MACPAC

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, September 9

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 9.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has issued a fact sheet outlining how the administration plans to improve the country’s readiness for future pandemics.  The major elements of the plan are transforming medical defenses, ensuring situational awareness, strengthening public health systems, building core capabilities, and managing the mission. The White House has posted a transcript of the September 2 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, August 30

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, August 30.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Temporary Suspension of COVID-19 Data Reporting Requirements for Some Hospitals The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has announced that federal hospital COVID-19 reporting requirements for the entire state of Louisiana and parts of Mississippi have been suspended for seven days in response to Hurricane Ida.  While hospitals in the affected areas may still report their data if they [...]

Health Policy Update for Thursday, August 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 19.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has issued a fact sheet highlighting the latest administration actions to address COVID-19.  Those actions include its plan to begin offering COVID-19 booster vaccines starting the week of September 20; a soon-to-be-published regulation requiring workers in long-term-care facilities to be vaccinated (described below); a directive to the Secretary of Education to use all available tools to ensure that governors and other officials [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, July 22

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 22.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has posted a transcript of the July 22 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Policy News CMS has published its proposed calendar year 2022 Medicare outpatient prospective payment system regulation.  Among other subjects, the proposed regulation addresses hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgery center payment rates, hospital price transparency, the section 340B [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, July 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. CMS – Proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule CMS has released its proposed Medicare physician fee schedule rule for 2022.  Highlights of the proposed rule, which is more than 1700 pages, include: loosening current restrictions on the use of telehealth and expanding its use for behavioral health services; expanding the reach of the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program; requiring clinicians to meet a higher performance threshold to receive [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, July 9

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Friday, July 9.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House President Biden has issued an executive order “…to promote competition in the American economy, which will lower prices for families, increase wages for workers, and promote innovation and even faster economic growth.”  Among other things, the executive order calls for closer scrutiny of corporate consolidation, maintaining that such consolidation results in a “…lack of competition [that] drives up prices for consumers.  As fewer large players have [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, June 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, June 28.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Supreme Court Decision in Affordable Care Act Case The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a case in which insurers unsuccessfully sued to recover reductions in their Affordable Care Act federal cost-sharing reduction payments. White House The White House has posted a transcript of the June 22 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Department of Health and Human Services [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, June 15

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund Late last week HHS announced that it has increased the amount of time providers will have to report information and extended key deadlines for expending Provider Relief Fund payments for recipients that received payments after June 30, 2020.  The revised reporting requirements will be applicable to providers that received one or more payments exceeding, in the aggregate, $10,000 during a single payment-received period from the [...]

2021-06-15T17:31:26-04:00June 15, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, June 3

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 3.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House Health Policy News Late last week the Biden administration released its proposed FY 2022 budget.  Most of the health care provisions had already been disclosed and discussed prior to the formal budget release.  For additional information about the proposed budget, see the following resources: A budget in brief document. An OMB summary. An OMB budget fact sheet. COVID-19 President Biden announced a “National Month of Action” [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, May 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a transcript of the May 5 press briefing by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 HHS has created a web page for its new COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund through which providers can be reimbursed for the cost of administering COVID-19 vaccines to the uninsured and to those whose health insurance [...]

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