Medicaid DSH allotments

Federal Health Policy Update for September 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 22-28. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House President Biden has signed H.R. 2544, the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act, which provides for awarding multiple grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to operate the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Congress Congressional leaders have not come to agreement on how to avert a federal government shutdown this weekend. While Senate leaders introduced a continuing resolution that would fund the government through November 17, that bill has [...]

iqtsupport2023-09-28T16:38:25-04:00September 28, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, health equity, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Telehealth|

MACPAC Proposes New Approach to Helping Safety-Net Hospitals

To improve “…the relationship between total state and federal DSH [Medicaid disproportionate share] funding and the number of non-elderly low-income individuals in a state,” the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission has urged Congress to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to change how it calculates Medicaid DSH allotments to the states. This year MACPAC devotes a significant portion of its annual report to Congress to payment policy for safety-net hospitals, and in summarizing its proposal it writes that: In order to reduce the wide variation in state disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments based on historical spending, [...]

iqtsupport2023-06-26T06:00:13-04:00June 26, 2023|Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments|

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 April 27

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 21-27. 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. CMS has posted a new FAQ that [...]

iqtsupport2023-04-27T18:37:44-04:00April 27, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid long-term services and supports, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

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|

Federal Health Policy Update for March 16

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. Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) MedPAC has published its “March 2023 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy.” In this year’s report MedPAC considers the context of the Medicare program, including the near-term consequences of COVID-19 and the longer-term effects of program spending on the federal budget and the program’s financial sustainability. It evaluates payment adequacy and make recommendations concerning Medicare payment policy in 2024 for selected fee-for-service payment systems but explains that [...]

iqtsupport2023-03-16T17:31:47-04:00March 16, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, March 10

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 6-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House FY 2024 Budget Proposal The Biden administration this week released its proposed FY 2024 federal budget. Among its many proposals are measures to extend the life of the Medicare hospital trust fund and reduce Medicare beneficiaries’ health care costs; to reduce prescription drug costs for consumers, Medicare, and Medicaid; to return high Medicaid managed care organization profits to the federal government; to make behavioral health care more affordable for seniors; to [...]

iqtsupport2023-03-10T15:57:42-05:00March 10, 2023|340b, Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for March 3

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 27 to March 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act The Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) entities empowered by the No Surprises Act to adjudicate disagreements between providers and payers may resume their work – but only some of it. CMS has directed IDRs entities to resume processing payment determinations on February 27 for disputes involving items or services furnished before October 25, 2022 but not to issue decisions involving items or services furnished on or after October [...]

iqtsupport2023-03-03T13:20:02-05:00March 3, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, March 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund On March 22, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. (eastern), the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment due to lack of funds. On April 5, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. (eastern), the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program and COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund will stop accepting vaccination claims due to a lack of funds. See the announcement of these changes. Providers that received Provider [...]

iqtsupport2022-03-16T17:41:14-04:00March 16, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid upper-payment limit, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

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 sessions. The October 2020 MACPAC meeting opened with a panel discussion on restarting Medicaid eligibility redeterminations when the public health emergency ends. It included Jennifer Wagner, director of Medicaid eligibility and enrollment at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; René Mollow, deputy director for health care benefits and eligibility at the California Department of Health Care Services; and Lee Guice, director of policy and operations at the Department for Medicaid Services, Kentucky Cabinet for [...]

iqtsupport2020-11-05T06:00:25-05:00November 5, 2020|MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid regulations|