COVID-19

Federal Health Policy Update for July 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 13-16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has introduced a bill, the “Primary Care and Health Workforce Expansion Act.” The bill would: Increase funding for community health centers by $65 billion over five years, fund the National Health Service Corps at $8.3 billion over five years, and provide $250 million for HRSA coordination for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Add 10,000 graduate [...]

iqtsupport2023-07-20T16:54:58-04:00July 20, 2023|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, health equity, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

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 [...]

iqtsupport2023-07-13T15:50:46-04:00July 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|

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 [...]

iqtsupport2023-06-29T15:36:39-04:00June 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|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 22

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 9-22. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has announced new flexibilities to help keep Americans insured as states resume Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) renewals. The new flexibilities were announced in a letter sent by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra to the nation’s governors urging them to adopt all available flexibilities to minimize avoidable coverage losses among children and families. The new flexibilities include permitting managed care plans to assist people currently [...]

iqtsupport2023-06-22T16:04:30-04:00June 22, 2023|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Health Policy Update for June 8

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 28 – June 8. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has announced a new primary care model – the Making Care Primary Model – that will be tested by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in eight states. The model seeks to improve care for patients by expanding and enhancing care management and care coordination, equipping primary care clinicians with tools to form partnerships with health care specialists, and leveraging community-based connections [...]

iqtsupport2023-06-08T16:41:06-04:00June 8, 2023|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Beneficiaries Starting to Feel Effects of Medicaid Unwinding

With the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, states are now undertaking in earnest the challenge of reconsidering Medicaid eligibility for millions of people currently on their Medicaid rolls – something federal law has prohibited them from doing since the early days of the pandemic. And while 65 percent of those currently enrolled in Medicaid, according to a recent survey, are unaware of the current process and the possibility that they may soon lose their Medicaid eligibility, states are already reconsidering beneficiaries’ eligibility. Learn more about what has become known as “Medicaid unwinding” and the impact it is starting [...]

iqtsupport2023-05-30T06:00:52-04:00May 30, 2023|COVID-19, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for May 25

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 19-25. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced to the full House two bills with significant implications for health care providers. H.R. 3561 calls for delaying $8 billion a year in Medicaid DSH cuts for two years – cuts scheduled to take effect in October; imposing site-neutral payments for drug infusion services provided in off-campus hospital outpatient departments; imposing stronger price transparency requirements on hospitals; and requiring hospitals to report selected ownership [...]

iqtsupport2023-05-25T15:37:35-04:00May 25, 2023|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid regulations, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for May 18

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 12-18. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee has approved and advanced five bipartisan health care bills. H.R. 3281 combined a number of proposals into a larger package and includes provisions that would: delay for two years Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) cuts currently scheduled to take effect on October 1; require health providers to use a unique identifier for each off-campus or remote outpatient department beginning in 2026; change how Medicare pays [...]

iqtsupport2023-05-18T17:13:49-04:00May 18, 2023|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for May 11

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 5-11. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency DeBrunner & Associates has prepared a summary of the status of selected government health care waivers and flexibilities following expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency today. The DeBrunner summary covers telehealth, COVID-19 treatment and coverage, flexible hospital operations, long-term-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and units, patient cost-sharing, and state Medicaid waivers. Find the summary here. CMS has sent a memo to state Medicaid and CHIP [...]

iqtsupport2023-05-11T14:13:44-04:00May 11, 2023|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for May 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 28 – May 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency DeBrunner & Associates has prepared a summary of the status of selected government health care waivers and flexibilities upon the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11. The DeBrunner summary covers telehealth, COVID-19 treatment and coverage, flexible hospital operations, long-term-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and units, patient cost-sharing, and state Medicaid waivers. Find the summary here. The COVID-19 public health [...]

iqtsupport2023-05-04T17:25:59-04:00May 4, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|