Medicaid

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, June 27

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Monday, June 27. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House COVID-19 response team has briefed the press about the administration’s latest efforts in the response to COVID-19. Find a transcript of that briefing here and find the slides presented during that briefing here. Supreme Court In a case that challenged a 2005 change in how CMS calculates Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) payments, the Supreme Court has, in a 5-4 decision, reversed a [...]

iqtsupport2022-06-27T16:37:45-04:00June 27, 2022|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, June 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services The Supreme Court has ruled that CMS acted inappropriately when it reduced 340B payments to hospitals. In a unanimous decision, the court found that the law creating the program gives the federal government two ways to set 340B payments for outpatient drugs for qualified providers and that the manner in which CMS cut those payments in 2018 followed neither. Learn more from [...]

iqtsupport2022-06-21T17:24:52-04:00June 21, 2022|340b, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Using Medicaid Money to Pay the Rent?

Some people think the time has come for Medicaid to help pay for housing for the homeless in the name of health and health equity. “In the last decade Medicaid has inched toward acknowledging the interconnectedness of housing and health,” the New York Times reports, adding that “It has encouraged more state Medicaid programs to cover housing-related costs like furniture or security deposits – basically everything except paying the rent.” In addition, most conversations about social determinants of health identify housing insecurity as a major obstacle to good health and health equity. The Bush and Obama administrations invested in creating [...]

iqtsupport2022-06-15T11:24:04-04:00June 15, 2022|health equity, Medicaid, Medicaid and homelessness, social determinants of health|

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, June 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, June 13. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has issued a fact sheet outlining its plan for administering COVID-19 vaccines to children under the age of five. Find the fact sheet here. The White House also held a background call with the press to discuss this plan; go here to see a transcript of that call. The White House COVID-19 response team has held a briefing for the press to discuss [...]

iqtsupport2022-06-13T17:03:53-04:00June 13, 2022|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, May 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Friday, May 20. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has announced that U.S. households may now order an additional eight free home COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov. Learn more from this White House fact sheet. White House COVID-19 and public health officials have held a COVID-19 briefing. Find a transcript of the briefing here and the slides presented during the briefing here. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has published a new [...]

iqtsupport2022-05-20T17:13:05-04:00May 20, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, May 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 12. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has released $450 million in American Rescue Plan grants to rural health care providers. Go here to find the updated database of rural grant recipients. Department of Health and Human Services HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure have written to the nation’s governors about some of the challenges states will face when the COVID-19 public health [...]

iqtsupport2022-05-12T16:41:48-04:00May 12, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Telehealth|

Relatively Few Docs Treating Medicaid Patients

Just a small portion of the providers theoretically available to serve individuals enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans are actually caring for such patients, a new study has found. According to a report in Health Affairs, 25 percent of the primary care physicians serving patients in selected managed care plans are providing 86 percent of the primary care to those plans’ members while 16 percent of those plans’ listed primary care providers have gone more than a year without filing a single claim. Similarly, 25 percent of the medical specialists participating in the plans provided 75 percent of the plans’ [...]

iqtsupport2022-05-10T06:00:21-04:00May 10, 2022|Medicaid, Medicaid managed care|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, May 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Department of Health and Human Services HHS and its Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have awarded nearly $25 million to 125 HRSA-funded health centers to improve and strengthen access to school-based health services. Awards will support local partnerships between schools and health centers to provide children and youth with comprehensive physical and mental health care. Learn more from this HHS news release. HHS and its Substance Abuse [...]

iqtsupport2022-05-05T16:22:38-04:00May 5, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, April 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has announced a series of steps designed to increase the availability of oral treatments for COVID-19. Those steps include nearly doubling the number of places oral antivirals are available in the coming weeks; launching a new effort to establish federally-supported test-to-treat sites; supporting medical providers with more guidance and tools to understand and prescribe treatments; and communicating to the public that safe, effective [...]

iqtsupport2022-04-28T17:23:03-04:00April 28, 2022|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|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, April 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 21. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Proposed FY 2023 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System Regulation CMS has published its proposed FY 2023 Medicare inpatient prospective payment system regulation outlining how it envisions paying hospitals for the inpatient care they provide to Medicare patients in the coming fiscal year. Highlights of the proposed regulation include: A proposed 3.2 percent increase in inpatient rates and a 0.7 percent increase in LTCH rates. A $654 million cut [...]

iqtsupport2022-04-21T17:30:19-04:00April 21, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|