Medicare

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, July 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Friday, July 16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has posted a transcript of the July 16 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Policy News CMS is providing notifications to facilities that were determined to be out of compliance with Quality Reporting Program (QRP) requirements for CY 2020, which will affect their FY 2022 Annual Payment Update (APU). Non-compliance [...]

iqtsupport2021-07-16T17:25:29-04:00July 16, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

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|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, June 30

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 30. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Supreme Court Decision in Site-Neutral Payment Case The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a case rejecting the bid of hospital interests to prevent Medicare’s implementation of site-neutral payment rates for outpatient clinic visits. Provider Relief Fund CMS has updated the following pages on its Provider Relief Fund web site: For Providers, General Information, Data, Reporting Requirements and Auditing, and FAQs. The updates incorporate changes [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-30T18:00:00-04:00June 30, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare|

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|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, June 10

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House Health Policy News The White House has released a memo titled “What We Urge You To Do To Protect Against The Threat of Ransomware.” This memo addresses the growing number and size of ransomware incidents and calls upon government and the private sector to take steps to protect their organizations from this growing threat. The memo also outlines the federal government’s recommended best practices. Find the [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-10T17:25:42-04:00June 10, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

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|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, June 3

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House Health Policy News Late last week the Biden administration released its proposed FY 2022 budget. Most of the health care provisions had already been disclosed and discussed prior to the formal budget release. For additional information about the proposed budget, see the following resources: A budget in brief document. An OMB summary. An OMB budget fact sheet. COVID-19 President Biden announced a “National Month of Action” [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-03T17:30:36-04:00June 3, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Medicare Beneficiaries Happier With Their Health Insurance Than Privately Insured

People who are enrolled in Medicare are happier with their health insurance than those with private health insurance, according to a recent JAMA report. Researchers found that the privately insured had a more difficult time finding doctors, were less likely to have a personal physician, had to deal with higher medical costs, were more likely to have medical debt, were more likely not to fill prescriptions because of their cost, and were less satisfied with their care than people insured by Medicare. The findings were true whether people purchased their own health insurance or had employer-sponsored insurance. Learn more about [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-03T06:00:26-04:00June 3, 2021|Medicaid, Medicare|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, May 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. NASH Advocacy NASH has written to all members of Congress urging them to contact Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra about directing more of its remaining CARES Act Provider Relief Fund money to private safety-net hospitals to help them serve their diverse, predominantly low-income communities during the COVID-19 emergency. Go here to see NASH’s message to Congress. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-19T18:01:19-04:00May 19, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, May 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The CDC and Mask Guidance The CDC has updated its guidance on when people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 do and do not need to wear masks and when they do and do not need to seek testing when they believe they have been exposed to someone with the virus. This is the guidance that was released amid a great deal of public attention on Thursday. The [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-14T16:26:03-04:00May 14, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare|