Policy Updates

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|

HHS to Reorganize

The federal Department of Health and Human Services has announced a major restructuring of its operations. The changes include: Terminating an additional 10,000 of the agency’s employees, over and above 10,000 employee reduction that already has taken place, thereby reducing its staff from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees. The terminations include: 300 full-time employees at CMS, with HHS noting that this “…will not impact Medicare and Medicaid.” 3500 at the FDA, with HHS explaining that this reduction “…will not affect drug, medical device, or food reviewers, nor will it impact inspectors.” 1200 at the NIH. 2400 at the CDC. Reducing [...]

joe2025-03-27T16:30:58-04:00March 31, 2025|Medicaid, Medicare|

Federal Health Policy Update for March 27

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 21-27. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate need to pass a joint budget resolution as a first step before committees can begin writing legislation to pass under reconciliation. Each chamber has passed its own budget resolution and while the two are very different, congressional leaders have agreed to write a less prescriptive resolution that will permit each chamber’s committees to determine the level of spending and saving required and then will try to work out [...]

joe2025-03-27T17:03:07-04:00March 27, 2025|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Five Million Could Lose Medicaid With Federal Work Requirement

If adopted, a federal requirement that Medicaid beneficiaries in expansion states work at least 80 hours a month to retain their eligibility for Medicaid could result in five million people losing their Medicaid coverage, according to a new analysis. And if that requirement were to be expanded to all Medicaid beneficiaries, that number could rise to as many as 30 million people. The analysis, included in a report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute, concluded that: Between 4.6 and 5.2 million adults living in states that expanded Medicaid would lose Medicaid coverage next year under [...]

joe2025-03-26T09:46:47-04:00March 26, 2025|Medicaid|

MedPAC Makes 2026 Medicare Rate Recommendations

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently released “Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy,” its required March report to Congress. In addition to addressing a variety of Medicare issues, MedPAC presented its 2026 Medicare rate recommendations to Congress. Those recommendations are: Hospital inpatient and outpatient services – the rate increase in current law plus one percent. MedPAC also reiterated its past recommendation that Medicare redistribute current Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) and uncompensated care payments through MedPAC’s own mechanism, the Medicare Safety-Net Index (MSNI) it introduced in 2023, maintaining that doing so, when supplemented with an additional $4 billion in [...]

joe2025-03-20T14:44:09-04:00March 25, 2025|Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

DeBrunner Consultants Lead NPA Forum Session

DeBrunner & Associates’ Pennsylvania managing director Michael Chirieleison and senior policy analyst Janel Gleeson led a session on “State and PACE Organization Efforts to Raise Awareness About PACE” during the National PACE Association’s 2025 Spring Policy Forum in Washington, D.C. last week. PACE is a joint Medicare/Medicaid program through which older adults meet their health care needs in the community instead of going to a nursing home or other care facility. During the two-day forum, congressional staff and experts on PACE programs shared their perspectives on policies and issues affecting both the PACE model of care and the environment in [...]

joe2025-03-19T12:41:08-04:00March 24, 2025|Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Medicaid, Pennsylvania Medical Assistance|