Medicare

Federal Health Policy Update for the Week of September 5-12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of September 5-12.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has published a fact sheet on the administration’s plan to get Americans an updated COVID-19 shot and to manage COVID-19 this fall.  The major components of the plan are providing access to free, updated vaccines; ensuring easy access to testing and treatment; encouraging safe practices; and preparing for potential surges and new variants.  Find that fact sheet here. The White House’s COVID-19 response team [...]

CMS Seeks Comment on Efficiency, Administrative Burdens, and Health Equity

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued a request for information “…seeking public input on accessing healthcare and related challenges, understanding provider experiences, advancing health equity, and assessing the impact of waivers and flexibilities provided in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.” According to a CMS news release, The Make Your Voice Heard: Promoting Efficiency and Equity Within CMS Programs RFI furthers CMS’ commitment to engaging and learning from partners, communities, and individuals across the health system to inform how we can better support the populations we serve. The agency also explains that CMS is seeking to [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, August 23

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, August 23.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. CMS “Roadmap for the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency” While the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) has not ended and HHS Secretary Becerra has committed to giving states and the health care community 60 days’ notice before formally ending it – notice he has not given – the federal government is already planning for life after the PHE and its latest step in this process is [...]

On Second Thought, CMS Decides to Share Hospital Performance Data

After originally proposing not to publish certain recent hospital performance data because it feared it might be skewed by COVID-19-related challenges, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has decided to go ahead and publish that data – but not to use it in Medicare payment calculations. Under Medicare’s hospital-acquired condition program, hospitals are rated on their performance on ten safety indicators.  Regulators, however, feared that doing so based on hospital performance during the pandemic might penalize hospitals whose communities were especially hard hit by the pandemic.  Patient safety groups opposed CMS’s April proposal to withhold the data and the [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, August 2

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, August 2.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has announced two new actions to address the youth mental health crisis:  it will award nearly $300 million from the FY 2022 bipartisan omnibus agreement to expand access to mental health services in schools and it will encourage governors to invest more in school-based mental health services.  Learn more about this effort, including the individual funding components of the $300 million in new [...]

Congress Seeks Bigger Bump for Medicare Hospital Payments

More than 140 members of Congress have written to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure asking her to implement a bigger increase in Medicare payments for hospital inpatient services than the agency has proposed for FY 2023. According to separate bipartisan letters from House and Senate members, the proposed FY 2023 increase – 2.8 percent – fails to reflect inflation and rising health care staffing costs.  The letter signed by 112 House members states that We worry the proposed payment updates do not accurately reflect today’s cost of patient care and, when tethered with other policy changes [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, July 27

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Final Medicare Payment Regulations for FY 2023 CMS has issued its final FY 2023 Medicare inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) payment system regulation, finalizing a rate increase of 3.9 percent, which is greater than the 2.8 percent the agency proposed in April.  To learn more about CMS’s final IRF payment rule for FY 2023, see this CMS fact sheet and the final rule itself. CMS also has finalized its [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, July 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 20.  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 teleconference briefing here. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency effective July 15. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has released its proposed Medicare outpatient prospective payment system regulation for calendar year 2023.  [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, July 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has issued an executive order on protecting access to reproductive health care services. Find that executive order here. In support of that executive order, CMS has published guidance titled “Reinforcement of EMTALA Obligations specific to Patients who are Pregnant or are Experiencing Pregnancy Loss.” Find that guidance here and the agency’s expanded explanation of that guidance in this memo to state survey agencies.  [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, July 7

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 7.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The Courts Hospitals may sue state Medicaid programs for failing to ensure that private insurers – such as Medicaid managed care plans – pay hospitals in a timely manner for the care they provide to their Medicaid patients, a federal appeals court has ruled.  See the court’s decision in this case. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has proposed a series of changes in the Medicare cost [...]

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