Medicare regulations

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, May 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a transcript of the May 5 press briefing by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 HHS has created a web page for its new COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund through which providers can be reimbursed for the cost of administering COVID-19 vaccines to the uninsured and to those whose health insurance [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-05T17:25:41-04:00May 5, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, post-acute care|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, April 22

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 22. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response has published a new edition of its online publication The Exchange. The issue focuses on the work of hospital allied and supportive care providers during COVID-19 and is divided into three subjects: COVID-19 and acute hospital care, home care, and hospice; the role of allied health care professionals; and engineering and environmental support during COVID-19. For each subject the issue directs readers to [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-22T17:30:26-04:00April 22, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare, Medicare regulations|

Health Policy Update for Thursday, April 8

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 8. Provider Relief Fund The Provider Relief Fund web page has been updated to announce a webinar next Tuesday, April 13 about the HRSA COVID-19 uninsured program under which participating providers are reimbursed at Medicare rates for testing, treating, and administering COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured individuals. Go here for further information (in the shaded box labeled “update”). Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services COVID-19 CMS has added 24 new audiology and speech language pathology services to its list of telehealth services [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-08T17:26:05-04:00April 8, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

MedPAC Meets

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss various Medicare payment issues. Among the issues discussed at MedPAC’s April meeting were: Medicare skilled nursing facility value-based purchased program. Medicare alternative payment models (APMs). Medicare Advantage benchmark policy. Medicare indirect medical education (Medicare IME) payments. Medicare vaccine coverage and payments. Medicare payment for prescription drugs prescribed on an outpatient basis. Private equity and Medicare. Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule. MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving Medicare. While its recommendations are not binding on either Congress or the administration, MedPAC is [...]

iqtsupport2021-04-07T06:00:07-04:00April 7, 2021|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, CMMI, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Health Policy Update for Friday, March 26

Beginning this week, DeBrunner & Associates is expanding its regular updates to encompass a broader scope of federal health policy endeavors to include other matters of importance to providers. Feel free to share this newsletter with others in your organization or to send us the email addresses of those you think might be interested and we will send it directly to them. The following is the latest such information from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 26. The White House COVID-19 With funding in large part from the American Rescue Plan, the White House announced that [...]

iqtsupport2021-03-26T17:12:30-04:00March 26, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Administration to Review Public Charge Rule

President Biden has ordered a review of the federal public charge rule. The controversial rule, which would limit immigration to the U.S. for people who might at some point become dependent on public aid programs, has been the subject of litigation since it was proposed in 2019. The White House executive order directs …the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the heads of other relevant agencies, as appropriate…[to] review all agency actions related to implementation of the public charge ground of inadmissibility… The officials were ordered to report their findings to the president within 60 [...]

iqtsupport2021-02-05T06:00:20-05:00February 5, 2021|Medicaid, Medicaid regulations, Medicare regulations|

MedPAC Meets

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. MedPAC’s proposed Medicare 2021 payment recommendations dominated the December agenda, including: hospital inpatient and outpatient payments ambulatory surgical center payments physician and health professional payments hospice payments home health care payments inpatient rehabilitation facility payments long-term care hospital payments In addition, MedPAC discussed Medicare’s policy for transfers between post-acute-care facilities and hospice and received a staff update on the Medicare Advantage program. MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving Medicare. While its recommendations are not binding [...]

iqtsupport2020-12-10T06:00:36-05:00December 10, 2020|Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

MedPAC Meets

Earlier this week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. Among the issues on MedPAC’s November agenda were: expansion of telehealth in Medicare report on Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care in rural areas effects of pharmaceutical rebates on Part D’s risk adjustment improving competition among Medicare Part D’s benchmark plans separately payable drugs in the hospital outpatient prospective payment system Medicare Advantage payment and access for enrollees with end-stage renal disease MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving the Medicare program. While its recommendations are [...]

iqtsupport2020-11-12T06:00:40-05:00November 12, 2020|Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Most Hospitals Fined by Medicare Over Readmissions

More than 80 percent of all hospitals subject to Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program, and half of all of hospitals in the country, will be penalized in FY 2021 under that program because they have what Medicare considers to be too many avoidable readmissions. In all, 2556 of the 3080 hospitals subject to the program will be penalized. More than 600 will see their inpatient payments cut one percent as a result and the average cut will be 0.69 percent. The penalties are based on hospital performance with patients experiencing congestive heart failure, heart attacks, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary [...]

iqtsupport2020-11-06T06:00:25-05:00November 6, 2020|Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

HHS Webinar Thursday

The Department of Health and Human Services will hold a webinar on Thursday, October 22 at 1:00 (eastern) about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ recent guidance explaining how it will implement an interim final rule that makes the collection and reporting of COVID-19 data a condition of participation in Medicare for hospitals. On August 24 CMS published an interim final rule establishing new requirements in the hospital conditions of participation in Medicare and on October 6 HHS published the updated document “COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Reporting and FAQs For Hospitals, Hospital Laboratory, and Acute Care Facility Reporting.” Among [...]

iqtsupport2020-10-22T06:00:34-04:00October 22, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare, Medicare regulations|