Seller of vaccine disinformation has YouTube channel removedSeller of vaccine disinformation has YouTube channel removedSeller of vaccine disinformation has YouTube channel removed

Seller of vaccine disinformation has YouTube channel removed

The Truth About Vaccines YouTube channel was taken down this week, Ty and Charlene Bollinger said in a post Tuesday on the messaging app Telegram.

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Lawmakers mull telehealth payment models for post-COVIDLawmakers mull telehealth payment models for post-COVIDLawmakers mull telehealth payment models for post-COVID

Lawmakers mull telehealth payment models for post-COVID

While telehealth will continue to be an important delivery model after the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress and experts have several ideas for how to pay for the services in the future.

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Hospital consolidation needs new antitrust approach, policymakers sayHospital consolidation needs new antitrust approach, policymakers sayHospital consolidation needs new antitrust approach, policymakers say

Hospital consolidation needs new antitrust approach, policymakers say

Bigger regulatory budgets, improved data analyses and site-neutral policy could restore competition on lopsided hospital markets, lawmakers and policy experts said.

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Penn Medicine joins providers mandating worker COVID-19 vaccinationPenn Medicine joins providers mandating worker COVID-19 vaccinationPenn Medicine joins providers mandating worker COVID-19 vaccination

Penn Medicine joins providers mandating worker COVID-19 vaccination

So far, 70% of Penn Medicine's employees and clinical staff—or 33,000 people—are fully vaccinated, and all employees have been offered the COVID-19 vaccine.

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First 'Momnibus' bill eyes improving veteran maternal careFirst 'Momnibus' bill eyes improving veteran maternal careFirst 'Momnibus' bill eyes improving veteran maternal care

First 'Momnibus' bill eyes improving veteran maternal care

Women veterans are a growing population and are at high risk of pregnancy complications. Lawmakers are focusing on them first in their legislative efforts to address maternal mortality.

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HHS can't leapfrog other creditors in ACA co-op's liquidation HHS can't leapfrog other creditors in ACA co-op's liquidation HHS can't leapfrog other creditors in ACA co-op's liquidation

HHS can't leapfrog other creditors in ACA co-op's liquidation

A federal appeals court ruled this week that the federal government must pay a shuttered Colorado health insurance cooperative the $24.5 million in reinsurance payments it owes rather than subtracting the debt from the insurer's larger balance with the government.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's May 17 ruling means that HHS can't "leapfrog" other creditors in Colorado HealthOP's liquidation and must instead pay its debt in full and make a claim against the insurer's estate as a creditor to attempt to collect the balance.

"Put simply, the government argues its ACA debts take priority over all other creditors' claims during Colorado insolvency proceedings," Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore wrote. "We do not agree."

A state court ordered Colorado HealthOP, a not-for-profit insurer set up under the Affordable Care Act, into liquidation in 2016, just three years after its launch. At the time, the government owed the insurer $24.5 million for reinsurance debts under a provision of the Affordable Care Act. On the other hand, the co-op owed HHS about $42 million worth of risk adjustment payments under a different provision of the ACA. A claims court ordered the government to pay. The May 17 ruling affirms the earlier ruling.

Following the co-op's insolvency, HHS requested that it offset the co-op's $42 million risk adjustment debt against the government's smaller reinsurance debt. After various proceedings in state court, the co-op's liquidator, Michael Conway, sued HHS in claims court, seeking direct payment of HHS' reinsurance debt. Conway, who serves as Colorado's Insurance Commissioner, moved for summary judgment before the government answered. The government then opposed and filed a countermotion to dismiss the case.

Court records show the claims court noted that federal law, not state, controlled whether HHS could offset the debt. The problem, then, was that existing federal law did not address offset during state-law insolvency proceedings. Interpreting Colorado's offset provision, the claims court held that the government was not entitled to offset and ruled in Conway's favor. HHS appealed, prompting the May 17 ruling.

Conway is represented in the case by attorneys with Crowell & Moring, who did not return a request for comment Wednesday. The Justice Department also did not respond to Modern Healthcare's inquiry.

Colorado regulators forced Colorado HealthOP to stop issuing new policies in 2015 because of its precarious financial situation. At the time, the insurer was the largest company on the state's health insurance exchange, covering more than 80,000 people or about 40% of the exchange market. However, the co-op posted a $23 million net loss in 2014 after borrowing $72 million.

Colorado HealthOP was the seventh health insurance co-op to collapse in 2015. All told, 20 of the original 23 insurance exchanges created under the ACA have closed, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

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Anthem inks data-sharing contract with EpicAnthem inks data-sharing contract with EpicAnthem inks data-sharing contract with Epic

Anthem inks data-sharing contract with Epic

Anthem hopes the information exchange partnership will help automate prior authorization requests, provide data-driven insights into patient care and promote value-based payments.

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Joint Commission searching for new president Joint Commission searching for new president Joint Commission searching for new president

Joint Commission searching for new president

The Joint Commission is on a search to replace Dr. Mark Chassin after not renewing his contract past 2021. It comes as CMS is keeping close tabs on the accreditor's business practices.

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Miss. group 'reluctantly' suspends Medicaid expansion ballot pushMiss. group 'reluctantly' suspends Medicaid expansion ballot pushMiss. group 'reluctantly' suspends Medicaid expansion ballot push

Miss. group 'reluctantly' suspends Medicaid expansion ballot push

The decision comes after the state Supreme Court ruled that a medical marijuana initiative passed by voters this fall is void because Mississippi's initiative process is outdated. That effectively killed other initiatives for which people are already petitioning.

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To the bat cave: In search of COVID's origins, scientists reignite polarizing debate on Wuhan 'lab leak'To the bat cave: In search of COVID's origins, scientists reignite polarizing debate on Wuhan 'lab leak'To the bat cave: In search of COVID's origins, scientists reignite polarizing debate on Wuhan 'lab leak'

To the bat cave: In search of COVID's origins, scientists reignite polarizing debate on Wuhan 'lab leak'

Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the idea that the COVID virus escaped from a Chinese lab is gaining high-profile attention. As it does, reputations of renowned scientists are at risk—and so is their personal safety.

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