A bipartisan group of 43 members of the U.S. House of Representatives has inked a letter to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), objecting to planned Medicare cuts for myocardial positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The letter argues that the proposed rate cut of 72% would hamper access to a procedure that is typically provided in physician offices – and puts the onus on the CMS to justify the rate cut.

Following a speech that seemed more campaign rhetoric than policy, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that's his answer to the Democrats' proposed Medicare for All Act.

Medicare coverage of digital health is evolving, but there are those who have argued that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is moving too slowly to capitalize on significant opportunities. The Advanced Medical Technology Association (Advamed) said in comments to the docket for the draft physician fee schedule that an advisory panel should be regularly convened in order to exploit the potential for digital health to "transform the delivery of care and improve patient care outcomes."

The Medicare radiation oncology alternative payment model is yet another attempt to control Medicare spending growth, but provider groups and device makers oppose mandatory program participation. Varian Medical offered a blistering critique of the participation mandate, stating that the participation mandate suggests that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is less interested in a valid test of the program than it is in generating immediate savings.

Whether it's mere political posturing or a genuine prescription to control U.S. drug prices, a Democratic plan taking shape in the House provides an idea of what direct government negotiation might look like.

The role of the government in restraining U.S. prices was the underlying subplot of the Senate Finance Committee's markup Thursday of the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act (PDPRA).

Amid all the bills aimed at shining light into the black box of U.S. drug pricing and ending anticompetitive games, the House is planning on rolling out legislation in September that would directly impact the price of what could be hundreds of drugs by requiring Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate some prices.