Thursday, February 3, 2022: Mental Health

Eleven groups wrote a letter to HHS voicing concerns with the price transparency provision of the law to ban surprise billing. The provision requires most licensed medical practitioners to give patients detailed upfront cost estimates, including a diagnosis, and...

Thursday, February 3, 2022: M&A

Amedisys announced it signed a definitive agreement to buy Evolution Health from Envision Healthcare. The deal, which should close by June of this year, will give Amedisys access to the more than 3,300 home health patients Evolution Health serves daily. “Amedisys will...

Thursday, February 3, 2022: Life Sciences

Merck & Co. said it expects its sales to surge by up to 18 percent in 2022 compared with last year, primarily driven by demand for the COVID-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir. Merck said sales of the drug, which it developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, reached...

Thursday, February 3, 2022: Health IT

The HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) released an issue brief indicating income disparities in video versus audio telehealth services. Among telehealth users, the highest share of visits that utilized video services occurred among young adults...

Thursday, February 3, 2022: D.C. News

As the Omicron surge begins to fade, the White House is preparing for a new phase of the pandemic response where COVID-19 remains widespread but is less disruptive to Americans’ daily lives. Even so, several Biden administration officials and others close to the...

Wednesday, February 2, 2022: Mental Health

Top senators pledged to work on a bipartisan mental health and substance use package this year. Senate HELP Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray renewed calls for a comprehensive package to address gaps in the behavioral health care system. Meanwhile, Senator Lisa...