HHS needs to update strategic national stockpile procedures, GAO report says

Listen to the article 4 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. Dive Brief: The HHS’ current management of the strategic national stockpile and its subsequent relaying of information to Congress is fractured and needs updates to ensure the country is prepared for future public health emergencies, according to a report from the Government […]

America’s Teeth Grinders Are Turning to Botox

America’s Teeth Grinders Are Turning to Botox

With the pinch of a needle, cosmetic dermatologists such as Michele Green can make forehead wrinkles disappear and deep-furrowed crow’s-feet puff back out like yeasted dough. Botox is totally magic, a little unsettling, and very in demand: Green’s New York City practice has been swamped as Americans seek to give themselves a “post-pandemic” glow-up. But these days, many of her […]

Pharmacy benefit managers inflate drug prices and decrease competition while consumers pay the price. Does the FTC have the medicine to fix it? – MedCity News

Pharmacy benefit managers inflate drug prices and decrease competition while consumers pay the price. Does the FTC have the medicine to fix it? – MedCity News

One in four people struggle to afford their medications, and eight in 10 people say the cost of prescriptions is unreasonable. Do we really understand why? The answer: pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. If you’re not in healthcare, you’ve likely never heard of these conglomerates, even though some are in the Fortune 10. They impact consumers by controlling and driving up drug […]

A Home Health Provider Agrees To Pay $22.9 Million In False Claims Act Case

A Home Health Provider Agrees To Pay $22.9 Million In False Claims Act Case

The Oklahoma City-based home health provider Carter Healthcare will pay $22.9 million in order to resolve allegations that it paid physicians to induce referrals of patients that led to false claims to the Medicare and TRICARE programs. “The taxpayer dollars that fund Medicare and Medicaid are meant to support the delivery of health care services most suitable for beneficiaries,” Mike […]

Supreme Court denies Molina’s False Claims Act appeal

Supreme Court denies Molina’s False Claims Act appeal

The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Molina Healthcare that would have ended a False Claims Act lawsuit brought by a former business partner and could have raised the bar for future whistleblower cases. The high court’s decision Tuesday clears the way forward for a whistleblower to pursue his allegations that the Medicaid insurer charged Illinois and […]

New theGrio/KFF Survey Project Examines Diverse Views of Black Voters Heading into 2022 Midterm Election

New theGrio/KFF Survey Project Examines Diverse Views of Black Voters Heading into 2022 Midterm Election

7 in 10 Worry About Voter Suppression Interfering with a Fair and Accurate Count Allen Media Group’s African American-focused news, lifestyle, and entertainment platform theGrio and KFF today released a joint national survey examining the mood and views of Black voters, the only in-depth public survey this election cycle focused exclusively on this group, which has historically been a solid […]

Watchdog says HHS reviews of emergency medicine stockpile ‘did not meet most statutory requirements’

Watchdog says HHS reviews of emergency medicine stockpile ‘did not meet most statutory requirements’

A federal watchdog found that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not meet a number of requirements in maintaining the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) of medical countermeasures. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a review of the SNS’s operating procedures, requirements, inventory and obligatory data. The agency’s report was first issued in August, but was made […]

SCAN creates MA plan for LGBTQ+ seniors through partnership with Included Health – MedCity News

SCAN creates MA plan for LGBTQ+ seniors through partnership with Included Health – MedCity News

About 2.4 million people aged 65 years and older in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+), according to a report by the American Psychological Association. By 2030, that number will likely be even higher. Yet, the LGBTQ+ community experiences unique health challenges, including discrimination against their sexual orientation and gender identity, the same report said. […]

CT, MRI prices skewed by ‘flawed’ employer-backed insurance: study

CT, MRI prices skewed by ‘flawed’ employer-backed insurance: study

There is more than a 10-fold gap between the highest and lowest negotiated price for common imaging services provided at the same hospital, new research shows. The average maximum negotiated price between hospitals and insurance companies for 13 imaging services analyzed was 3.8 times more than the average minimum negotiated price in the same hospital, according to an analysis of data […]