Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Hospitals Continue to Protest Medicare DSH Cut
The regulation has already been finalized but hospitals continue to protest Medicare’s intention to reduce their Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) uncompensated care payments. The cut, proposed at $115 million in April, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed it, ended up just shy of $1 billion in the final regulation. The major change, according to CMS, comes because the agency’s actuaries have projected a lower uninsured rate than when CMS proposed the $115 million cut in the spring. Medicare DSH payments are intended to help hospitals that [...]
Feds Pointing Fingers on Medicaid Unwinding Shortcomings
After months of vague, general assertions about shortcomings in states’ efforts to redetermine the eligibility of their Medicaid participants as part of the post-pandemic continuous Medicaid unwinding process, the federal government is now revealing which states are having problems – and what those problems are. In public letters to the 50 states, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services cites three major shortcomings in states’ efforts: paperwork problems, long call center waiting times, and the slow processing of applications. According to the letters, 36 states are falling short on at [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for August 10
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 4-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has temporarily suspended the federal Independent Dispute Resolution process, which adjudicates problems involving surprise medical bills, in the wake of a federal court ruling that found some of the process’s underlying regulations invalid. CMS has directed the certified Independent Dispute Resolution entities to pause all dispute resolution activities. As a result, providers and insurers temporarily cannot [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for August 3
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for July 29-August 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Medicare Payment Regulations CMS has issued a final rule updating Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient and long-term-care hospital services under its inpatient prospective payment system and long-term care prospective payment system for FY 2024. The final rule increases hospital inpatient rates 3.1 percent and LTCH rates 3.3 percent in FY 2024. Other highlights include a nearly $1 billion cut in [...]
Millions Cut From Medicaid, CHIP Rolls
Nearly four million Americans have already had their Medicaid or CHIP eligibility terminated as part of the so-called Medicaid unwinding process, according to data compiled by KFF Health News from state and federal sources. That figure, moreover, accounts for only 38 states and the District of Columbia. According to the KFF Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker, At least 3,790,000 Medicaid enrollees have been disenrolled as of July 27, 2023, based on the most current data from 38 states and the District of Columbia. There is wide variation in disenrollment rates [...]