Affordable Care Act

Federal Health Policy Update for April 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 29 – April 4.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has announced that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a government-wide policy to attempt to mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and harness its benefits.  The order directs action to strengthen AI safety and security, protect privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers and workers, and promote innovation and competition.  It includes components on addressing risks from [...]

2024-04-04T20:06:11+00:00April 4, 2024|Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
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Federal Health Policy Update for March 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 15-21.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has announced new actions to advance women’s health research and innovation and issued an executive order in support of that objective.  The order directs executive branch agencies to integrate women’s health across the federal research portfolio; prioritize investments in women’s health research; pursue new research on women’s midlife health; and assess unmet needs to support women’s health research.  Learn more from this White House fact sheet, which [...]

2024-03-21T18:42:46+00:00March 21, 2024|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, social determinants of health, Uncategorized|
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Federal Health Policy Update for March 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 8-14.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The Biden administration this week released its proposed FY 2025 federal budget.  Health care highlights include: Making permanent the expanded health care premium tax credits introduced to make health insurance marketplace plans more affordable for middle-class Americans. Extension of coverage similar to Medicaid to residents of the 10 states that have not taken advantage of the Affordable Care Act opportunity to expand their Medicaid programs. Permission for states to extend [...]

2024-03-14T20:46:56+00:00March 14, 2024|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|
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Congress Spares Medicaid DSH Cut – for Now

An oft-delayed cut in Medicaid disproportionate share allotments to states was delayed once again in the latest temporary spending bill passed by Congress last week. The stopgap spending bill, which runs until March 8, delays an $8 billion a year cut in Medicaid DSH payments that was part of the Affordable Care Act and has been put off by Congress on numerous occasions ever since. The reduction was envisioned as an appropriate move in anticipation of a significant increase in uninsured Americans after the 2010 reform law’s passage.  While that increase has occurred, many hospitals continue to care for significant [...]

2024-01-23T19:58:33+00:00January 23, 2024|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments|
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Federal Health Policy Update for December 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government December 14-20.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House is in recess until January 9.  The Senate has delayed its recess to continue negotiations on a possible foreign aid and border policy deal. Democrats from the House Ways and Means Committee have published a report on the relationship between the U.S. health care system and climate change.  View their report “Health Care and the Climate Crisis:  Preparing America’s Health Care Infrastructure.” No Surprises Act The federal government has reopened the [...]

2023-12-20T19:33:02+00:00December 20, 2023|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|
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Medicaid Unwinding Runs Into More Problems

When the COVID-19-era policy of continuous Medicaid eligibility came to an end and the process known as Medicaid unwinding began, policymakers expected significant numbers of people who lost their Medicaid eligibility to find new, affordable coverage in Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange plans. But while bureaucratic snafus that have resulted in millions of people losing their Medicaid eligibility because of paperwork problems rather than income that exceeded Medicaid eligibility criteria have received the most post-pandemic attention, other challenges have arisen that are preventing people from finding new, affordable insurance to replace their Medicaid coverage.  Among them: ACA plans are [...]

2023-10-09T06:00:41+00:00October 9, 2023|Affordable Care Act|
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Federal Health Policy Update for July 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 30 – July 13.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. 340B CMS has published a proposed regulation outlining how it plans to reimburse hospitals for reductions in 340B prescription drug payments that it implemented from 2018 to 2022 but that a federal court found to be illegal.  The agency calculates that it owes participating 340B providers $9 billion, which it proposes paying to those providers in single lump-sum payments.  CMS also proposes offsetting these payments through reductions in future non-drug [...]

2023-07-13T15:50:46+00:00July 13, 2023|340b, Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|
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Federal Health Policy Update for June 29

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 23-29.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House President Biden has issued an executive order on strengthening access to affordable contraception and family planning services for women with private health insurance and through Medicaid, Medicare, and federally supported health programs and to foster research on access.  Learn more from this White House fact sheet and the administration’s executive order.   Department of Health and Human Services HHS’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has posted its final rule [...]

2023-06-29T15:36:39+00:00June 29, 2023|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy|
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Federal Health Policy Update for April 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 8 – 20.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The Biden administration has announced a plan to expand health coverage for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) individuals.  To this end, it announced that HHS will soon propose a rule amending the definition of “lawful presence,” for purposes of Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage, to include DACA recipients.  If finalized, the rule would make DACA individuals eligible for these programs for the first time.  Under the proposed rule, [...]

2023-04-20T17:24:28+00:00April 20, 2023|Affordable Care Act, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|
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Federal Health Policy Update for December 22

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of December 19-22.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress As of this writing, Congress continues to work on an FY 2023 omnibus spending bill:  the Senate has passed it but the House has not yet addressed it.  Highlights of what negotiators have agreed to – but that have not yet been adopted – include: Preventing the additional four percent Medicare sequester for two years. Reducing by more than half the 4.5 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians [...]

2022-12-22T17:30:38+00:00December 22, 2022|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, COVID-19, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare bad debt reimbursement, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|
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