Health spending over the next decade is expected to grow more rapidly than the overall economy — consistent with past trends — though spending patterns will be greatly influenced by the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, according to new estimates released Wednesday by government actuaries.

By 2031, about $1 of every $5 spent in the U.S. will be on healthcare.

TheMaking Care Primary Model will focus on primary care organizations with limited experience in alternative payment models to help set up the infrastructure, particularly safety net and smaller or independent primary care organizations, CMS officials said in a press release.

Policy analysts, Democrats, and Republicans dissatisfied with the deal agree: Federal health programs have dodged a budgetary bullet in the Washington showdown over raising the nation’s debt ceiling.

Congressional Republicans and the White House reached a deal over the weekend to raise the debt ceiling that includes healthcare wins for both sides of the aisle, creating a path forward to prevent economic upheaval roughly a week before a potential federal default.

The Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations put Medicare Advantage (MA) plans on notice last Wednesday, demanding answers for claims denials. Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said in an opening statement during the hearing that the committee sent letters to the three largest MA plans—UnitedHealthcare, Humana and Aetna—seeking documentation on how they make decisions around...

VA and Oracle Cerner Reach Agreement on Electronic Health Record Contract Extension

In a statement on Tuesday, the VA said the renegotiated contract “dramatically increases” the agency’s ability to holdOracle Cerneraccountable across areas including reliability, responsiveness and interoperability.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expanded its existing partnership with Verizon in a $448.3 million, nine-year extension to supply VA medical centers and healthcare facilities with mobile devices including communications during the VA’s disaster recovery missions and other emergencies.

Newly proposed standards and requirements would better ensure access to care, accountability, and transparency for Medicaid or CHIP services, including home and community-based services

In the latest setback for the initiative, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that all deployments in its EHR Modernization effort will be halted while it prioritizes improvements at the five sites that currently use the new EHR, as part of a larger program reset.

The integration hinges on generative AI-powered tools, according to the announcement, to increase productivity and enhance patient care. One of the integration’s tools, which helps automatically draft message responses, is being implemented at UC San Diego Health, UW Health and Stanford Health Care, according to the companies.