Regulation & Industry Affairs

McLean – November 10, 2026 -- The Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO) has submitted three additional performance measures to the Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) for national endorsement, extending a multi-year push to replace the two unendorsed outcome measures that CMS currently uses to evaluate organ procurement organizations (OPOs).

Three measures target donor care, organ recovery and utilization

The Donor Management Goals (DMG) Bundle Rate assesses the effectiveness of donor care and flags ways to optimize organ function and raise the number of organs available for transplant. The Organs Recovered Per Donor (ORPD) Rate tracks the average number of organs recovered from each deceased donor, whether or not those organs are ultimately transplanted.

Berlin – November 07, 2026 -- The Marburger Bund is calling on the German government to scrap the increase in Medical Service (MD) audit quotas and hospital invoice thresholds planned for January 1, 2027. The doctors' association estimates the change would force hospitals to hire 1,500 to 3,000 additional staff nationwide.

Marburger Bund calls the current audit procedure neither practical nor economical

The demand comes from a resolution passed by the association's 148th General Assembly in Berlin. The resolution describes the existing audit-quota procedure as neither practical nor economically sensible.

Higher quotas would require one to two extra full-time staff per hospital

The association estimates each hospital would need to hire one to two full-time employees to handle the additional audits. Across all German hospitals, that adds up to 1,500 to 3,000 workers.

Berlin – November 06, 2026 -- Germany's Innovation Fund has paid out more than €2 billion since 2016, yet only 24% of its completed new-care-model projects received a decision to examine continuation in routine care, according to AOK-Bundesverband. The statutory health insurer presented its proposals at a congress marking the fund's tenth anniversary, hosted by the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA).

Half of 146 completed care-model projects received no recommendation

The fund has supported more than 850 projects. Of these, 270 fall under new care models and 591 under health services research. Half of the 146 completed new-care-model projects received no recommendation for further use.

Berlin – November 05, 2026 -- The Federal Ministry of Health's own cost estimate projects a net deficit of €1.35 billion in 2027 for Germany's social long-term care insurance (SPV), even after the Care Reorganisation Act (PNOG) takes effect. Dr. Carola Reimann, chair of the AOK Federal Association, made the point as the Bundestag held the bill's first reading, and she called the law a stopgap that buys the SPV "a few months" of financial relief at most.

AOK demands a second law once the care commission reports in January

Reimann wants the open financing questions settled in a separate legislative procedure, a "PNOG 2". It would follow the recommendations of the Care Structure Commission (Pflegestrukturkommission), due at the end of January.

New York – November 05, 2026 -- The Vaccine Guidance Review Panel, a multi-society effort of four U.S. medical organizations, has endorsed influenza, RSV and COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for adults and children. The guidance is aligned with Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations issued before June 2025.

Panel draws on four specialty societies and four guidance issuers

Experts from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) reviewed the vaccination-development process. They unanimously endorsed it, together with the resulting guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

Mainz – November 05, 2026 -- Germany's Federal Guild of Hearing Acousticians (biha) warns that the draft Hilfsmittelmodernisierungs- und Bürokratieabbaugesetz (HiB) could push small and mid-sized hearing care businesses into insolvency by delaying their payments for weeks or months.

Draft law gives statutory insurers control over all hearing system fittings

The bill would introduce stronger oversight of every hearing system provision, carried out by the statutory health insurers (GKV). According to biha, insurers would have to approve fittings even where the patient already holds a specialist medical prescription.

Pinehurst, N.C. – September 18, 2026 -- MedicareCompliance.com launched an independent industry platform designed to connect carriers, agencies, third-party marketing organizations and compliance professionals navigating Medicare's regulatory environment. The platform, a division of EnrollHere Inc. operating independently, opened its Medicare Compliance Community to members seeking industry intelligence, regulatory discussions and networking access.

Inaugural industry event scheduled for Washington, D.C. in January 2027

MedicareCompliance.com confirmed its first industry event will run Jan. 20-21, 2027, in Washington, D.C., convening ecosystem leaders on regulatory, technological and operational issues. Community members will receive details on speakers and programming as they are finalized.

Whittier, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) has appointed Russell Greenfield, MD, as Founding Executive Director of its newly created Institute for the Advancement of Whole Health, a national initiative targeting systemic reform of a healthcare model the university says suffers from rising costs, fragmented care and poor outcomes.

SCU launches institute to scale a person-centered healthcare model nationally

The Institute will focus on education, research, clinical care development, and policy advocacy to expand a healthcare approach addressing physical, emotional and social well-being beyond symptom treatment. SCU President and CEO John Scaringe, DC, EdD, said the initiative is designed to align research, training, clinical care and advocacy around a unified Whole Health framework at national scale.

Washington – September 18, 2026 -- The American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) submitted a formal comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opposing proposed payment cuts in the calendar year 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, warning the changes could accelerate consolidation among independent orthopaedic practices.

AAOS demands CMS preserve current work RVUs for major joint procedures

The letter urges CMS to maintain calendar year 2026 work relative value units (RVUs) for total shoulder, total hip, and total knee arthroplasty services, along with shoulder hemiarthroplasty. AAOS argues that reducing these values would compound years of what it calls inadequate payment updates and rising practice costs.

Lancaster, S.C. – September 17, 2026 -- Nutramax Laboratories is splitting its flagship veterinary continuing education event into two annual conferences after registration for its 2026 gathering topped 2,000 attendees, a record for the program.

Nutramax expands A Different Way to CETM to fall and spring events

The company will hold a fall conference at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, from Oct. 17-20, 2027, followed by a spring conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, from April 23-26, 2028. Both events will offer veterinary professionals up to 20 CE credits across more than 100 sessions, with meals included and a dedicated kids' zone for attending families.