Expanding Medicaid coverage is associated with a reduction in mortality among low-income populations that benefit from expansion, according to a University of Michigan study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research Monday (July 22).

The HHS Office of Inspector General says a lack of transparency on which drugs are part of the 340B program may have caused Part D plans to lose tens of millions of dollars in drug rebates from manufacturers in 2014, and the costs to Part D may have increased since because more pharmacies have joined the 340B program.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma took aim at public option proposals, which have become increasingly popular among the 2020 Democratic field and likened the policy to Medicare for All during a speech to Medicare stakeholders.

Justice in Aging says that so-called Duals Special Needs Plans look-alikes will interfere with CMS’ policy initiatives to improve care for those eligible for Medicare and Medicaid if the look-alike plans are left unchecked, and the group is urging CMS to force plans with majority duals enrollment to meet D-SNP requirements -- but the group says plans, not beneficiaries, should be the target of regulatory changes.

FDA launched its first e-cigarette prevention television ads Monday (July 22).

Executives from Pfizer, Genentech, Amgen and Alkermes met with White House officials Thursday (July 18) to discuss policies to control drug prices, according to sources familiar with the meeting.

The Trump administration told a federal appeals court Thursday (July 18) that states should be able to continue testing Medicaid work requirements even as the administration acknowledged problems in how Arkansas initially implemented its first-in-the-nation work requirement program.

CMS recently revealed that a system glitch blocked consumers eligible for cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) from enrolling in silver-level exchange policies, which is the only way they could access additional financial assistance, but the agency says the problem was fixed as of early May and consumers were provided recourse.