Policy Updates

Federal Health Policy Update for April 24

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 18-24. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate are in recess until April 28. Upon their return to Washington D.C., committees will begin marking up reconciliation legislation for submission to their respective chambers’ budget committees by May 9. The Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to mark up its bill, with $880 billion in cuts, the week of May 5. The committee is expected to seek nearly $550 billion in cuts to Medicaid spending, with the [...]

joe2025-04-24T14:45:26-04:00April 24, 2025|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Sneak Peek at HHS Budget Reveals Reorganization, Cuts

A big-picture document summarizing the Trump administration’s intentions for the Department of Health and Human Services suggests the agency is in for a major round of cuts and reorganization, some of which is already underway. Among the cuts noted in the 64-page document are a $20 billion cut (40 percent) in the National Institutes of Health budget; a $4 billion cut (44 percent) in the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that would eliminate the agency’s work on chronic disease programs; the elimination of a number of rural health programs; and the elimination of all funding for [...]

joe2025-04-22T15:14:40-04:00April 23, 2025|Uncategorized|

Federal Health Policy Update for April 17

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 11-17. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House President Trump signed an executive order titled “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First” that directs the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to take steps to lower prescription drug costs for patients. The order addresses several prescription drug-related policies, including: the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program seeking better Medicare prices for drugs not subject to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program accelerating FDA drug [...]

joe2025-04-17T17:14:31-04:00April 17, 2025|340b, Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

States Scramble to Fill Potential Health Insurance Gap

With the clock ticking on the deadline for Congress to renew enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance, a number of states are looking for ways to compensate for the loss of that subsidy money and help some of their residents remain insured. California, Colorado, Maryland, and Washington are among the states looking in their pockets and underneath the sofa cushions in search for money to replace federal insurance premium subsidy money they fear will disappear at the end of 2025. They are doing so, moreover, at a time when Congress is looking hard at significant reductions in [...]

joe2025-04-10T17:11:40-04:00April 14, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for April 10

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 4-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House today passed the budget resolution passed by the Senate last week. Passage of the same budget resolution by both chambers now enables Congress to begin work on a reconciliation bill to enact President Trump’s priorities on tax cuts, border security, and energy policies. Until this morning, more than a dozen Republican House members had opposed the Senate-passed budget resolution because they believed the Senate’s budget did not require enough spending [...]

joe2025-04-10T16:05:02-04:00April 10, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Filling an $880 Billion Medicaid Hole

With the House of Representatives proposing to set a target of reducing Medicaid spending by $880 billion over the next ten years, a reasonable question is “How would states do that?” In a new report, KFF, a non-profit health policy research, polling, and news organization, evaluates the options for how states might respond to such cuts. In its analysis, KFF evaluates how significantly $880 billion in Medicaid cuts might affect states’ budgets and then turns to the question of how states might offset those lost federal funds. Among the options it evaluates are: increasing taxes to raise some or all [...]

joe2025-04-03T16:48:24-04:00April 7, 2025|Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for April 3

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 28 through April 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress - Reconciliation Yesterday, Senate Republicans released their new budget resolution as they try to create a single budget resolution that can pass the House and Senate – a necessary step before the chambers can pass a reconciliation bill. The new resolution includes the following instructions: The Senate Finance Committee can increase the deficit no more than $1.5 trillion over 10 years. This assumes use of the “current policy baseline” [...]

joe2025-04-03T14:39:43-04:00April 3, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission|

New Task Force Targets Anti-Competitive Regs, Sets Sights on Health Care

The Justice Department has established an Anticompetitive Regulations Task Force “… to advocate for the elimination of anticompetitive state and federal laws and regulations that undermine free market competition and harm consumers, workers, and businesses.” The task force will seek information from the public “… about laws and regulations that make it more difficult for businesses to compete effectively, especially in markets that have the greatest impact on American households…” Among those markets is health care, which in its news release announcing the task force the Justice Department writes that Laws and regulations in healthcare markets too often discourage doctors [...]

joe2025-04-02T12:18:34-04:00April 3, 2025|Healthcare|

Keeping Track of HHS Reorganization

Late last week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a major reorganization and downsizing of its agencies and operations. Those efforts have already begun, and the following is a selection of news reports describing the changes that have taken place so far: Washington Post – “Major cuts are set to hit HHS. Here’s what’s affected” (March 27) (subscription required) Healthcare Dive – “Trump administration to shut down CMS, HHS minority health offices amid restructuring” (March 31) Fierce Healthcare – “Sweeping health agency cuts at FDA, CDC, CMS and more divisions begin” (April 1) Healthcare Dive – “HHS begins [...]

joe2025-04-02T11:08:05-04:00April 2, 2025|Uncategorized|

Non-Profit Hospitals See Improved 2024 Financial Performance

Non-profit hospitals performed better financially in 2024 than they did in 2023, according to a new analysis by Fitch Ratings. Attributing the improved performance to improved volume and revenue and reduced upward pressure on labor costs, Fitch found that the median operating margin among non-profit hospitals rose from -0.5 percent in 2023 to 1.2 percent in 2024. Although improved, non-profit hospital financial performance has not returned to its pre-pandemic levels. Even so, they appear to have survived the unwinding of increased pandemic-era Medicaid enrollment, with Medicaid’s median share of their gross patient revenue declining only from 16.6 percent to 16.2 [...]

joe2025-04-01T11:25:22-04:00April 2, 2025|hospitals|