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Committee Chair Calls for 340B Changes

In a newly released report, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has pointed to problems with the 340B Drug Pricing Program and suggested ways of dealing with those problems. The report, from the committee’s majority staff, notes that … there are concerns about whether the 340B Program truly benefits low-income and uninsured patients, with some studies suggesting that the 340B benefit does not translate into increased care or lower costs for vulnerable populations. It also outlines potential changes for improving the program, including requiring [...]

April 30, 2025|Categories: 340b, Congress, Medicaid|Tags: 340B, 340B Drug Pricing Program, Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, Senate HELP Committee|

Are Medicaid Provider Taxes, State-Directed Payments in Play?

Even as the House Energy and Commerce Committee contemplates how it will reach its assigned target of $880 billion in spending cuts mostly through Medicaid cuts, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may be following a similar course by targeting two potential changes that Congress is already thought to be considering: changes in policies governing Medicaid provider taxes and state-directed Medicaid payments. Recently, CMS filed a proposed regulation titled “Preserving Medicaid Funding for Vulnerable Populations – Closing a Health Care-Related Tax Loophole” to the Office of Management and Budget [...]

April 28, 2025|Categories: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations|Tags: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid provider taxes, Medicaid regulations, Medicaid state directed payments, Medicaid supplemental payments, Office of Management and Budget|

Federal Health Policy Update for April 24

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 18-24. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate are in recess until April 28. Upon their return to Washington D.C., committees will begin marking up reconciliation legislation for submission to their respective chambers’ budget committees by May 9. The Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to mark up its bill, with $880 billion in cuts, the week of May 5. The committee is expected to seek [...]

April 24, 2025|Categories: 340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|Tags: 340B Drug Pricing Program, congressionally directed medical research program funding, federal Medical Assistance matching rate (FMAP), Medicaid eligibility criteria, Medicaid provider taxes, Medicaid state directed payments, Medicaid work requirements, MLN Connects|

Sneak Peek at HHS Budget Reveals Reorganization, Cuts

A big-picture document summarizing the Trump administration’s intentions for the Department of Health and Human Services suggests the agency is in for a major round of cuts and reorganization, some of which is already underway. Among the cuts noted in the 64-page document are a $20 billion cut (40 percent) in the National Institutes of Health budget; a $4 billion cut (44 percent) in the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would eliminate the agency’s work on chronic disease programs; the elimination of a number of [...]

April 23, 2025|Categories: Uncategorized|Tags: Administration for a Healthy America, centers for disease control and prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services budget, Department of Health and Human Services budget cuts, Make America Healthy Again, National Institutes of Health|

Federal Health Policy Update for April 17

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 11-17. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House President Trump signed an executive order titled “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First” that directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to take steps to lower prescription drug costs for patients. The order addresses several prescription drug-related policies, including: the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program seeking better Medicare prices for drugs not subject [...]

April 17, 2025|Categories: 340b, Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|Tags: 340B, Directing the Repeal of Unlawful Regulations executive order, federal match rate (FMAP) for the Medicaid expansion population, FY 2026 budget reconciliation, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First executive order, MACPAC, MACPAC commissioners meeting, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid designated state health programs DSHP, Medicaid designated state investment programs DSIP, Medicaid hospital outpatient prospective payment system FY 2025, Medicaid state plan amendments, Medicaid work requirements, Medicare area wage index, Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC, MedPAC commissioners meeting, presidential executive orders, proposed FY 2026 hospice wage index and payment rate regulation, proposed FY 2026 inpatient psychiatric facility prospective payment system regulation, proposed FY 2026 inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system regulation, proposed FY 2026 long-term-care hospital prospective payment system regulation, proposed FY 2026 Medicare inpatient prospective payment system regulation, proposed FY 2026 skilled nursing facility prospective payment system regulation, provider taxes, Reducing Anti-Competitive Regulatory Barriers executive order, section 1115 demonstration waivers, state directed Medicaid payments, TEAM model, Transforming Episode Accountability Model|

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