Medicare

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|

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|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, April 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Public Health Emergency Renewed HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has extended the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days effective April 16. White House In response to an executive order President Biden issued on his first day in office titled “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” 90 federal agencies and cabinet departments have released equity action plans that lay out more than [...]

iqtsupport2022-04-14T18:51:21-04:00April 14, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, health equity, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

MedPAC Meets

The government agency that advises Congress on Medicare payment matters met publicly in Washington, D.C. last week. During the virtual meeting, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission discussed: addressing high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B initial findings from MedPAC's analysis of Part D data on drug rebates and discounts segmentation in the stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan market leveraging Medicare policies to address social determinants of health an approach to streamline and harmonize Medicare’s portfolio of alternative payment models aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress [...]

iqtsupport2022-04-12T06:00:14-04:00April 12, 2022|Alternative payment models, Medicare, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, April 7

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 7. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The administration is proposing to address a flaw in the Affordable Care Act often referred to as the “family glitch.” Under the ACA, people who do not have access to “affordable” health insurance through their jobs may qualify for a premium tax credit to purchase coverage on the ACA’s health insurance marketplaces. Current regulations define employer-based health insurance as “affordable” if the coverage for the employee [...]

iqtsupport2022-04-07T17:12:01-04:00April 7, 2022|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, 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 Thursday, March 10

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has posted a transcript of the March 2 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team to outline the administration’s National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. 340B Eligibility Protection and Telehealth Extensions in the Omnibus Spending Bill Providers that feared they might lose their eligibility to continue participating in the 340B prescription drug discount program because they have fallen below that program’s Medicare disproportionate share [...]

iqtsupport2022-03-10T17:37:25-05:00March 10, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, March 2

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund The Provider Relief Fund FAQ has been updated with three modified questions that address 1099 forms and procedures involved in returning Provider Relief Fund money to the federal government. Find the three updates, all marked “Modified 2/25/2022,” on pages 6 and 8 of the Provider Relief Fund FAQ. Federal Response to Surprise Billing Regulation Court Decision Last week a federal court decision invalidated a major [...]

iqtsupport2022-03-02T17:41:03-05:00March 2, 2022|Accountable Care Organization, 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, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|