• Medicare underpayments to hospitals totaled more than $100 billion in 2024, according to testimony provided to the House Ways and Means Committee by the American Hospital Association.
• Hospitals are managing significant cost pressures while treating a sicker, more medically complex, and aging patient population, with persistent misalignments between care provision and reimbursement rates.
• The financial strain reflects broader healthcare system challenges as providers struggle with inadequate government reimbursement alongside rising operational costs.
Government’s draft news bargaining incentive scheme includes 2.25% levy on local revenues of digital giantsAnthony Albanese has urged Google, Meta and TikTok to make deals with Australian media outlets to avoid a dedicated 2.25% levy on local revenues, warning digital giants should not be able to exploit the work of journalists to boost profits.Releasing an exposure draft for the government’s news bargaining incentive (NBI) scheme on Tuesday, the prime minister said platforms who sign new deals with publishers to pay for news content would receive offsets of between 150% to 170% from the new levy. Continue reading...
Health secretary’s ‘power grab’ to override Nice comes amid growing concern move may be illegal and benefit big pharmaDozens of MPs are opposing Wes Streeting’s decision to award himself power to dictate what the NHS pays for drugs amid growing concern the move may be illegal.Thirty-one MPs have signed a House of Commons motion voicing their disapproval of the health secretary being handed the power to override the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (Nice) judgment on how much the NHS should spend on individual medicines. Continue reading...