Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Safety-Net Hospitals Under the Gun
Safety-net hospitals across the country face a new challenge: adjusting to several cuts in the supplemental payments they receive from the federal government to help them serve the low-income residents of the communities in which they are located. First there is a $2 billion cut in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH). These are payments made to hospitals that serve especially large numbers of low-income patients. These payments help safety-net hospitals with the unreimbursed expenses they incur caring for such patients. This cut, mandated by the Affordable Care Act [...]
MedPAC Meets
Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission held two days of public meetings in Washington, D.C. During the sessions MedPAC, a non-partisan legislative branch agency that advises Congress on Medicare payment issues, addressed the following subjects: a Medicare Advantage status report a Medicare prescription drug program (Part D) status report hospital inpatient and outpatient payments physician payments ambulatory surgical center, dialysis center, and hospice payments post-acute care facility payments the hospital readmissions reduction program telehealth accountable care organizations Go here to see the issue briefs and presentations used during the [...]
Administration Lays Groundwork for Medicaid Work Requirements
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued guidelines for states interested in adding a work requirement component to their Medicaid programs. With nearly a dozen states applying to implement controversial Medicaid work requirements, CMS has issued a guidance letter to state Medicaid directors outlining the criteria it will use when considering such applications. The new policy does not mandate work requirements in state Medicaid programs; it only presents the parameters CMS will use when considering the applications of states wishing to impose such requirements. For more information about [...]
A New Use for Section 1115 Medicaid Waivers?
Historically, states have pursued section 1115 Medicaid waivers as a means of expanding Medicaid eligibility. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services now appears to be looking at granting 1115 waivers to help states reduce their Medicaid populations. According to a new report published by the Commonwealth Fund, CMS is encouraging states – both Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states – to launch demonstration programs designed to reduce enrollment in “means-tested public assistance” programs such as Medicaid. In their efforts to cut spending and reduce Medicaid enrollment, states are expected [...]
E&C Calls for Action on 340B
The section 340B prescription drug program has flaws and needs change, a report by the House Energy and Commerce Committee has concluded. The program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to provide discounts on prescription drugs to be dispensed on an outpatient basis to qualified providers that serve large numbers of low-income patients, has been controversial in recent years. As the number of providers eligible for the program has grown, pharmaceutical companies have claimed that the program is expensive, is being abused, and is responsible for driving up prescription drug costs while [...]