Inflation Reduction Act would grant Medicare the authority to negotiate drug prices and cap out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 per year.
Author: Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY
‘Almost useless’: Patients, advocates critical of federal pace to unlock hospital prices
Consumers are left in the dark about hospital prices before getting care. Now they want Medicare to enforce a new federal price transparency law .
Even America’s fittest cities have the blues; How exercise can improve mental health
Arlington, Virginia, is still tops in an annual ranking of the nation’s fittest cities, but mental health was a growing concern for all cities.
Hospitals must say how much they charge for hundreds of procedures. Here’s why many don’t.
More than half of U.S. hospitals have not shared pricing information as required by a new federal law. Consumer advocates urge federal enforcement.
Juul’s appeal allows it to sell vaping devices, pods as federal court weighs FDA ban.
In appealing the ban, Juul says the FDA acted on political pressure from Congress blaming it for the youth vaping epidemic.
FDA bans Juul’s vapes, pods citing ‘conflicting’ data on potentially harmful chemicals
Juul must cease sales of its vaping device under the FDA ruling. The ban does not restrict customers from using the products.
Employees push back against wellness programs requiring they get medical checks or pay fees
With no clear federal rules on incentives for health screenings, a lawsuit at Yale University spotlights measures that penalize some workers.
Those ‘free’ COVID tests you take? Labs are raking in millions in tax dollars, study says
A new study highlights mounting costs of COVID testing paid by taxpayers through federal health programs or consumers who buy private insurance.
Groups object to Medicare push to suppress reporting of harm done to patients at hospitals
Medicare’s proposed rule would limit reporting next year for 10 types of medical complications at hospitals. The agency worries COVID distorts data.
Government watchdog: 1 in 4 older Americans on Medicare harmed during hospital stays
The report said 12% of patients had adverse events that led to longer hospital stays, permanent harm, death or required life-saving intervention.