Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Federal Health Policy Update for October 19
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for October 13-19. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress At this moment there is still no Speaker of the House of Representatives. After 20 and then 22 House Republicans voted against Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, Mr. Jordan has joined others, including senior Democrats, in supporting a plan to expand the powers of the temporary speaker, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC). Mr. Jordan remains the speaker designee, [...]
Nursing Shortage? Says Who?
Hospitals say there is a major shortage of nurses in the U.S. Nursing groups say there are plenty of nurses – just not enough nurses willing to work in hospitals under current conditions. Others believe the problem is not so much a shortage of nurses as it is a shortage of nursing where nursing is needed. Whether there really is a shortage of nurses, and how to address it, if there is one, depends in large part on the answer to that question. Learn more about the different perspectives on [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for October 12
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for October 6-12. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act CMS has reopened the federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) portal for the initiation ofnew single disputes, including single disputes involving bundled payment arrangements, but parties still cannot initiate new disputes involving air ambulance services and batched disputes for air ambulance and non-air ambulance items and services. IDR portal functionalities related to previously initiated batched disputes also are unavailable. Learn more [...]
MedPAC Meets
The members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission held their latest public meeting last week. The issues addressed during the meeting were: Current legal updates to Medicare’s payment rates for clinician services. Staffing ratios and turnover rates in nursing facilities. An alternative method to establish Medicare payments for selected conditions treated in inpatient rehabilitation facilities. A staff work plan for examining prices of generic drugs under Part D For an overview of each of these issues and links to the presentations made by MedPAC’s staff during the discussions, go here.
Survey Looks at Work of Hospital Equity Officers
With more and more hospitals hiring equity officers to lead their efforts to address social determinants of health and the health care disparities that often result, a new survey examines the obstacles those health equity officials are encountering in their work. The survey and follow-up interviews of some of the respondents explore the degree of support the health equity officers believe they have from different officials throughout their hospitals and health systems, the obstacles they have encountered, the differences expressed by respondents based on the type of hospital in which [...]