard rates are like list prices and don’t reflect what insurers and government programs pay.
Medicare to require hospitals to post prices online
PBS News Hour
Medicare will require hospitals to post their standard prices online and make electronic medical records more readily available to patients, officials said Tuesday.
CMS seeks to allow doctors to bill patients directly
Modern Healthcare
The CMS is planning to launch a new pay model that would allow Medicare beneficiaries to contract directly with physicians.
This engineered painkiller works like an opioid but isn’t addictive in animal tests
Los Angeles Times
Sometimes forgotten in the spiraling U.S. crisis of opiate abuse is a clinical fact about narcotic pain medications: addiction is basically an unwanted side effect of drugs that are highly effective at blunting pain.
Health insurer Centene cuts 2018 forecast after delays in closing Fidelis acquisition
CNBC
Health insurer Centene has been aggressive in using acquisitions to grow its Medicaid and Obamacare exchange footprint, but the delay in closing a key deal and extra regulatory costs associated with its approval forced the health insurer to lower its forecast for 2018.