Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Hospitals Seek Delay in Medicaid DSH Cuts
“Delay upcoming cuts in Medicaid DSH payments” is the message hospitals delivered to Congress recently in response to a reduction of $8 billion in Medicaid disproportionate share cuts scheduled to take effect on October 1. The cuts, mandated by the Affordable Care Act, have been delayed by Congress on several occasions over the years in response to the belief that far more people remain uninsured than was anticipated when the 2010 health care reform law was adopted. According to proponents of the delay, the safety-net hospitals that receive Medicaid DSH [...]
Administration to Propose Extending Medicare Solvency and Lowering Beneficiary Costs
Later this week the Biden administration will offer proposals that seek to extend the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund and reduce beneficiaries’ health care costs. As part of the proposed FY 2024 federal budget the administration will present this week, it will call for extending the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by increasing the Medicare tax rate on income greater than $400,000 a year; closing loopholes in current Medicare taxes and depositing Medicare net investment income tax proceeds into the Medicare Trust Fund; and crediting savings from proposed [...]
Seven Apply for Rural Emergency Hospital Designation
With more than 140 rural hospitals closing since 2010 and more currently in financial trouble, a modest number of such facilities are hoping to avoid a similar fate by applying to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to become “rural emergency hospitals,” a new Medicare provider type created to preserve access to care in rural areas. Hospitals that become rural emergency hospitals will receive an annual fee of more than $3 million from Medicare and a five percent increase in their Medicare payments but must retain 24-hour emergency services [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for March 3
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 27 to March 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act The Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) entities empowered by the No Surprises Act to adjudicate disagreements between providers and payers may resume their work – but only some of it. CMS has directed IDRs entities to resume processing payment determinations on February 27 for disputes involving items or services furnished before October 25, 2022 but not to issue [...]
Medicaid Programs See Roadmap for Unwinding
With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic’s continuous Medicaid eligibility coming on April 1, the states now face the challenge of reviewing the eligibility of 90 million people currently on the nation’s Medicaid rolls. The process, commonly referred to as “Medicaid unwinding,” promises to be challenging to states and current Medicaid participants. While the federal government has provided considerable guidance on how Medicaid unwinding should proceed, the National Association of Medicaid Directors has ideas of its own that it has presented on the organization’s blog. Specifically, the group suggests to [...]