Judge: HHS Must Restore Full 340B Drug Payments Until 2023
Modern Healthcare reports on a decision from District of Columbia Judge Rudolph Contreras, who found that a Health and Human Services Department lower reimbursement rate was "defective." Meanwhile, Michigan joins efforts to crimp costs from contract travel nurses.
Modern Healthcare:
HHS Must Stop 340B Cuts Through 2022, Judge Rules
The decision by Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is the latest blow to an HHS effort to limit spending on the 340B Drug Pricing Program and follows a Supreme Court ruling in June ordering the department to compensate providers for lower 340B payments they received in prior years. (Berryman, 9/29)
More on medical costs and debt —
Crain's Detroit Business:
High-Cost Travel Nurse Contracts Targeted In New Michigan Bill
Michigan is joining at least 15 other states in an attempt to tamp down the high costs of contract travel nurses, even as demand for healthcare workers continues to grow post-pandemic. (Walsh, 9/29)
Axios:
America's Big Consumer Medical Debt Problem
The number of Americans who have health insurance has never been higher — but more than 40% surveyed this year said they struggled to pay medical bills or were paying off medical debt, according to a biennial report from The Commonwealth Fund. (Reed, 9/29)
KHN:
Watch: Their Baby Died. The Medical Bills Haunted Them
Born with a congenital heart defect and other medical issues, Sterling Raspe lived just eight months. In that time, she needed dozens of medical procedures and often required round-the-clock care in the neonatal intensive care unit. At one point, her parents were told they owed $2.5 million for her care. “It’s an offensive amount of money,” said Sterling’s father, Kingsley Raspe, in this KHN video produced by Hannah Norman and reported by Lauren Weber. (9/30)
In other news about the health care industry —
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Obama Tells San Diego Audience Precision Medicine Held Back By ‘Creaky’ Health Care System
Former President Barack Obama lauded the advances that researchers are making in precision medicine but lamented the sluggish pace of adoption of these technologies in the U.S. health care system at an event in San Diego on Wednesday. ... Obama said the system has evolved so it is “more of a disease care system than a health care system. Until we reverse the incentive structure and the mindset inside that system, I suspect we are still going to have some problems.” (Freeman, 9/28)
Wyoming Public Radio:
A New Clinic In Gillette Is Seeking To Change The Healthcare Scene In Campbell County And Beyond
Hoskinson Health and Wellness Clinic is a medical facility that’s set to partially open in Gillette next week. But it doesn’t necessarily follow a traditional model of patient care, the kind of services it provides, or the kind of care it seeks to offer patients. (Cook, 9/29)
Bay Area News Group:
Senior-Care Chain Covering Up Third Bay Area Death From Liquid: Lawsuit
A senior-care chain whose San Mateo facility saw two residents die after drinking caustic liquid tried to cover up a third similar death at its care home in Walnut Creek, a new lawsuit claims. (Turner and Baron, 9/29)
