Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
The Declining Number of Hospital Maternity Units
The number of hospitals with maternity units has been declining for years – and there is reason to fear that decline will continue in the near future. According to a recent analysis: More than 700 hospitals closed their maternity units between 2010 and 2024. Today, nearly half of all U.S. hospitals do not have a maternity unit. The shortage is especially great in rural areas, where 57 percent of rural hospitals have no maternity unit. Maternity unit closures hit hospitals especially hard in rural Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Among [...]
EMTALA Citations on the Rise
Federal citations for hospital violations of EMTALA requirements have risen in recent years. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, hospitals are required to screen and stabilize all their emergency department patients regardless of their ability to pay for their care. According to data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the proportion of hospitals cited for EMTALA violations rose from four percent of all inspected hospitals in 2019 to 6.9 percent in 2024 – the highest proportion since at least 2010. The proportion declined to 6.6 percent [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for September 10
Don’t Miss: Energy and Commerce to weigh multiple health care bills HRSA shares upcoming 340B administrative changes CMS continues distributing Rural Health Transformation Program $$$ The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 4-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House announced that the federal government will issue refunds of $500 a person to nearly one million Americans who it says were overcharged for Affordable Care Act exchange health plans because their premiums [...]
Administrative Changes Coming to 340B
The Health Resources and Services Administration has released new information about changes coming to its 340B Office of Pharmacy Affairs Information System on October 1. According to the agency, the changes “… support program integrity, transparency, and operational efficiency by enhancing several registration, recertification, and change request processes.” Among the areas that will see changes are: documentation requirements for some eligible entities hospital terminology changes requirements for additional information from family planning covered entities The October changes do not, the agency notes, “… change the underlying statutory eligibility requirements for [...]
MedPAC Meets
Members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission held their latest public meeting on Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4. The subjects on the meeting’s agenda were: context for Medicare payment policy issues and potential policy directions in Part D workplan: ambulatory surgical centers examining use of post-acute care services by beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage Accuracy of Medicare Advantage risk adjustment at the plan level Go here for summaries of the issues and key points and links to the presentations delivered by MedPAC’s staff and go here for [...]