hospitals

Federal Health Policy Update for January 11

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 5 - 11. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS will establish 200 new Medicare-funded residency slots in FY 2025. Learn more about the additional slots here and find information about how to apply for those slots here. The deadline for applications is March 31. CMS released guidance for Medicare Part D plans that describes coverage and processing claims for COVID-19 therapeutics. Medicare Part D plans must cover commercially available oral antivirals for COVID-19 [...]

joe2024-01-11T21:27:47-05:00January 11, 2024|hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for January 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 21 to January 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act HHS, the departments of Labor and the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management intend to reopen the comment period for submitting comments on a proposed rule governing federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) operations. They plan to publish a notice to this effect in the near future with further details on reopening the comment period. Department of Health and Human Services HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator [...]

joe2024-01-04T22:10:23-05:00January 4, 2024|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Federal Update, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

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 [...]

MACPAC Meets

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the meeting. MACPAC’s December 2023 meeting opened with a session that highlighted findings related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection as part of the Commission’s focus on the collection of primary language and limited English proficiency, SOGI, and disability data for the purposes of assessing and addressing health disparities. During this discussion, we reviewed the purpose of SOGI data and federal and state priorities for collecting these data, which includes an overview of [...]

joe2023-12-19T15:36:42-05:00December 19, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations|

MedPAC Meets, Makes 2025 Payment Recommendations

2025 Medicare payments led the agenda at last week’s meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. After hearing presentations on the various Medicare payment systems and discussing the adequacy of current Medicare reimbursement, MedPAC’s commissioners provisionally endorses the following changes in 2025 Medicare payments. Inpatient and outpatient services – an update provided for in current law plus 1.5 percent and a shift to a safety-net index policy that would pay safety-net hospitals another $4 billion. Physicians and other health professionals – an increase of 50 percent of the Medicare economic index and introduction of an add-on payment for services provided [...]

joe2023-12-12T17:52:27-05:00December 13, 2023|hospitals, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 7

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 1-7. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress While Congress has more than a month before the next federal funding deadline of January 19, committees are working to prepare and pass health care legislation. On the House calendar for floor votes next week is H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. This bill would eliminate the pending cuts to Medicaid DSH for two years (those cuts are temporarily suspended through January 19); introduce site-neutral payments for drug administration services [...]

joe2023-12-07T21:50:17-05:00December 7, 2023|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for November 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 10-16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress This week Congress passed another continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government beyond Friday, when the current CR expires. This bill establishes two separate deadlines for lawmakers to pass certain spending bills so they can avoid an omnibus bill that includes all 12 appropriations bills. Congress must pass four of the spending bills by January 19 and the other bills by February 2. The Labor, HHS, and Education bill, one of [...]

“Hospital at Home” Appears to be Working Well

The federal Acute Hospital Care at Home program introduced during the COVID-19 crisis appears to be working well, according to a new study. The program, intended to free hospital beds at the height of the COVID pandemic while protecting non-COVID patients from exposure to the virus, enabled hospitals meeting certain Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services criteria to care for Medicare fee-for-service and non-managed care Medicaid patients in the home. Participating patients were chosen according to CMS-approved safety criteria built around an assessment of the acuity of their medical conditions and whether they might reasonably be treated at home. An [...]

iqtsupport2023-11-15T06:00:50-05:00November 15, 2023|hospitals, Medicare|

Improved Prospects for Non-Profit Hospital Finances in 2024

Non-profit hospitals should see generally improved financial performance in 2024, according to Moody’s Investor Services. Driving improved performance, according to the rating company, will be increased reimbursement that outpaces rising labor costs; increased volume, especially in the delivery of higher-margin outpatient care; and improved Medicaid payments in some states. Also helping improve hospital financial performance will be better use of IT, more use of telehealth, improved workflow, and better use of external resources for improving revenue cycle management. Learn more about what Moody’s sees ahead for non-profit hospitals in 2024 from the Fierce Healthcare article “Nonprofit hospital sector to stabilize [...]

iqtsupport2023-11-14T13:00:35-05:00November 14, 2023|hospitals|

MACPAC Meets

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days recently in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the meeting. To kick off MACPAC’s November meeting, the Commission continued its work on denials and appeals in Medicaid managed care with a review of findings from beneficiary focus groups. Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) manage and provide care to beneficiaries enrolled in their plans. Beneficiaries have the right to appeal MCO coverage decisions. Federal rules require that states have monitoring systems in place to provide oversight of MCOs and their appeals systems. This session described key challenges [...]

iqtsupport2023-11-14T06:00:32-05:00November 14, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid long-term services and supports, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicaid regulations for long-term care|