hospitals

Supply of Nursing Home Beds Declining

The number of nursing home beds in the U.S. is fast declining, according to a new analysis commissioned by the American Health Care Association, a nursing home trade group. According to the study, 21 percent of nursing home operators have downsized – dropped beds or units. 55 percent have turned away people seeking nursing home beds. 48 percent have waiting lists. 579 facilities have closed since 2020, and along with them, the supply of nursing home beds fell by more than 45,000. Nursing home operators cite a number of reasons for the decline, including current reimbursement practices – especially for [...]

iqtsupport2023-08-28T06:00:39-04:00August 28, 2023|hospitals, Medicaid, post-acute care|

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 initiate new disputes. Learn more from this CMS notice. CMS [...]

iqtsupport2023-08-10T16:32:27-04:00August 10, 2023|Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for July 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for July 21 -28. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Medicare Payment Regulations CMS has published a final rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates under its inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system and IRF quality reporting program for FY 2024. The final rule includes a 3.4 percent rate increase and changes in the outlier threshold, the case-mix-group relative weights and average length of stay values, and the wage index. In addition, this rule rebases and revises the IRF market [...]

iqtsupport2023-07-28T14:28:17-04:00July 28, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

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|

Price Transparency Compliance Rises With Penalties

Raising penalties for failure to comply with federal hospital price transparency requirements is increasing compliance with those requirements. Or so concludes a new JAMA Network report. According to a recently published study that examined nearly 4400 acute-care hospitals, … compliance with the 2021 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Price Transparency Rule increased from 70.4% in 2021 to 87.7% in 2022. Increases in compliance were significantly positively correlated with penalty size, which changed from a flat rate to a function of hospital bed counts. Compliance with the requirement, which took effect at the beginning of 2021, was already generally [...]

iqtsupport2023-07-06T06:00:27-04:00July 6, 2023|hospitals|

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|

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|

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, [...]

iqtsupport2023-04-20T17:24:28-04:00April 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|

MACPAC Reports to Congress

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission has issued its annual report to Congress on the state of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The commission, a non-partisan legislative branch agency that provides policy and data analysis and makes recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the states on a wide array of subjects, issues a report every year at this time. This year’s report focuses primarily on: Medicaid race and ethnicity data collection and reporting principles for assessing Medicaid nursing facility payment programs strengthening evidence under Medicaid drug coverage MACPAC’s [...]

iqtsupport2023-03-23T06:00:58-04:00March 23, 2023|Congress, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments|