How specialty drugs are remaking healthcare and driving up costs
This article has been updated with news of additional policies announced by the Trump administration. Accelerating healthcare costs have less to do with traditional hospital and physician services than with surging drug spending, an industry expert says. “When we can’t really see any trends in healthcare utilization increasing, the only thing that consistently shows up…
Senate hearing on 340B reflects congressional interest in altering the program
A leading healthcare policymaker in Congress sounds intent on modifying the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), led a 340B-focused hearing Oct. 23 during which he called for changes. “If this committee is serious about making healthcare more affordable, about making…
The healthcare payroll hit stemming from termination of the Affordable Care Act enhanced subsidies
Healthcare providers would be at risk of losing more than 150,000 jobs in 2026 if the higher Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace subsidies expire at the end of this year, according to a new analysis. In the analysis published by the Commonwealth Fund, researchers used economic modeling to project that providers would lose 154,000 jobs…
Hospital merger tally increases as organizations come to grips with the policy environment
Hospital merger-and-acquisition (M&A) activity accelerated in Q3 2025, indicating that executive teams are getting a handle on the prospective impact of major healthcare policies. “Now that the One Big Beautiful Bill has passed, hospitals and health systems have more policy clarity to inform their growth strategies,” Anu Singh, managing director at Kaufman Hall, which published…
Senate committee examines ways to strengthen the supply chain for hospital drugs
Vulnerabilities in the supply chain for pharmaceuticals are putting patients at risk and hampering healthcare providers, according to testimony at a recent Senate hearing. The flaws manifest in shortages of vital drugs and in issues of quality and transparency, experts said during the Oct. 8 hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. In Q1…
OIG report could lead to additional inspection of hospitals’ Provider Relief Fund usage
Some hospitals that received funding support from HHS during the COVID-19 pandemic may need to prepare for additional auditing based on findings of a report by the department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The report examined a small sampling of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) recipients and found that 17 of 25 hospitals did not comply…
No Surprises Act arbitration has been a bonanza for a few provider groups
In a span of 2.5 years through 2024, providers reaped more than $2.2 billion from the No Surprises Act’s arbitration process, relative to the applicable in-network payment rates for the disputed care episodes. The awards received through the NSA’s independent dispute resolution (IDR) process largely arise from “disputes that are primarily initiated and won by…
Hospitals still face a heavy lift getting ready for the TEAM bundled payments model
For the quarter of U.S. hospitals that will participate in the mandatory Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM) starting Jan. 1, 2026, the preparation curve has been steep. In early August, among more than 90 client hospitals of the solutions company Rainfall Health, none was where participants soon need to be, said Eddie Qureshi, founder and…
News Briefs: Medicare offers a restrained inpatient payment update for FY26
Hospitals collectively will receive a base payment increase of 2.6% in Medicare reimbursement for inpatient care provided in FY26, according to a final rule published Aug. 6 in the Federal Register. Advocates were seeking a bigger update. With rising costs and reimbursement constraints projected in upcoming years, especially after passage of the budget reconciliation bill known as the…
Government shutdown watch: Various hospital funding sources to be curtailed (updated 11/17/25)
Nov. 17 update: Sizable Medicare payment cut avoided The continuing resolution to fund the government through Jan. 30 has language canceling a looming PAYGO reduction to federal programs, including a 4% cut to Medicare that would have taken effect in 2026. PAYGO is a statutory across-the-board spending reduction to be implemented when legislation increases the…