Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL After FDA commissioner departure, drug center head is out AHA Statement on House Health Subcommittee Hearing Examining Physician Fees, Payment Reforms AMA taps new COO from UnitedHealth Amid legal dispute, Leapfrog debuts ‘full transparency’ badges CMS finalizes ACA marketplace overhaul for 2027: 6 notes CMS pauses hospice, home health Medicare enrollments in fraud... READ MORE

On May 1, 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) posted Advisory Opinion 26-09 (“AO 26-09”), which opines on a pediatric dental and orthodontic service provider’s (“Requestor’s”) proposal to offer free orthodontic treatment for one patient per year at each of Requestor’s three practice locations (the “Proposed Arrangement”).... READ MORE

NATIONAL 5 CMS updates shaping outpatient care in 2026 AHA letter to editor responds to op-ed claiming nonprofit hospitals do not meet community benefit obligations CMS pauses home health, hospice provider enrollment into Medicare CMS taps 30 healthcare organizations for prior authorization initiative FDA chief to depart after Trump signed off on ousting him... READ MORE

On April 14, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2027 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (“IPPS”) Proposed Rule (the “Proposed Rule”), which can be found here. Among other things, the Proposed Rule would make updates to Graduate Medical Education (“GME”) policies for teaching hospitals under the Medicare... READ MORE

Indiana Medicaid’s effort to rein in Applied Behavior Analysis (“ABA”) therapy costs has led to a proposed moratorium on provider enrollment. On May 7, 2026, the Indiana Health Coverage Programs (“IHCP”) announced it is seeking approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to implement the statewide provider enrollment moratorium, beginning June... READ MORE

On May 13, 2026, as part of its ongoing effort to address home health and hospice fraud, the Trump administration announced a 6-month moratorium on new Home Health and Hospice enrollment, effective immediately. The federal register notice for home health and hospice is set to be published on May 15, 2026. In general, the... READ MORE

On April 29, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA” or the “Agency”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking stakeholder input on a proposed pilot program evaluating the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) to optimize early-phase clinical trials. The initiative is intended to assess how AI-enabled technologies “can improve efficiency, speed and... READ MORE

On April 28, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) announced additional steps in its ongoing initiative to advance real-time clinical trial approaches, including proof-of-concept studies and a request for information supporting a planned pilot program focused on real-time or near-real-time clinical trial data capture and review (the “Announcement”). FDA Commissioner Marty Makary,... READ MORE

National 6 Joint Commission moves 6 ways hospitals are becoming safer: Leapfrog Agencies warn of agentic AI cybersecurity risks AHA, West Health team to help hospitals with digital transformation CMS launches clinical laboratory fee schedule reporting module for data collection DOJ launches West Coast Health Care Strike Force to target fraud in Arizona, Nevada,... READ MORE

5/14/2026 UPDATE: On May 14, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court extended a stay preserving telehealth access to mifepristone while the Fifth Circuit considers a challenge to regulations permitting pharmacies, including mail‑order pharmacies, to dispense the drug directly to patients. The order maintains the existing regulatory framework for mifepristone, allowing prescribing via telehealth and dispensing... READ MORE