Health

Axios - Patients and clinicians are overturning more health insurer denials of medical services, mounting successful appeals more than half of the time last year, an analysis of 51,000 cases in New York state found.  Why it matters: Improper claim denials can cut off access to critical care and lead to more medical debt.

....he percentage of insurer decisions overturned by external reviews in New York has increased steadily from 38% in 2019 to 52.5% in 2025, researchers wrote in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The rates varied by treatments and diagnoses, with nearly 8 in 10 appeals for home health care and 61% of appeals for substance use or addiction services overturned.

Bloomberg - Millions of people in the US are expected to lose their health coverage in coming years because of shrinking funding for federal programs. But few states would suffer a bigger blow than Florida, where hospitals are bracing for a large decline in revenue and some are having to cash out investments to cover health-care premiums.

Maine Morning Star - Alabama, Maine and Virginia recently adopted policies that make it easier for physician assistants to practice and serve more patients. Alabama became the 24th state to adopt the PA Licensure Compact, an agreement between states that authorizes these clinicians to practice across state lines. The compact can help remove administrative barriers for physician assistants, making it easier for them to fill gaps in rural and underserved communities that don’t have enough primary care medical professionals, advocates say.

Alabama has about 1,400 physician assistants. The legislation, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Paul Lee, received unanimous support in both the House and Senate.

Ten states — Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island — have pending legislation that would allow them to join the compact, according to the American Academy of Physician Associates.