Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Bill Would Halt Medicaid DSH Cuts, Bring Other Changes
A wide-ranging bill passed by the Senate Finance Committee would eliminate $16 billion in Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) payments over the next two years. The Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act, passed by the committee with unanimous, bipartisan support, also seeks to improve access to mental health care for Medicare patients living in rural and underserved areas; improve access to behavioral health services via telehealth for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries; reduce some of the recently adopted cuts in Medicare payments to physicians that will take effect [...]
“Hospital at Home” Appears to be Working Well
The federal Acute Hospital Care at Home program introduced during the COVID-19 crisis appears to be working well, according to a new study. The program, intended to free hospital beds at the height of the COVID pandemic while protecting non-COVID patients from exposure to the virus, enabled hospitals meeting certain Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services criteria to care for Medicare fee-for-service and non-managed care Medicaid patients in the home. Participating patients were chosen according to CMS-approved safety criteria built around an assessment of the acuity of their medical conditions [...]
Improved Prospects for Non-Profit Hospital Finances in 2024
Non-profit hospitals should see generally improved financial performance in 2024, according to Moody’s Investor Services. Driving improved performance, according to the rating company, will be increased reimbursement that outpaces rising labor costs; increased volume, especially in the delivery of higher-margin outpatient care; and improved Medicaid payments in some states. Also helping improve hospital financial performance will be better use of IT, more use of telehealth, improved workflow, and better use of external resources for improving revenue cycle management. Learn more about what Moody’s sees ahead for non-profit hospitals in 2024 [...]
MACPAC Meets
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days recently in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the meeting. To kick off MACPAC’s November meeting, the Commission continued its work on denials and appeals in Medicaid managed care with a review of findings from beneficiary focus groups. Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) manage and provide care to beneficiaries enrolled in their plans. Beneficiaries have the right to appeal MCO coverage decisions. Federal rules require that states have monitoring systems in place to provide oversight of [...]
MedPAC Meets
The commissioners of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently met virtually. The subjects on the agenda of their two-day meeting were: rural emergency hospitals dual-eligible special needs plans MedPAC’s work plan for hospice issues Medicare coverage of and payment for software as a medical service favorable selection in Medicare Advantage network management and prior authorization and their impact on access in Medicare Advantage MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving Medicare. While its recommendations are not binding on either Congress or the administration, MedPAC is [...]