News Briefs
High Court Won’t Hear Drug Manufacturer Price Negotiation Appeal
The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from six drug manufacturers that wanted the court to reject the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The court refused to hear separate appeals brought by AstraZeneca; Janssen, the pharmaceutical arm of Johnson & Johnson; Bristol Myers Squibb; Novo Nordisk; Boehringer Ingelheim; and Novartis.
(Source: Healthcare Finance News, 2026-05-18)
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Drugmakers Must Disclose Production Plans to Get Tariff Exemption
When President Donald Trump rolled out his plan to levy a 100 percent tariff rate on patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients imported into the United States, it included a provision that drugmakers, who had not agreed to Most Favored Nations pricing deals but were in the process of moving their manufacturing to the U.S., could apply for a reduced rate on their tariffs. The Department of Commerce released a document explaining that companies will have to disclose extensive information about their investments, production plans, and compliance commitments in order to secure the 20 percent exemption.
(Source: Fierce Pharma, 2026-05-15)
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Groups Urge Administration to Reform No Surprises Act IDR Process
Nearly 50 groups representing employers, unions, and patients are urging the Trump administration to reform the independent dispute resolution process under the No Surprises Act. In a letter sent to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the secretaries of the Treasury and Labor Departments, the groups argued bad actors are filing large numbers of payment disputes and driving up healthcare costs for payers and patients.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2026-05-18)
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Lawmakers Introduce Patients Before Monopolies Act
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in both chambers of Congress has reintroduced a bill aimed at barring companies from owning both a pharmacy benefit manager and retail pharmacies. The bill, called the Patients Before Monopolies (PBM) Act, would force conglomerates that include a PBM to divest pharmacies that they own.
(Source: FierceHealthcare, 2026-05-14)
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CMS Looking to Further Reduce Nursing Home Regulations
Long-term care and skilled nursing providers can expect to see more regulatory relief from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an official told stakeholders. “We are looking to reduce burden in ways that can still promote and advance quality and safety in those care settings, specifically in the nation’s nursing homes, and we think that that’s incredibly possible,” said Will Harris, acting deputy director for the CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality.
(Source: McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, 2026-05-12)
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CMS Moves to Speed Adoption of Electronic Prior Authorization
The CMS is launching a new effort to speed progress on electronic prior authorization as the healthcare sector prepares to implement new requirements on digital pre-approvals next year. Thirty healthcare organizations — including providers like Cleveland Clinic and Providence; electronic health record developers Epic and Oracle Health; and health data networks like CommonWell and Kno2 — signed onto the pledge to address challenges in electronic prior authorization, the CMS said.
(Source: Healthcare Dive, 2026-05-14)
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Physicians Skeptical That Insurers Will Ease Prior Authorization
Physicians remain skeptical that health insurers’ pledges to ease prior authorization hassles will result in any meaningful action, an American Medical Association survey found. In June 2025, a group of about 60 insurers said that they would standardize electronic prior authorization by the end of 2026 to help speed up the process.
(Source: MedPage Today, 2026-05-14)
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65% of Doctors Using New AI Tool OpenEvidence
Over the past two years, medical providers across America have quietly embraced a new AI tool called OpenEvidence to help them make clinical decisions, brush up on medical knowledge, and even prepare for their licensing exams. The service, a sort of chatbot for doctors, was used by about 65 percent of U.S. doctors across almost 27 million clinical encounters in April alone, the company told NBC News.
(Source: NBCNews.com, 2026-05-13)
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4 in 5 Doctors Now Employed by Hospitals or Corporate Entities
Hospitals, health systems, and corporations continue to scoop up physician practices as consolidation in healthcare accelerates, according to a new report from Avalere Health for the Physicians Advocacy Institute. The report found that more than four in five U.S. physicians were employed by hospitals, health systems, or corporate entities like health insurance plans and private equity firms by the end of 2025.
(Source: Tech Target, 2026-05-18)
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M&A Valuations, Multiples for Hospice Assets Slowly Increasing
Valuations and multiples for hospice assets in the M&A market are slowly crawling upwards as deal volume rebounds. An anticipated resurgence in M&A activity materialized in late 2025, setting the stage for stronger momentum this year and signaling a reversal of the industry’s three-year decline in the number of transactions.
(Source: Hospice News, 2026-05-13)
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