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Medicare physician payments would decline 2.9% in 2025 under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published Wednesday. The draft regulation provoked sharp criticism from the American Medical Association and other medical societies, which renewed their calls for Congress to come to their aid. The proposed rule also includes significant policies related to the Medicare Shared Savings Program and telehealth reimbursement. (Early, 7/10)

Hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers would receive 2.6% reimbursement hikes next year under a proposed rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued Wednesday. The draft regulation also includes a slew of maternal health and health equity provisions hospitals that participate in Medicare would be required to follow to receive the full pay hike, including policies on treatment and transfer protocols for pregnant patients. (Early, 7/10)

A legal victory for Medicare Advantage insurers and marketers ironically may cause some headaches when open enrollment for 2025 rolls around. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered a stay against the final rule the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published in April that prohibits insurers from offering volume-based bonuses to top Medicare Advantage marketers, thereby suspending the regulation's cap on broker fees. (Tepper, 7/10)

The federal government will not modify regulations that dictate how hospitals publish their prices for consumers, ignoring pleas from patient advocates who have said hospitals still are not fully complying with the 3-year-old law. The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed an annual rule that sets payment rates for hospitals. This document is where the government has in the past rolled out changes to the so-called hospital price transparency rule, but the Biden administration did not address the issue in this edition. (Herman, 7/10)

Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: ‘A Bottomless Pit’: How Out-Of-Pocket TMJ Costs Drive Patients Into Debt 

Over three decades of relentless pain, Jonna Tallant has tried about every TMJ treatment: mouthguards, six sets of braces, dental crowns and appliances, drugs, physical therapy, Botox, massage, acupuncture, chiropractic care, and surgery. Nothing has helped. Tallant, 51, of Knoxville, Tennessee, said she lives in agony and cannot eat any food that must be chewed. Despite spending a small fortune on treatment, she can barely open her mouth enough to squeeze in a toothbrush. (Kelman and Werner, 7/11)