Prior authorization is entering what may be its biggest regulatory overhaul in years, with federal agencies and insurers pushing toward faster decisions, electronic workflows, and greater transparency. But many physicians remain deeply skeptical that the changes will meaningfully reduce administrative burden or improve patient access to care. The article highlights mounting frustration among clinicians: 95% of physicians surveyed by the AMA said prior authorization delays necessary care, 79% reported patients abandoning treatment because of authorization barriers, and 26% said the process had contributed to serious adverse events in their practices. At the same time, insurers and CMS are rolling out…
Author: Abhay Panchal
Lawmakers in Washington are increasingly linking declining Medicare physician reimbursement to the rapid consolidation of independent medical practices into hospitals and large health systems. During a recent House hearing, physicians and lawmakers argued that Medicare pay has fallen roughly 33% since 2001 when adjusted for inflation, making it increasingly difficult for independent practices to survive financially. The discussion reflects growing bipartisan concern that reimbursement pressure is accelerating healthcare consolidation, which many experts believe ultimately raises costs for patients and taxpayers. Physicians testified that shrinking margins are pushing more doctors toward hospital employment, while lawmakers warned that reduced competition may further…
A noninvasive magnetic neuromodulation therapy significantly improved fecal incontinence symptoms in a sham-controlled Phase 3 trial, with responder rates reaching 66% to 81% compared with 32% in the sham group after six weeks of treatment. The therapy, called translumbosacral neuromodulation (TNT), uses external magnetic stimulation to target lumbosacral nerves involved in bowel control. Researchers also observed improvements in urgency, stool frequency, quality-of-life measures, anal squeeze pressures, and objective neurophysiologic markers, suggesting the treatment may address underlying neuropathy rather than simply masking symptoms.
The medical management of obesity is changing, thanks in part to new views on obesity and widespread adoption of weight-loss medications. There are ways to combine medications with surgery to achieve greater weight loss for patients, as well as novel ICD-10 diagnosis codes that can be used to increase reimbursement for obesity management, experts said during the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery 2025 annual meeting. “There’s still so much stigma and bias with obesity,” said Marc-Andre Cornier, MD, the president of The Obesity Society and the director of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolic Diseases at the…
The latest Medscape Physician Compensation Report shows that Gastroenterology ranked as the 4th highest-paid specialty in the U.S. in 2025, with average annual compensation reaching $526,000. Only orthopedics ($573K), cardiology ($552K), and radiology ($544K) ranked higher. The report attributes GI’s continued financial strength to steady procedural demand, particularly as colorectal cancer screening volumes rise and more endoscopic care shifts into outpatient and ASC settings. The ranking reinforces how gastroenterology remains one of the most economically important procedural specialties in medicine, despite ongoing reimbursement pressure and operational challenges facing GI practices.
Guardant Health has received FDA approval for its next-generation liquid biopsy platform, Guardant360 Liquid CDx, expanding the role of blood-based genomic testing in cancers including non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer. The updated assay combines genomic and epigenomic profiling from a single blood draw and is designed to analyze a significantly broader molecular footprint than the company’s earlier test. According to Guardant, the platform can help identify actionable mutations for targeted therapies in NSCLC, colorectal cancer, and advanced breast cancer while delivering results within seven days. The approval reflects the continued shift toward minimally invasive precision oncology diagnostics, where…
Byron L. Cryer, MD, AGAF, today begins his term as the 121st president of the AGA Institute. Dr. Cryer serves as chair of internal medicine at Baylor University Medical Center and professor of medicine at Texas A&M Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine. An internationally recognized clinician and researcher, Dr. Cryer is known for his work on the gastrointestinal effects of medications, particularly aspirin and other NSAIDs. He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications spanning translational research, biomarker studies, epidemiologic analyses, clinical trials, and international multicenter studies.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which comprises the inflammatory conditions Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, affects about 1.6 million Americans, many of whom cannot be effectively treated. This is mostly due to a lack of understanding of what exactly causes the increased inflammation, fibrosis, and compromised intestinal barrier that underlie this disease and its manifold symptoms, ranging from severe abdominal pain, to diarrhea, weight loss, rectal bleeding and anemia, to anxiety and depression.
Colonoscopy demand is surging as colorectal cancer rates rise and screening guidelines expand eligibility, creating what some are calling a “gold rush” for GI and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). While procedure volumes continue to climb and more colonoscopies shift into outpatient settings, the economics are becoming increasingly complex. GI procedures now represent a major share of ASC activity, and specialized GI centers are rapidly expanding. However, declining reimbursements are putting pressure on margins, forcing GI groups to rethink operational models, site-of-care strategy, and long-term growth plans. The article also highlights a growing disconnect in GI economics: demand for endoscopy has…
Disorders of gut–brain interaction (DGBI), previously referred to as functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), have been poorly understood historically. Although providers have observed these symptoms in their patients for hundreds of years, standard diagnostic capabilities have only emerged in the past several decades through the Rome criteria, moving from a simplistic and reductionist view to a more comprehensive biopsychosocial model.1,2 Initially viewed primarily as motility disorders, scientific understanding has shifted to encompass broader disturbances in neurogastroenterology,3 alterations in gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota and immune activation, and reactions to food—all acting through brain–gut interactions.4 These advancements have validated DGBI for patients and health…