Policy

A Lancet modeling study of 195 medicines estimates the Trump administration's GLOBE and GUARD pricing models could save Medicare up to $11.6 billion in their initial phase — but confidential manufacturer deals could erase nearly 80% of those savings.

The United States must address vaccine misinformation head-on or risk losing children to infectious disease.

Three health policy leaders argue that strengthening primary care payment isn't an attack on specialists — it's the fix the whole system needs.

Caroline Pearson of the Peterson Health Technology Institute says the way health care pays for clinical AI will decide whether it lowers costs or drives them up.

What counts as a qualifying employer, whether residency payments count and which repayment plans still earn credit after the 2026 overhaul.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

The CBO projects about 5.2 million adults will drop off Medicaid under the new rules that begin Jan. 1. Medical Economics spoke with Pear Suite co-founder and CEO Colby Takeda about the CHW workforce states are leaning on to reach them.

Checks are due to start in October, and the administration has not said how it arrived at $500 or which years the disputed fees cover.

New national research shows health systems and health plans still can't get provider data right — and the fallout lands squarely on physician practices

Kansas court records reviewed by The New York Times show the practice charged 18% annual interest, garnished bank accounts and pursued arrest warrants over balances as small as $101.

The Pay PCPs Act of 2026 would blend prospective per-patient payments with fee-for-service, halve beneficiary cost sharing for primary care and exempt participating physicians from MIPS.

Rigid adherence thresholds in CMS's updated coverage decision leave doctors and suppliers guessing — and vulnerable patients at risk of losing a life-extending therapy

Health care economist Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., says two decades of inflation-eroded Medicare payment, not corporate ownership, is what keeps pushing independent practices to sell.

Since April, confidence in Anthony Fauci has fallen to just 50%, while Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is unchanged at 38%, in a survey fielded during the Senate contempt vote.

WalletHub scored all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on 16 vaccination metrics. The bottom 10 holds the state with the highest kindergarten exemption rate in the country, and one whose kindergarten coverage is among the highest anywhere.

WalletHub scored all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on 16 vaccination metrics.

The top news stories in medicine this week.

Quality, revenue, utilization, documentation and savings are not all the same thing

Why some health plans will emerge stronger while others face retrenchment

Emergency department self-pay visits rose from 5.5% to 7.6% of encounters, the steepest of four care settings tracked, while Medicaid's share declined across the board, according to Epic Research

An Annenberg Public Policy Center survey of 1,904 adults found 87% are confident in their own doctor, nurse or other primary care physician, compared with 59% to 61% for the three federal health agencies.

Lawrence Casalino, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., argues that as medicine consolidates, physicians are increasingly treated as interchangeable parts, and that the damage shows up in the parts of care no quality program measures.

AAFP issued its fall COVID-19, flu and RSV recommendations Wednesday, saying it coordinated with three other societies, while the coverage rules, counseling pay and registry logic behind them have not caught up.

What physicians need to know about the AMA's new AI framework

Despite major problems across U.S. health care, evidence shows what primary care is getting right.