Coronavirus

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, January 24

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 24. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund The reconsideration window for Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 payments and American Rescue Plan rural hospital payments will open on February 1, 2022, at which time providers will be able to request reconsideration of their payments. This process is intended only for providers that believe their payment was not calculated correctly. They will not have an opportunity to submit an application if they missed a [...]

admin2022-01-24T18:02:44+00:00January 24, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, January 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, January 19. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Public Health Emergency Declaration Renewed HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has renewed his department’s declaration of a public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The renewal took effect on January 16 and extends the declaration for three months. Find the declaration here. Free COVID-19 Tests and Masks Upon request, the federal government is now providing four free monthly home COVID-19 tests to every household. Order those tests [...]

admin2022-01-19T17:47:33+00:00January 19, 2022|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, January 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, January 13. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Supreme Court The Supreme Court has ruled that the administration’s vaccine mandate for health care workers will remain in effect while the mandate is challenged in the lower courts. See the court’s ruling here. White House The White House has announced new efforts to protect children from COVID-19 and keep schools open. The new measures include: Sending more point-of-care and lab-based PCR tests to schools. Deploying federal surge [...]

admin2022-01-13T17:31:49+00:00January 13, 2022|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, January 11

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS has updated its FAQ for reconsideration requests involving Phase 4 and rural hospital payments. Find the updated FAQ here. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 HHS announced that beginning January 15, individuals with private health insurance coverage who purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA will be able to have those test costs covered by their insurance. [...]

admin2022-01-11T17:32:41+00:00January 11, 2022|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, January 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, January 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund The Provider Relief Fund reporting portal is now open for reporting period 2 and will remain open through March 31, 2022. Go here for more information about what organizations do and do not need to report and how to do so. The Provider Relief Fund web page offers updated information about what constitutes an allowable expense when reporting on the use of Provider Relief Fund [...]

admin2022-01-06T17:30:52+00:00January 6, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, January 3

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, January 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House President Biden has issued a memorandum to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency on maximizing assistance to respond to COVID-⁠19. Among other things, the memorandum calls for FEMA to provide emergency and disaster assistance, to establish or expand COVID-19 testing sites at the request of state governments, and to underwrite the [...]

admin2022-01-03T17:34:54+00:00January 3, 2022|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, December 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 21. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The administration has announced new steps to protect Americans and help communities and hospitals battle the COVID-19 omicron variant. The major parts of this initiative include: Increasing support for hospitals by deploying 1000 Department of Defense medical personnel to hospitals during January and February and federal medical personnel to some states immediately; expanding hospital capacity; providing support to states to help hospitals create and license [...]

admin2021-12-21T16:36:50+00:00December 21, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, December 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, December 16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is releasing $9 billion in phase 4 Provider Relief Fund grants. Payments will average $58,000 for what HHS is calling “small” providers, $289,000 for medium providers, and $1.7 million for large providers. Learn more about the release of these funds from this HHS news release and go here for an explanation of how the agency calculated the payments. [...]

admin2021-12-16T16:47:23+00:00December 16, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, December 9

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 9. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Update on Efforts to Delay Medicare Sequestration Cuts The Senate has advanced S 610, a bill that would: Extend the COVID-19-driven moratorium on the long-time two percent Medicare sequestration until the end of March 2022, reducing that sequestration from two percent to one percent from the beginning of April through the end of June 2022. Avoid the additional four percent sequestration necessitated by federal PAYGO rules by moving [...]

admin2021-12-09T16:47:04+00:00December 9, 2021|Congress, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid and housing for the disabled, Medicare cuts, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, December 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, December 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has published a plan outlining the steps the administration will take to combat the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19 in the coming months. The major components of this plan are boosters for all adults, vaccinations for children, expanded free home testing, stronger public health protocols for international travel, workplace protections, rapid response teams to help battle rising cases, and supplying treatment [...]

admin2021-12-06T17:23:36+00:00December 6, 2021|Accountable Care Organization, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|