Policy Updates

Nursing Shortage? Says Who?

Hospitals say there is a major shortage of nurses in the U.S. Nursing groups say there are plenty of nurses – just not enough nurses willing to work in hospitals under current conditions. Others believe the problem is not so much a shortage of nurses as it is a shortage of nursing where nursing is needed. Whether there really is a shortage of nurses, and how to address it, if there is one, depends in large part on the answer to that question. Learn more about the different perspectives on this question from the Stat article “Is there a nursing [...]

iqtsupport2023-10-19T06:00:40-04:00October 19, 2023|hospitals|

Federal Health Policy Update for October 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for October 6-12. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act CMS has reopened the federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) portal for the initiation ofnew single disputes, including single disputes involving bundled payment arrangements, but parties still cannot initiate new disputes involving air ambulance services and batched disputes for air ambulance and non-air ambulance items and services. IDR portal functionalities related to previously initiated batched disputes also are unavailable. Learn more about this action from this CMS announcement, which includes an [...]

iqtsupport2023-10-12T14:42:15-04:00October 12, 2023|COVID-19, health equity, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, social determinants of health, Telehealth|

MedPAC Meets

The members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission held their latest public meeting last week. The issues addressed during the meeting were: Current legal updates to Medicare’s payment rates for clinician services. Staffing ratios and turnover rates in nursing facilities. An alternative method to establish Medicare payments for selected conditions treated in inpatient rehabilitation facilities. A staff work plan for examining prices of generic drugs under Part D For an overview of each of these issues and links to the presentations made by MedPAC’s staff during the discussions, go here.

iqtsupport2023-10-12T13:00:04-04:00October 12, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|

Survey Looks at Work of Hospital Equity Officers

With more and more hospitals hiring equity officers to lead their efforts to address social determinants of health and the health care disparities that often result, a new survey examines the obstacles those health equity officials are encountering in their work. The survey and follow-up interviews of some of the respondents explore the degree of support the health equity officers believe they have from different officials throughout their hospitals and health systems, the obstacles they have encountered, the differences expressed by respondents based on the type of hospital in which they work, and the limits of pursuing their objectives strictly [...]

iqtsupport2023-10-12T06:00:09-04:00October 12, 2023|health equity, social determinants of health|

Lack of Instructors Impedes Fixing Nurse Shortage

The current shortage of nurses across the U.S. can be traced in part to the lack of training opportunities for aspiring nurses and not to a lack of people seeking to pursue nursing as a career. Last year U.S. nursing programs rejected nearly 80,000 qualified applicants because they did not have the capacity train them. Driving this problem are three major challenges. First is the lack of nursing school faculty: nearly 2000 full-time faculty positions remain unfilled, and many part-time positions as well, a problem caused by low salaries; working nurses often earn much more than nursing instructors. Another complication: [...]

iqtsupport2023-10-11T13:00:09-04:00October 11, 2023|Uncategorized|

DEA Okays Continued Remote Prescribing of Controlled Substances

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has extended the authority of qualified health care providers to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth through the end of 2024. This authorization originated as a temporary measure in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency and this is its second extension since the end of the formal public health emergency. The DEA says it intends to promulgate new remote prescribing standards by the fall of 2024. Without the extension, the authority would have expired on November 11. Learn more about this DEA decision, why it was made, and what to expect next from this Federal [...]

iqtsupport2023-10-11T06:00:23-04:00October 11, 2023|COVID-19, Telehealth|

Medicaid Unwinding Runs Into More Problems

When the COVID-19-era policy of continuous Medicaid eligibility came to an end and the process known as Medicaid unwinding began, policymakers expected significant numbers of people who lost their Medicaid eligibility to find new, affordable coverage in Affordable Care Act health insurance exchange plans. But while bureaucratic snafus that have resulted in millions of people losing their Medicaid eligibility because of paperwork problems rather than income that exceeded Medicaid eligibility criteria have received the most post-pandemic attention, other challenges have arisen that are preventing people from finding new, affordable insurance to replace their Medicaid coverage. Among them: ACA plans are [...]

iqtsupport2023-10-09T06:00:41-04:00October 9, 2023|Affordable Care Act|

Federal Health Policy Update for October 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 29 to October 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Last Saturday, Congress passed a 45-day continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through November 17. Part of that limited CR includes a delay of the scheduled $8 billion cut to Medicaid DSH allotments to states through the end of the CR. The bill also extends funding for community health centers and the National Health Services Corps for the same length of time. Congress will have to act [...]

iqtsupport2023-10-05T14:53:32-04:00October 5, 2023|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, COVID-19, health equity, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for September 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 22-28. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House President Biden has signed H.R. 2544, the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act, which provides for awarding multiple grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to operate the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Congress Congressional leaders have not come to agreement on how to avert a federal government shutdown this weekend. While Senate leaders introduced a continuing resolution that would fund the government through November 17, that bill has [...]

iqtsupport2023-09-28T16:38:25-04:00September 28, 2023|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, COVID-19, health equity, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for September 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 15 - 21. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress With only nine days left in the current federal fiscal year, Congress still has not agreed on any kind of spending bill to keep the federal government operating past September 30. If the federal government shuts down, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will “use the full extent of the authority under the Antideficiency Act (ADA) to maintain existing HHS activities…” In previous shutdowns, Medicare has continued to [...]

iqtsupport2023-09-21T15:37:11-04:00September 21, 2023|Alternative payment models, Congress, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|