Articles related to HEALTHCARE REFORM

The federal government has sharply reduced staffing and grant funding at AHRQ, the agency responsible for much of the nation’s healthcare quality and patient safety research. Supporters argue the cuts could affect future evidence generation, though the administration maintains it is restructuring agency priorities.

A 553-respondent UK survey of cardiology resident doctors found that nearly one-third reported witnessing physician assistants performing procedures outside defined scope of practice, with earlier-stage trainees reporting the most negative impact on training opportunities.

The Main Street Pharmacy Access Act (H.R. 3164/S. 2426), which would authorize Medicare reimbursement for pharmacist-provided testing and treatment of flu, strep, RSV, and COVID-19 in states that already permit those services, cleared the House Committee on Ways and Means on May 21 with more than 110 congressional co-sponsors and support from over 170 organizations.

Falling Medicaid enrollment under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is eroding the disproportionate share hospital percentages that determine 340B Drug Pricing Program eligibility at safety-net hospitals, according to a presentation at HOPA 2026.

CMS finalized a four-code complexity-based structure replacing legacy radiation oncology G-codes effective January 1, 2026, consolidating image guidance and treatment delivery under codes 77387, 77402, 77407, and 77412.

“Prior authorization began as a reasonable mechanism for controlling costs, but over the decades, I have been practicing it has ballooned into a massive administrative burden that far too often leads to care delays and unnecessary agony and harm.” – René Bravo, MD, President of the California Medical Association (CMA)