The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, July 22. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
White House
- The White House has posted a transcript of the July 22 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Health Policy News
- CMS has published its proposed calendar year 2022 Medicare outpatient prospective payment system regulation. Among other subjects, the proposed regulation addresses hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgery center payment rates, hospital price transparency, the section 340B prescription drug discount program, changes in the inpatient-only list and ambulatory surgery center covered procedures list, changes in the hospital outpatient and surgery center quality reporting programs, the newly created rural emergency hospital provider type, the Radiation Oncology Model, temporary flexibilities implemented to facilitate the response to COVID-19, and more. Stakeholder comments are due by September 17. Learn more from the following resources.
- CMS’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation has updated the web page of its Radiation Oncology Model to reflect changes in the program addressed in the newly published proposed Medicare outpatient prospective payment system regulation. The updated web page includes links to additional resources about the Radiation Oncology Model.
- CMS has published the latest edition of MLN Connects, its online weekly bulletin. This week’s edition includes a description, billing information, a fact sheet, and more for the monoclonal antibody tocilizumab, which recently received FDA emergency authorization for use in treating COVID-19 patients; information on ICD-10-CM codes for FY 2022; a change in the national coverage for a (CAR) T-cell therapy; and more. For this and more, go here.
- CMS has published an advisory to alert certain clinicians who are qualifying alternative payment model (APM) participants and eligible to receive APM incentive payments that CMS does not have the current billing information it needs to send them their payments. The advisory tells these clinicians how to update their billing information to receive their payments. Affected physicians must submit updated billing information by November 1. Read the notice here.
- CMS has released an informational bulletin informing states that the Department of Homeland Security’s 2019 public charge rule has been vacated and is no longer in effect. The notice explains that effective March 9, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security started applying the 1999 interim field guidance for public charge inadmissibility determinations, which is the policy that was in place before the 2019 public charge final rule. Under that 1999 guidance, that agency will not consider an individual’s receipt of Medicaid benefits as part of the public charge determination except for individuals who are institutionalized on a long-term basis (such as nursing facility residents) and are receiving Medicaid coverage for their institutional services. HHS has published a news release with the same information.
Department of Health and Human Services
COVID-19
- HHS has renewed for 90 days its declaration of the public health emergency caused by COVID-19.
- HHS will spend more than $1.6 billion from the American Rescue Plan to support testing and mitigation measures in high-risk congregate settings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and detect and stem potential outbreaks. $100 million will be spent to expand dedicated testing and mitigation resources for people with mental health and substance use disorders; $80 million will go to support state and local COVID-19 testing and mitigation measures among people experiencing homelessness, residents of congregate settings including group homes and encampments; and $169 million will be spent for testing and mitigation in federal prisons. Learn more from the HHS news release.
- HHS has distributed nearly $100 million in American Rescue Plan money to rural health clinics to support outreach efforts to increase vaccinations in their communities. The funds will go to nearly 2000 Rural Health Clinics, which will use these resources to develop and implement additional vaccine confidence and outreach efforts in medically underserved rural communities. See HHS’s news release for more information and for a link to a list of how much money was distributed on a state-by-state basis.
Health Policy News
- HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced a change in user fees charged to individuals and entities authorized to request information from the National Practitioner Data Bank. The new fee will be $2.50 for both continuous and one-time queries and $3.00 for self-queries. Learn more about this increase and other changes in use of the National Practitioner Data Bank in this Federal Register notice.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- The CDC has updated its guidance for families with some members who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 and its advice for vaccinated people on how to protect themselves from COVID-19.
- The CDC has updated its list of the legally binding orders and regulations it has issued.
- The CDC has updated its information about reported adverse events after people receive COVID-19 vaccines.
- The CDC has updated its guidance for people who are fully vaccinated, including those who are immuno-compromised.
Food and Drug Administration
- The FDA has formally accepted Pfizer’s application for full approval of its Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 in individuals 16 years of age and older and has granted the application priority review. Currently, the vaccine is authorized for emergency use in individuals ages 12 and older. Learn more here.
Government Accountability Office
- The GAO has published a new report, “COVID-19: Continued Attention Needed to Enhance Federal Preparedness, Response, Service Delivery, and Program Integrity,” that offers 15 recommendations for steps the CDC and other federal agencies can take to improve their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC)
State Medicaid programs are required to cover certain mental health services for adults while other mental health services are optional. In a new compendium, MACPAC documents coverage of selected mental health services available to Medicaid beneficiaries in each state and the District of Columbia. Find a link to the report here.
Stakeholder Events
Wednesday, August 4 – Centers for Disease Control
Zoonoses and One Health Update (ZOHU) Call
Wednesday, August 4 at 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET – Click here for more information
ZOHU Calls are one-hour monthly webinars that provide timely education on zoonotic and infectious diseases, One Health, antimicrobial resistance, food safety, vector-borne diseases, recent outbreaks, and related health threats at the animal-human-environment interface.
Monday, August 23 – CMS
Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment
Monday, August 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (eastern)
CMS’s Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment will meet virtually to advise the agency about the clinical integrity of the Ambulatory Payment Classification groups and their associated weights and about supervision of hospital outpatient therapeutic services. The advice provided by the panel will be considered as CMS prepares its annual updates for the hospital outpatient prospective payment system.
The public may participate in this meeting by webinar or teleconference. Teleconference dial-in and webinar information will appear on the final meeting agenda, which will be posted here when available.