Medicaid

Number of Uninsured on the Rise

The number of uninsured Americans has risen significantly over the past year: from 25 million in March of 2023 to 27 million in March of 2024, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the uninsured rate rising from a record low of 7.7 percent to 8.2 percent. The rise in the number of uninsured people results primarily from individuals who became eligible for Medicaid during the COVID-19 public health emergency, a period during which states could not redetermine eligibility without losing some of the additional funding they were receiving from the federal government [...]

joe2024-08-08T08:46:58-04:00August 7, 2024|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for August 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for July 19 – August 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. CMS – Medicare Payment Regulations Final FY 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System Regulation CMS has finalized its hospital inpatient prospective payment system rule for FY 2025. In the next fiscal year CMS will increase Medicare inpatient payments 2.9% while cutting Medicare disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicare DSH) $200 million. It also has: finalized its use of new core-based statistical area (CBSA) delineations for use in Medicare wage index calculations; established [...]

joe2024-08-06T14:25:10-04:00August 6, 2024|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, health equity, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|

Federal Health Policy Update for July 18

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for July 13-18. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has issued a notice alerting certain clinicians who are qualifying alternative payment model (APM) participants and who have earned an APM incentive payment that the agency does not have the current contact information it needs to disburse their payments. The notice provides information to qualified participants on how to update their Medicare billing information so that CMS can disburse these payments. Learn more from this CMS [...]

joe2024-07-18T20:57:21-04:00July 18, 2024|Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care, Telehealth|

MedPAC Posts Annual Data Book

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has published its annual data book Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program. The book provides information on national health care and Medicare spending, Medicare beneficiary demographics, and data on dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care in the Medicare program, and Medicare beneficiary and other payer liabilities. MedPAC presents its data in 11 sections: national health care and Medicare spending Medicare beneficiary demographics Medicare beneficiary and other payer financial liability dual-eligible beneficiaries alternative payer models acute inpatient services – general acute-care hospitals and inpatient psychiatric hospitals ambulatory care – physicians and other health professionals, hospital outpatient [...]

joe2024-07-17T12:02:47-04:00July 17, 2024|Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, post-acute care, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for July 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for July 6-12. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The Courts A federal court has blocked implementation of the FTC’s rule banning non-compete clauses in most employment contracts, a regulatory development with potentially significant implications for the health care industry. The temporary ban affects only the five plaintiffs in the case and it is not yet clear whether the ruling will have broader implications in the wake of the recent reversal of the Chevron decision that could potentially curtail the rulemaking authority [...]

joe2024-07-12T18:46:49-04:00July 12, 2024|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for July 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 29-July 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Department of Health and Human Services Because it has found that Medicare Advantage organizations sometimes deny prior authorization requests for post-acute care after a qualifying hospital stay even though the requests met Medicare coverage rules, HHS’s Office of the Inspector General will examine selected Medicare Advantage plans’ processes for reviewing prior authorization requests for post-acute care in long-term acute-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and skilled nursing facilities. It also will review the [...]

joe2024-07-05T17:44:35-04:00July 5, 2024|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, post-acute care|

Court’s Chevron Decision to Affect Health Care

A Supreme Court decision last week could have a profound effect on the regulation of many aspects of the health care industry. The Chevron decision, issued by the court in 1984, called for courts to defer to federal agency interpretation of ambiguous statutes if they found those interpretations to be reasonable. The latest Supreme Court ruling, however, overturns that approach, calling for the courts to act independently when evaluating the appropriateness of agency interpretations and the regulations federal agencies implement in support of those interpretations. The Washington Post explains that Legal experts and health officials expect a gusher of litigation [...]

joe2024-07-02T17:26:48-04:00July 2, 2024|Medicaid, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 21-28. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The Courts The Supreme Court has overturned the court’s own decision in the 1984 case of Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. that gave federal agencies considerable leeway to interpret ambiguous laws enacted by Congress. While the Chevron decision called for the courts to defer to federal agency interpretation of ambiguous statutes if they found them to be reasonable, the latest Supreme Court decision calls for the courts [...]

joe2024-06-28T20:03:06-04:00June 28, 2024|Affordable Care Act, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 14-20. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act HHS and the departments of Labor and the Treasury have announced a policy that offers extra time to health care providers whose desire to engage in No Surprises Act adjudication of payment disagreements with payers was affected by the Change Healthcare cybersecurity attack. Under this temporary policy, providers, facilities, and providers of air ambulance services whose ability to initiate timely No Surprises Act open negotiation for any item or service [...]

joe2024-06-20T19:22:28-04:00June 20, 2024|340b, Alternative payment models, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 7-13. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government document. Supreme Court The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to how the Department of Health and Human Services calculates hospitals’ Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) payments. The case was added to the court’s 2024-2025 schedule. Congress Individual members and key committees in Congress continue to introduce and mark up health care-related legislation with an eye toward including these initiatives in an end-of-year package. This work is expected to continue through the [...]

joe2024-06-13T20:15:06-04:00June 13, 2024|Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|