CMS Releases 2026 PFS Proposed Rule
CMS 2026 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule. The 60-day comment period for the CY 2026 PFS proposed rule (CMS-1832 P) ends on September 12, 2025.
Digesting Trump’s Big Budget Law
From KFF Health News Network – Their latest podcast, What the Health, As he had wanted, President Donald Trump signed his big budget bill into a big budget law in a White House ceremony on July 4, cementing, among other things, billions of dollars in cuts to health programs such as Medicaid.
CMS Launches New Model to Target Wasteful, Inappropriate Services in Original Medicare
Through the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction (WISeR) Model, CMS will partner with companies specializing in enhanced technologies to test ways to provide an improved and expedited prior authorization process relative to Original Medicare’s existing processes, helping patients and providers avoid unnecessary or inappropriate care and safeguarding federal taxpayer dollars.
Live From Aspen — Governors and an HHS Secretary Sound Off
From KFF Health News Network – Their latest podcast, What the Health, Speaking before a live audience on June 23 at Aspen Ideas: Health in Colorado, three former governors — one of whom also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — discussed what it would take to make the nation’s health care system run more smoothly.
RFK Jr. Upends Vaccine Policy, After Promising He Wouldn’t
From KFF Health News Network – Their latest podcast, What the Health, After explicitly promising senators during his confirmation hearing that he would not interfere in scientific policy over which Americans should receive which vaccines, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week fired every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices…
The Dismantling of HHS
From KFF Health News Network – Their latest podcast, What the Health, A week into the reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services announced by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the scope of the staff cuts and program cutbacks is starting to become clear.
Manufacturer Participation in Second Cycle of Medicare Drug Price Negotiation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that agreements have been signed with manufacturers of the 15 drugs covered under Medicare Part D selected for the second cycle of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program.
15 Additional Drugs Selected for Medicare Drug Price Negotiations
HHS announces 15 additional drugs selected for Medicare Drug Price Negotiations in continued effort to lower prescription drug costs for seniors. Building on the success of the first round of negotiations, the aim is to lower prices for some more of the costliest prescription drugs.
MSSP Continues to Deliver Meaningful Savings and High-Quality Health Care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that the Medicare Shared Savings Program continues to save Medicare money while supporting high-quality care. The Shared Savings Program yielded more than $2.1 billion in net savings in 2023 — the largest savings in the Shared Savings Program’s history.
AMA to CMS: Be Transparent About Impact of Medicare Cuts
Facing a fifth consecutive year of Medicare payment reductions, the American Medical Association issued a clarion call to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, urging the agency to be fully transparent about the impact of these payment cuts on physicians and patients.
Physician Payment Rule to Drive Whole-Person Care
The HHS through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, proposed new policies in the calendar year 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule to advance health equity and support whole-person care.
SCOTUS Ruling Strips Power From Federal Health Agencies
From KFF Health News Network – Their latest podcast, What the Health, In what will certainly be remembered as a landmark decision, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority recently overruled a 40-year-old legal precedent that required judges in most cases to yield to the expertise of federal agencies.
