Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission

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 [...]

iqtsupport2022-01-24T18:02:44-05:00January 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 [...]

iqtsupport2022-01-19T17:47:33-05:00January 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 [...]

iqtsupport2022-01-13T17:31:49-05:00January 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 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 [...]

iqtsupport2022-01-06T17:30:52-05:00January 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 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 [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-21T16:36:50-05:00December 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. [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-16T16:47:23-05:00December 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 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 [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-06T17:23:36-05:00December 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|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, November 23

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 23. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has posted a transcript of the November 22 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public officials. Go here for the slides presented during that meeting. Provider Relief Fund HHS announced that it has begun distributing $7.5 billion in American Rescue Plan rural payments to providers and suppliers that serve rural Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare beneficiaries. [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-23T17:27:12-05:00November 23, 2021|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, November 15

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, November 15. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has posted a transcript of the November 10 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public officials. Go here for the slides presented during that briefing. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – Final Guidance on Shared/Co-Located Hospital Spaces In a memo to state survey agencies, CMS has published final guidance for the evaluation of compliance with the Medicare Conditions [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-15T17:19:23-05:00November 15, 2021|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, November 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, November 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. New Federal Vaccination Requirements CMS has unveiled its new COVID-19 vaccine requirements for health care providers that receive reimbursement from the federal government. The highlights include: CMS is requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The staff vaccination requirement applies to the following Medicare and Medicaid-certified provider and supplier types: ambulatory surgery centers, community mental health centers, [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-04T17:17:11-04:00November 4, 2021|340b, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid upper-payment limit, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, MedPAC, Telehealth|