Medicaid

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, September 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 28. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund: Application Reminder Beginning on September 29, health care providers may apply for $25.5 billion in health care relief funds, including $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan resources for providers that serve rural patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program and $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 grants for a broad range of providers that have experienced changes in operating [...]

iqtsupport2021-09-28T17:36:29-04:00September 28, 2021|Coronavirus, MACPAC, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, September 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund reporting portal’s frequently asked questions. Find the updated FAQ here. HHS has published a Provider Relief Fund reporting portal user guide. Find the guide here. The White House The White House has posted a transcript of the September 17 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Find the slides presented during the briefing [...]

iqtsupport2021-09-21T16:49:27-04:00September 21, 2021|340b, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, August 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 1:30 p.m. on Friday, August 13. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Food and Drug Administration COVID-19 The FDA has amended the emergency use authorizations for both the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to authorize administering an additional dose of those vaccines to certain immunocompromised individuals, including solid organ transplant recipients and those who are diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise. The FDA has revised its emergency use authorization for [...]

iqtsupport2021-08-16T13:24:58-04:00August 16, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid|

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 [...]

iqtsupport2021-07-22T17:21:47-04:00July 22, 2021|340b, Alternative payment models, 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 regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

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 [...]

iqtsupport2021-07-09T17:05:45-04:00July 9, 2021|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicare|

Vaccination Rates Low Among Medicaid Recipients

Individuals enrolled in Medicaid are less likely to have received COVID-19 vaccines than the population as a whole, according to a recently published report. Among the possible reasons for this low rate, observers speculate, is greater vaccine hesitancy among low-income individuals (as identified in a nation-wide survey), less flexible work schedules, and economic barriers such as lack of transportation or child care. Learn more about the extent of the problem around the country and what state Medicaid programs are doing to encourage more Medicaid beneficiaries to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated in the Roll Call article “Medicaid beneficiaries [...]

iqtsupport2021-07-07T16:10:04-04:00July 7, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid|

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 [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-28T17:33:25-04:00June 28, 2021|Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, MedPAC|

Low Payments Aren’t Only Factor Keeping Docs Away From Medicaid

It has long been assumed that low payments are the primary reason doctors choose not to serve Medicaid patients. It now appears, though, that there may be another, no-less important reason: challenges associated with billing Medicaid. A new study found that doctors struggle to do business with Medicaid more than they do with other insurers. According to the study, doctors reported that 19 percent of the initial claims they submit for caring for Medicaid patients are not paid in full – more than twice as often as they experience that problem with Medicare and nearly four times more often than [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-10T13:00:23-04:00June 10, 2021|Medicaid|

New Health Care Leaders Share Priorities

New leaders at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation are quickly making their priorities known to health care industry stakeholders. For new CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, her priority is coverage. She has declared that “Our focus is going to be on making sure regulations and policies are going to be focused on improving coverage,” and while she hopes that states that have not yet expanded their Medicaid programs will take advantage of current federal incentives to do so, there is another path to coverage: “…the public option or other coverage certainly [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-10T06:00:44-04:00June 10, 2021|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid|

Health Policy Update for Tuesday, June 8

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House Health Policy News The White House, HHS, HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and the FDA have announced a series of policy recommendations to address vulnerabilities in U.S. pharmaceutical supply chains. Under one of these recommendations, HHS, under the Defense Production Act and building on current public-private partnerships, will establish a public-private consortium for advanced domestic manufacturing of essential medicines production. The [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-08T17:24:26-04:00June 8, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations|