The Supreme Court sided on Tuesday with HHS in a dispute over the rate under Medicare the government pays to hospitals that serve low-income patients. The 7-2 decision rejected an attempt from a group of more than 200 hospitals across 30 states to change the formula the government uses to calculate reimbursement for hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients.
The head of the FDA is now looking at whether it will still approve COVID-19 vaccines for next winter, citing a lack of data on booster shots. "We're taking a look. I can't comment on any particular application. As you know, we have a bunch of applications for those booster shots," FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary says many healthcare workers did not get the last round of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots, calling it "a bit of a public trust problem."
Experts say Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other health officials’ pronouncements to lower drug costs overlooks major key issues.
"Considering how infectious the virus is, they did a good job curtailing things," said Dr. Martin Van Dort, a Saint Vincent Hospital infectious diseases specialist. "Erie is fortunate to have a local health department that can do the contract tracing that is so important. Not every county is blessed with its own health department."
The system of directed payment programs (DPPs) has helped make Medicaid more financially viable for providers, but that system is under increasing political pressure.