There's some noteworthy language in a recent financial report from Geisinger, the large Pennsylvania system that owns hospitals, doctors' practices and a health insurance company: "Geisinger seeks to grow high-acuity, fee-for-service business by increasing penetration for these services in Geisinger's expanded service area."
The big picture: Former President Barack Obama once hailed Geisinger as a model for health delivery reform. But Geisinger's embrace of "fee-for-service" — a scorned phrase in health policy circles that describes providers getting paid for every treatment and procedure — indicates health care may not be fundamentally changing.
The Food and Drug Administration is rolling out official guidance on how it expects pharmaceutical companies to behave when generic drugs are ready to enter the market — namely by all parties using a shared safety protocol.
The bottom line: The guidance is not legally enforceable. But FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the policies should discourage companies that make brand-name drugs from using a drug safety system to "block generic entry and help end some of the tactics that can delay access."
You didn't expect to hear the Trump administration accused of tough ACA enforcement, right? But a group of business associations says it's relying on an "unlawful and deeply flawed process" to enforce the ACA's employer mandate.
The issue: The IRS has begun sending out notices to businesses that it believes owe fines for failing to comply with the mandate. The tax agency has said some 30,000 employers are on the hook for a total of roughly $4.3 billion in fines.
The White House, in conjunction with the Ad Council, next week will debut public service messages on opioid dangers that were described to us as having a "shock the conscience" rawness.
What to expect: We hear President Trump, who doesn't appear in the ads, likes the starkness of the classic "Your Brain on Drugs" messages, and wanted a similar toughness. "He thinks you have to engage and enrage," a source said.
After fighting it for four years, Virginia will soon adopt the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Both chambers of the state legislature passed a budget bill last night that includes the expansion, which Gov. Ralph Northam is expected to sign.
Why it matters: Virginia is a big state — the expansion could cover as many as 400,000 people. And it's a reminder that, even after years of exhausting political fights, health care is still a salient issue: Medicaid expansion was a key part of Northam's campaign and helped propel Democrats' gains in the statehouse.
Doctors are increasingly using prescription drug monitoring programs — databases that track patients' drug history — in an effort to cut down on inappropriate opioid prescriptions. This corresponded with a 9% drop in opioid prescriptions between 2016 and 2017, according to new data from the American Medical Association.
What's next: The AMA says policymakers need to focus next on the barriers to treatment that people struggling with opioid addiction still face, including insurance coverage issues.
Health insurer Aetna and physician staffing firm Mednax are at each other's throats in federal court. Each side is accusing the other of using fraudulent or nefarious practices to boost profits — at the expense of sick infants.
The big picture: Taxpayers and people with job-based health insurance ultimately pick up the tab for these kinds of billing feuds, and it's not clear anyone will benefit after the dust clears.
