A coalition of 23 states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its decision to cut $11 billion in federal funds that go toward COVID-19 initiatives and various public health projects across the country. The lawsuit argues the cuts are illegal, and that the federal government did not provide "rational basis" or facts to support the cuts. The attorneys general say it will result in "serious harm to public health" and put states "at greater risk for future pandemics and the spread of otherwise preventable disease and cutting off vital public health services."
Employees across HHS began receiving notices of dismissal on Tuesday in an overhaul ultimately expected to lay off up to 10,000 people. The notices come just days after President Donald Trump moved to strip workers of their collective bargaining rights at HHS and other agencies throughout the government. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a plan last week to remake the department, which, through its agencies, is responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, and monitoring the safety of food and medicine, as well as for administering health insurance programs for nearly half of the country.
The Cigna Group stands poised to reap the rewards of utilization normalization in the back-half of the decade. Specifically, the company is taking steps to reduce exposure to government programs such as Medicare that have been stingy with rate increases in recent years and to address sources of member abrasion such as prescription costs and accessibility of care in an effort to drive commercial business growth in what is a highly competitive industry.
Eight Philadelphia nonprofit health systems — including the University of Pennsylvania Health System — filed an antitrust lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield Association this month. The lawsuit — which was filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania — claims that Blue Cross Blue Shield and affiliated insurance companies violated antitrust law, forcing hospitals and doctors to accept lower rates. Health systems across Pennsylvania alleged in the suit that insurers' drove down reimbursements and increased the cost of insurance.
The Big Apple's largest public-employee insurer has agreed to provide previously redacted healthcare data that could help rein in astronomical prices New York hospitals charge patients, The Post has learned Anthem Blue Cross' sudden change of heart Saturday came a week after The Post reported on the flawed 263-page report by the city Health Department's new Office of Healthcare Accountability, which found wild price inconsistencies across city hospitals. For example, a colonoscopy may run $940 at one hospital and $12,000 in another. Same for a cesarean-section delivery, which ranged from $7,000 to $58,000.
Californians could soon be voting on a new healthcare law named after Luigi Mangione, the Ivy League grad who is accused of executing the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in cold blood. The "Luigi Mangione Access to Health Care Act," was put forward by retired Los Angeles attorney Paul Eisner, who said the sick stunt was necessary to get publicity for his proposal.