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Medicare will require hospitals to post their standard prices online and make electronic medical records more readily available to patients, officials said Tuesday. The program is also starting a comprehensive review of how it will pay for costly new forms of immunotherapy to battle cancer. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 4/24)

The Trump administration is proposing to rewrite rules on federal payments to hospitals treating older Americans on Medicare, making it easier for patients to see the prices of procedures and care. As part of annual updates to Medicare payment rules, federal health officials also want to add $1.5 billion for the coming year to the funds for so-called disproportionate share payments that help buffer hospitals from the expense of treating patients who cannot pay their bills. The increase is a sign that the government expects an influx in uninsured patients — something administration officials seldom discuss amid their policies to weaken the Affordable Care Act. (Goldstein, 4/24)

"We seek to ensure the healthcare system puts patients first," CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a comment. "Today's proposed rule demonstrates our commitment to patient access to high quality care while removing outdated and redundant regulations on providers." (Dickson, 4/24)

The CMS is planning to launch a new pay model that would allow Medicare beneficiaries to contract directly with physicians. Under current law, physicians are paid under a fee schedule in Medicare that includes limits on the amount they can bill beneficiaries per service unless they choose to opt out of Medicare and privately contract with all of their Medicare patients. Private contracting would allow physicians to bill seniors for charges that are more than the rates approved by Medicare. These sorts of arrangements are known as balance-billing, a controversial concept that was backed by former HHS Secretary Dr. Tom Price. (Dickson, 4/23)