Policy Updates

Is Telehealth Too Expensive To Keep?

That’s the question Congress is asking these days. While health care interests and consumers are almost unanimous in their enthusiasm for telehealth, Congress is questioning whether telehealth is too expensive to preserve after the threat of COVID-19 passes. Prior to the pandemic, Medicare mostly limited the use of telehealth to rural areas where access to providers is limited. Once the public health emergency became serious Medicare waived many of its limits on the use of telehealth so that elderly patients could stay in touch with their doctors. On the whole, patients have viewed telehealth favorably and providers are very enthusiastic [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-25T06:00:16-04:00May 25, 2021|Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Cost-Sharing Drives Medicaid Disenrollment

Cost-sharing requirements appear to lead people to disenroll from Medicaid programs that impose such requirements, according to a new study. Those disenrolling are likely to be healthier in general than those who choose to remain enrolled in Medicaid despite cost-sharing requirements. This is among the findings in a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research of Michigan’s Medicaid program, which was one of the first in the country to be authorized to require certain beneficiaries to share in their medical costs. Such disenrollments also may lead to adverse selection among health care plans that serve Medicaid patients.Learn more about [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-21T06:00:23-04:00May 21, 2021|Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, May 19

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, May 19. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. NASH Advocacy NASH has written to all members of Congress urging them to contact Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra about directing more of its remaining CARES Act Provider Relief Fund money to private safety-net hospitals to help them serve their diverse, predominantly low-income communities during the COVID-19 emergency. Go here to see NASH’s message to Congress. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-19T18:01:19-04:00May 19, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, hospitals, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Earmarks are Back and Hospitals are Lining Up for Them

After an absence of 10 years federal earmarks are back and hospitals and health systems are asking their members of Congress for funding for equipment, facility improvements, expansion, and more. Each member of Congress may submit requests for up to ten earmarks, and the House Appropriations Committee has released the requests made of it by House members on behalf of their constituents. All told, Congress plans to spend $14 billion on earmarked projects, with only non-profit entities eligible to receive them. Among the requests released by the House Appropriations Committee are earmarks for procedure rooms, pediatric MRIs, ultrasound equipment, linear [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-19T11:15:49-04:00May 19, 2021|hospitals|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, May 14

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, May 14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The CDC and Mask Guidance The CDC has updated its guidance on when people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 do and do not need to wear masks and when they do and do not need to seek testing when they believe they have been exposed to someone with the virus. This is the guidance that was released amid a great deal of public attention on Thursday. The [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-14T16:26:03-04:00May 14, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicare|

CMS to Hospitals: We’re Watching You

The federal government is watching to see whether hospitals are following its new rules on price transparency. And apparently, not all hospitals are. Since the first of the year the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has been monitoring hospitals’ compliance with a new rule that requires public disclosure of their prices, and in April it began writing to hospitals that were not meeting the regulatory standard, telling them they have 90 days to address their shortcomings. Hospitals that fail to meet the CMS standard are subject to fines and public disclosure of their non-compliant status.Learn more from the Becker’s [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-14T06:00:00-04:00May 14, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Medicare regulations|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, May 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House COVID-19 The White House has announced additional efforts to encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19, including free rides to vaccination sites from Lyft and Uber, vaccination clinics at community colleges, and additional resources for states’ community outreach efforts. This will include funding for FEMA for phone banks, door-to-door canvassing, and pop-up vaccination clinics in workplaces and churches. See the White House fact sheet for [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-12T17:06:06-04:00May 12, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare|

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, May 10

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Monday, May 10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a transcript of the May 7 press briefing by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 HHS and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have announced a joint-agency effort to increase access to COVID-19 prevention and treatment services, including testing and vaccinations, among disproportionately affected communities, including among HUD-assisted [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-10T17:02:49-04:00May 10, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Medicaid Enrollment Rises During Pandemic, But…

As expected, Medicaid enrollment has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published on the JAMA Network. But necessarily for the reason that might be expected. According to the report, Medicaid enrollment rose from 48.2 million to 51.8 million between January 2019 and September 2020, or 1.6 percent, in Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion states and from 17.2 million to 18.8 million, or 1.4 percent, in non-Medicaid expansion states.While a natural assumption would be that growth in Medicaid enrollment would track growth in pandemic-caused growth in unemployment, the analysis found the opposite to be true: “…enrollment growth was [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-07T06:00:40-04:00May 7, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, May 5

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House COVID-19 The White House has posted a transcript of the May 5 press briefing by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 HHS has created a web page for its new COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund through which providers can be reimbursed for the cost of administering COVID-19 vaccines to the uninsured and to those whose health insurance [...]

iqtsupport2021-05-05T17:25:41-04:00May 5, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, post-acute care|