November 2020

Most Hospitals Fined by Medicare Over Readmissions

More than 80 percent of all hospitals subject to Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program, and half of all of hospitals in the country, will be penalized in FY 2021 under that program because they have what Medicare considers to be too many avoidable readmissions. In all, 2556 of the 3080 hospitals subject to the program will be penalized.  More than 600 will see their inpatient payments cut one percent as a result and the average cut will be 0.69 percent. The penalties are based on hospital performance with patients experiencing congestive heart failure, heart attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary [...]

2020-11-06T06:00:25-05:00November 6, 2020|Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|
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MACPAC Meets

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the sessions. The October 2020 MACPAC meeting opened with a panel discussion on restarting Medicaid eligibility redeterminations when the public health emergency ends.  It included Jennifer Wagner, director of Medicaid eligibility and enrollment at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; René Mollow, deputy director for health care benefits and eligibility at the California Department of Health Care Services; and Lee Guice, director of policy and operations at the Department for Medicaid Services, Kentucky Cabinet for [...]

2020-11-05T06:00:25-05:00November 5, 2020|MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid regulations|
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Coronavirus Update for Tuesday, November 3

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3. Provider Relief Fund A reminder that applications for Phase 3 general distribution payments are due November 6. HHS has made one change in the Provider Relief Fund FAQ:  on pages 15 and 16 is one new question and answer: Question: “At the bottom of page 1 of the reporting requirements announcement in PDF, Step 2 states "PRF payment amounts not fully expended on healthcare related expenses attributable to coronavirus are then applied to patient care lost revenues, net of the healthcare [...]

2020-11-04T06:00:03-05:00November 4, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|
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Off-Again, On-Again Public Charge Rule is Off Again

A federal rule that would have limited immigration to the U.S. for people who might at some point become dependent on public aid programs has been put on hold again by a federal judge. Implementation of the rule, delayed by several courts and then authorized by the U.S. Supreme Court until the merits of challenges could be heard, was delayed again by a federal court, which said the rule contained “numerous unexplained flaws” that made it “arbitrary and capricious.” Health care advocates feared the rule would discourage some immigrants to whom the rule does not even apply from seeking to [...]

2020-11-03T08:26:59-05:00November 3, 2020|Medicaid|
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Coronavirus Update for Friday, October 30

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Friday, October 30. Provider Relief Fund A reminder that applications for Phase 3 general distribution payments are due November 6. Another reminder that HHS will hold a webcast about the Phase 3 general distribution on Monday, November 2 at 3:00 p.m. (eastern) for interested parties.  Go here to register for the webcast and to submit questions.  Also available are a fact sheet and a presentation about the Phase 3 general distribution. HHS has added or modified 61 questions in its Provider Relief Fund FAQ.  [...]

2020-11-02T06:00:50-05:00November 2, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|
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