Cost and Quality

Latest California Healthline Stories

Hospitals Chafe Under Medicare’s New Payment Rule For Off-Campus Clinics

Under the rule that took effect this year, Medicare will lower payments for clinic visits performed at hospital-owned facilities to a rate that is equivalent to what it pays an independent doctor. Federal officials expect the move will save the government $380 million this year.

As Syphilis Invades Rural America, A Fraying Health Safety Net Is Failing To Stop It

Syphilis is spreading from big cities into rural counties across the Midwest and West. One Missouri clinic has seen more than six times as many cases in the first few months of 2019 compared with the same period last year. Communities grappling with budget cuts and crumbling public health infrastructure also lack experience in fighting the disease.

The Blame Game: Everyone And No One Is Raising Insulin Prices

During Wednesday’s House subcommittee hearing on insulin price hikes, drug makers and benefits managers pointed fingers at each other for the last decade’s 300% price increase, frustrating congressional representatives.

Can Someone Tell Me What A PBM Does?

The Senate Finance Committee’s third drug-pricing hearing focused on pharmacy benefit managers, and was more of a fact-finding mission on how these companies operate than a debate about policy proposals.