Medicare & Medicaid
Rule would pertain to 18 states that have health plans that offer coverage of non-Hyde abortion services.
In contrast, taxpayers would face additional costs if manufacturer rebates were directly applied to insurers' pharmacy prices.
"California will move swiftly to challenge this decision," says California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
Yang's proposal eschews Medicare For All in favor of a plan that focuses more on lowering costs and expanding coverage.
Drug companies have said they are hamstrung by the current pharmacy benefit manager system, says HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
Beyond cost, CMS said it adopted the lower payments for hospital outpatient facilities as a method to control unnecessary increases in the volume of services furnished there.
The AHA is calling on CMS to "abandon further illegal cuts for 2020" that CMS says would save Medicare $800 million.
In a move insurers considered a bait and switch, Congress limited the funding available to compensate insurers for their losses.
Open enrollment is ongoing as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to soon rule whether the ACA is constitutional.
After a slower growth rate in 2017, 2018 saw growth rates about equal to those of 2016, driven in part by the reinstatement of a fee on insurers.