Policy Updates

Despite Uncertainty, States Plan to Raise Medicaid Rates

Even though events in Washington leave the future of Medicaid unclear, 44 states still intend to raise at least some of their Medicaid rates in 2018. Inpatient payments to hospitals are not among the major targets of the planned rate increases: only 17 states plan to increase Medicaid inpatients payments while the others plan to keep those rates as they are or even reduce them. Learn more about trends in Medicaid enrollment, spending, and rates in the Kaiser Family Foundation’s annual survey of state Medicaid programs, the results of which can be found here.

iqtsupport2017-10-26T06:00:12-04:00October 26, 2017|Medicaid|

PA Governor Vetoes Medicaid Work Requirement

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has vetoed a bill that included a requirement that certain Medicaid recipients either work or search for work. Learn more about the governor’s veto, and his reason for doing so, in this Associated Press news report.

iqtsupport2017-10-24T06:00:15-04:00October 24, 2017|Pennsylvania Medicaid|

Braving the Unknown, States Increase Medicaid Benefits

Despite the prospect of Congress and the administration enacting major reductions of federal Medicaid spending as part of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, more than half the states expanded their Medicaid programs in 2017 and many plan to do so in 2018 as well. In all, 26 states expanded or enhanced Medicaid benefits this year while 17 plan to do so next year. Most of the changes involve enhancing mental health and substance abuse treatment services. Learn more about expanded Medicaid benefits in the face of anticipated reductions in Medicaid spending in this Healthcare Finance News report.

iqtsupport2017-10-23T06:00:49-04:00October 23, 2017|Medicaid|

Helping With Homelessness Reduces ER Costs

Hospitals are finding that helping homeless, frequent emergency room visitors find housing can reduce their unreimbursed ER costs. Throughout the country, hospitals are investing money – in some cases, millions of dollars – in housing programs for the homeless. What they are finding when they do so is that the stability of reliable housing – coupled with supportive social services – appears to be reducing the frequency with which such individuals appear in their ERs. Examples of such programs can be found in Sacramento, Orlando, Portland, New York City, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Learn more about what hospitals are doing, [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-20T06:00:26-04:00October 20, 2017|Uncategorized|

A New Twist on Telehealth

Residents of urban areas often have the same access-to-care problems as rural residents, although the latter receive far more attention. So concludes a new report published on the Health Affairs Blog. According to the analysis, urban and rural residents have similar access problems – and among urban residents, the problems in some instances are even greater. One distinction: …while rural America has access problems because there are not enough doctors, urban America has access problems because there are not enough appointments. One potential solution to this problem, the report suggests, is focusing on access instead of geography and making telehealth [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-17T06:00:14-04:00October 17, 2017|Uncategorized|

Non-Profit Hospitals Tout Community Benefit

Non-profit hospitals invest $11 for every one dollar they do not pay in taxes because of their tax-exempt status. Or so says a study prepared for the American Hospital Association. According to the study, in 2013 non-profit hospitals provided $67.4 billion worth of benefits to their communities compared to the $6 billion they would have paid in taxes had they been for-profit hospitals. Those community benefits came in four forms: financial assistance and means-tested government programs (such as unreimbursed Medicaid costs) community-building activities Medicare shortfalls bad debt attributable to charity care Learn more about what the study found and how [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-13T06:00:32-04:00October 13, 2017|Uncategorized|

Pay Issues Slow Telehealth Spread

While most health care organizations and providers intend to make greater use of telehealth in the coming years, the manner and speed with which that use grows is being limited in part by reimbursement issues. A survey conducted for the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives found that About half of the study respondents listed reimbursement as a limitation, noting that some payers have been slow to reimburse telehealth visits and or reimburse at rates that are lower than face-to-face care. Survey participants reported using telehealth in three primary ways: scheduled patient “visit,” on-demand urgent needs, and specialist consultations. Learn [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-12T06:00:27-04:00October 12, 2017|Uncategorized|

MedPAC Meets

The independent agency that advises Congress and the administration on Medicare payment policies met last week in Washington, D.C. Among the issues discussed at the meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission were: the merit-based incentive payment system a unified payment system for post-acute care telehealth a redesign of Medicare’s hospital value incentive program Find the presentations and issue briefs for these subjects and others discussed at the MedPAC meeting here, on MedPAC’s web site.

iqtsupport2017-10-11T06:00:23-04:00October 11, 2017|Medicare, MedPAC|

House Committee to Hold 340B Hearing

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight subcommittee will hold a hearing on Wednesday about the 340B Drug Pricing Program. At the hearing, titled “Examining How Covered Entities Utilize the 340B Drug Pricing Program,” the subcommittee hopes …to hear directly from entities participating in the program to get a better understanding of how the program is used, including how much money is saved, the types of drugs purchased and prescribed within the program, how entities track their savings, and how those savings are used to improve patient care. Learn more about the hearing and the witness list from the subcommittee’s [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-10T06:00:39-04:00October 10, 2017|Medicare|

340B Changes Would Hurt Hospital Margins

Proposed changes in the federal section 340B prescription drug discount program would hurt hospital margins. So says Moody’s Investors Service, the credit rating agency. According to Moody’s, the margins of non-profit hospitals are already under pressure because revenue increases are not keeping pace with prescription drug costs. Reductions of payments under the 340B program recently proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services would make a challenging situation worse, Moody’s speculates. Under the 340B program, eligible hospitals purchase prescription drugs at a discount, supply them to eligible outpatients, and use the savings they gain to provide additional services and [...]

iqtsupport2017-10-09T06:00:51-04:00October 9, 2017|Medicare, Medicare cuts, Medicare regulations|