The Federal Trade Commission has taken steps to sanction online counseling service BetterHelp, Inc. which it says shared sensitive healthcare data inappropriately. This is the latest move by the FTC to crack down on…
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More than a decade after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, U.S. healthcare costs continue to spiral at rates unseen in the rest of the developed world.
But while healthcare costs overall are…
By Jill McKeon March 06, 2023 – US Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the Upholding Protections for Health and Online Location Data (UPHOLD) Privacy Act, aimed at preventing the…
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Humana announced last week that it will exit the Employer Group Commercial Medical Products business, which includes fully insured plans, self-funded plans and Federal Employee Health Benefit plans. But is this the right move…
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By Hannah Nelson
February 28, 2023 – Two new proposed rules from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) aim to advance health information exchange (HIE) interoperability and streamline prior authorization processes.
The proposed…
Although 2022 has brought on a greater sense of normalcy, the past few years have distracted us from one of the most overlooked epidemics plaguing healthcare: prescription drug abuse.
Before Covid-19 diverted attention away from this problem, President Trump signed on to the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018, instating sweeping legislation for initiatives to address the opioid epidemic. The bill, among other initiatives, requires electronic prescriptions for controlled substances (EPCS) for any covered part D drug. Although the official start of the mandate was delayed two years to January 1, 2023, the importance of this federal intervention cannot be…
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) took a hit from lawmakers during a Thursday hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee, with some questioning why the drug middlemen are even necessary.
“The way I see the situation on PBMs, I don’t know why the hell they even exist,” said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana. “They were set up with all the right reasons … But what I see them doing in my state, I don’t think the consumer gets much benefit and they’re shutting down small businesses on main street right and left and those are called our local neighborhood pharmacies.” The hearing discussed how…
The Federal Trade Commission has cited telehealth and prescription drug discount provider GoodRx for sharing sensitive consumer health data with several advertising platforms, in violation of its own privacy promises to consumers.
The agency has filed a proposed order demanding that GoodRx pay $1.5 million in civil penalties for failing to let consumers know about unauthorized disclosures of its data to a list of advertiser platforms. including Facebook and Google.
The company, which is based in California, operates a digital health platform offering prescription drug discounts, telehealth visits and other health services. It captures a wide range of data from consumers who use…
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) unveiled three new models Tuesday that will be tested by the CMS Innovation Center and aim to lower prescription drug costs. The models include access to $2 generic drugs.
The news is in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order issued in October, which directed HHS to find ways to lower prescription drug costs and improve access to drug therapies for those enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid health plans. The models are meant to build on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for…
Every state but Missouri has operated a statewide prescription drug monitoring program for years. Now, the Show-Me state has come around to see the value of more advanced tracking controlled substances among registered providers.WHY IT MATTERS
Bamboo Health, which develops technologies for behavioral health and substance use disorders, says it will transition the existing Saint Louis County PDMP, which covers about 85% of the state, to a new statewide PDMP – without a complicated data migration process.
The state of Missouri will pay $1.4 million to operate Missouri’s new statewide PDMP, which will absorb the county’s data, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
St….
