Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Number of Uninsured Children Rises
For the first time since 2008, the number of uninsured children in the U.S. increased in 2017, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute. While the total increase in the number of uninsured children is small – just 276,000 – 2017 marked the first time in nearly a decade that the number of uninsured children has risen. For the year, 3.9 million were uninsured, up from 3.6 million in 2016. Passage of the Affordable Care Act and extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) [...]
OIG Cites “Vulnerabilities” in Medicare Wage Index System
The Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has “…observed significant vulnerabilities in the [Medicare area] wage index system…” As a result of these vulnerabilities, Medicare has overpaid 272 hospitals by more than $140 million over the past 13 years. The vulnerabilities the OIG identified that contributed to these overpayments are: absent misrepresentation or falsification, CMS lacks the authority to penalize hospitals that submit inaccurate or incomplete wage data; Medicare Administrative Contractors’ limited reviews do not always identify inaccurate wage data; the rural [...]
Administration Seeks Industry Guidance on Rollback of Anti-Kickback Laws
Characterizing its objective as a “regulatory sprint to coordinated care,” the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General this summer asked stakeholders for their input on how it might ease federal anti-kickback laws in ways that promote better coordination of care and cooperation between different types of caregivers while not encouraging fraud that costs consumers and taxpayers. At the heart of this effort are laws that limit the ability of doctors and hospitals to work together. Hospitals, for example, currently have limited tools with which to [...]
CMS to Congress: You’re the Impediment to Greater Use of Telehealth
The primary obstacle to Medicare making greater use of telehealth is current laws, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has told Congress in a new report. The report, mandated by the 21st Century Cures Act, outlines the extent of telehealth utilization today, describes its benefits, and suggests potential new and expanded uses for telehelath, but it also notes that Current restrictions on eligible telehealth originating sites appear to be the greatest barrier to preventing the expansion of Medicare telehealth services. The two most significant Medicare restrictions are: 1) requiring [...]
Medicare Advantage to Address Social Determinants of Health
Beginning next year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will authorize Medicare Advantage plans to pay for some health-related but non-medical benefits for their members – benefits that will help address social determinants of health that affect the health status of many Medicare beneficiaries. As explained by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar at a recent event in Salt Lake City, These interventions can keep seniors out of the hospital, which we are increasingly realizing is not just a cost saver but actually an important way to protect [...]