Medicare

Federal Health Policy Update for January 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 21 to January 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act HHS, the departments of Labor and the Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management intend to reopen the comment period for submitting comments on a proposed rule governing federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) operations. They plan to publish a notice to this effect in the near future with further details on reopening the comment period. Department of Health and Human Services HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator [...]

joe2024-01-04T22:10:23-05:00January 4, 2024|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Federal Update, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Expanded Mental Health Options Coming to Medicare

Beginning on January 1, Medicare beneficiaries will have access to more varied types of mental health services. At that time, mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists will become eligible to accept Medicare payments, joining the limited number of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers who have been serving the Medicare population as part of the first expansion of Medicare-eligible mental health providers since 1989. With Medicare planning to pay its new provider types 75 percent of what it pays psychologists, it is not clear how many of those new providers will be interested in enrolling as eligible Medicare providers. [...]

joe2023-12-21T15:22:53-05:00December 26, 2023|Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 20

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government December 14-20. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House is in recess until January 9. The Senate has delayed its recess to continue negotiations on a possible foreign aid and border policy deal. Democrats from the House Ways and Means Committee have published a report on the relationship between the U.S. health care system and climate change. View their report “Health Care and the Climate Crisis: Preparing America’s Health Care Infrastructure.” No Surprises Act The federal government has reopened the [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for December 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 8-14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. MedPAC Rate Recommendations At their latest public meeting, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission voted preliminary approval of the following rate updates for 2025 Medicare payments: Inpatient and outpatient services –update provided for in current law plus 1.5% and adoption of a safety-net index policy to pay safety-net hospitals another $4 billion. Physicians and other health professionals –update of 50% of the Medicare economic index and a new add-on payment for services [...]

joe2023-12-14T22:30:50-05:00December 14, 2023|340b, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, COVID-19, health equity, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care, Telehealth|

MedPAC Meets, Makes 2025 Payment Recommendations

2025 Medicare payments led the agenda at last week’s meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. After hearing presentations on the various Medicare payment systems and discussing the adequacy of current Medicare reimbursement, MedPAC’s commissioners provisionally endorses the following changes in 2025 Medicare payments. Inpatient and outpatient services – an update provided for in current law plus 1.5 percent and a shift to a safety-net index policy that would pay safety-net hospitals another $4 billion. Physicians and other health professionals – an increase of 50 percent of the Medicare economic index and introduction of an add-on payment for services provided [...]

joe2023-12-12T17:52:27-05:00December 13, 2023|hospitals, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 7

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 1-7. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress While Congress has more than a month before the next federal funding deadline of January 19, committees are working to prepare and pass health care legislation. On the House calendar for floor votes next week is H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. This bill would eliminate the pending cuts to Medicaid DSH for two years (those cuts are temporarily suspended through January 19); introduce site-neutral payments for drug administration services [...]

joe2023-12-07T21:50:17-05:00December 7, 2023|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for November 30

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 17-30. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act CMS has released two new FAQs to provide guidance in advance of the Independent Dispute Resolution portal reopening for batched disputes and air ambulance disputes; that service remains temporarily suspended. These FAQs together explain how certified IDR entities may determine whether a dispute is appropriately batched in light of recent court rulings; provide information about policy for extending existing IDR deadlines once the federal IDR portal reopens to all batched [...]

joe2023-11-30T20:59:02-05:00November 30, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, COVID-19, Federal Update, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for November 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 10-16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress This week Congress passed another continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government beyond Friday, when the current CR expires. This bill establishes two separate deadlines for lawmakers to pass certain spending bills so they can avoid an omnibus bill that includes all 12 appropriations bills. Congress must pass four of the spending bills by January 19 and the other bills by February 2. The Labor, HHS, and Education bill, one of [...]

Senate Looks at Telehealth in Medicare

The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing this week on “Ensuring Medicare Beneficiary Access: A Path to Telehealth Permanency.” Go here for a video of the hearing and here for links to the testimony submitted to the committee.

iqtsupport2023-11-16T06:00:47-05:00November 16, 2023|Medicare, Telehealth|

“Hospital at Home” Appears to be Working Well

The federal Acute Hospital Care at Home program introduced during the COVID-19 crisis appears to be working well, according to a new study. The program, intended to free hospital beds at the height of the COVID pandemic while protecting non-COVID patients from exposure to the virus, enabled hospitals meeting certain Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services criteria to care for Medicare fee-for-service and non-managed care Medicaid patients in the home. Participating patients were chosen according to CMS-approved safety criteria built around an assessment of the acuity of their medical conditions and whether they might reasonably be treated at home. An [...]

iqtsupport2023-11-15T06:00:50-05:00November 15, 2023|hospitals, Medicare|