340B – Page 4 – DeBrunner & Associates

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, March 22

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund As of March 22 at 11:59 p.m. (eastern) the HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) COVID-19 Uninsured Program will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment due to lack of funds and on April 5 at 11:59 p.m. (eastern) the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program and COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund will stop accepting vaccination claims due to a lack of funds. HRSA has released additional information [...]

iqtsupport2022-03-22T20:50:28-04:00March 22, 2022|340b, Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, health equity, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, March 10

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. White House The White House has posted a transcript of the March 2 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team to outline the administration’s National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. 340B Eligibility Protection and Telehealth Extensions in the Omnibus Spending Bill Providers that feared they might lose their eligibility to continue participating in the 340B prescription drug discount program because they have fallen below that program’s Medicare disproportionate share [...]

iqtsupport2022-03-10T17:37:25-05:00March 10, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, October 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, October 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund: Reminder That Applications Are Now Being Accepted The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has opened its portal for providers to apply for $25.5 billion in health care relief funds, including $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan resources for providers that serve rural patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program and $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 grants for [...]

iqtsupport2021-10-06T19:24:30-04:00October 6, 2021|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, hospitals, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, July 2

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Friday, July 2. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Supreme Court The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear a case in its next term challenging cuts in 340B payments and another involving Medicare disproportionate share. White House The White House has posted a transcript of the July 1 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public health officials. The transcript includes the announcement that the federal government will be launching surge response teams [...]

iqtsupport2021-07-05T22:53:55-04:00July 5, 2021|340b, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, June 15

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund Late last week HHS announced that it has increased the amount of time providers will have to report information and extended key deadlines for expending Provider Relief Fund payments for recipients that received payments after June 30, 2020. The revised reporting requirements will be applicable to providers that received one or more payments exceeding, in the aggregate, $10,000 during a single payment-received period from the [...]

iqtsupport2021-06-15T17:31:26-04:00June 15, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, MedPAC|

Court Supports HHS on 340B Cut

The federal government may institute a nearly 30 percent cut in payments to some hospitals for prescription drugs, a federal court has ruled. The cut, to the 340B program, was first proposed in 2017 the Department of Health and Human Services but has been blocked by the courts ever since. Last week, though, a federal appeals court paved the way for the reduction. Hospitals that serve especially large numbers of low-income patients participate in the federal 340B prescription drug discount program, which gives them discounts on prescriptions they distribute to low-income outpatients. Under the program, participating hospitals are then supposed [...]

iqtsupport2020-08-05T06:00:09-04:00August 5, 2020|340b|

340B Déjà Vu: CMS Seeks to Collect Data From Hospitals

For the second time in four months, the federal government has announced its intention to collect data from hospitals and other providers on what they pay for the prescription drugs they purchase through the section 340B prescription drug discount program. Last week the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a notice announcing its intention to collect this data. Previously, health care interests sued CMS when it attempted in 2018 to reduce payments to providers for drugs purchased through the 340B program and the court ruled against CMS, maintaining that the agency did not have enough data on hospitals’ acquisition [...]

iqtsupport2020-02-12T06:00:24-05:00February 12, 2020|340b, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services|

340B Doesn’t Drive Up Hospital Drug Spending, MedPAC Says

Hospitals do not prescribe more expensive drugs because they know the 340B program will help pay for them. That is the conclusion drawn in a recent analysis by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Prescription drug spending has risen markedly in recent years and the pharmaceutical industry maintains that part of that increase can be attributed to hospitals that participate in the section 340B prescription drug discount program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to give discounts to hospitals and other selected providers that care for especially large numbers of low-income patients. A new analysis by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, however, concludes [...]

iqtsupport2020-01-28T09:36:25-05:00January 28, 2020|340b, MedPAC|

MedPAC Meets

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. The issues on MedPAC’s January agenda were: The Medicare prescription drug program (Part D): status report and options for restructuring Redesigning the Medicare Advantage quality program: initial modeling of a value incentive program Hospital inpatient and outpatient payments Physician payments Outpatient dialysis payments Skilled nursing facility, home health, inpatient rehabilitation facility, and long-term-care hospital payments Hospice and ambulatory surgery center payments The 340B program ACO beneficiary assignment MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving the Medicare program. [...]

iqtsupport2020-01-22T06:00:06-05:00January 22, 2020|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

GAO: Feds Need Better Oversight of 340B Eligibility

The federal government needs to do a better job of ensuring that non-government hospital participants in the 340B prescription drug discount program are eligible for that program, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded in a recent report. With growing numbers of non-government hospitals now participating in the 340B program, the GAO found that the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, which oversees the program, is not doing enough to ensure that these hospitals meet the criteria for inclusion in the program. In particular, the GAO found, HRSA needs to do more to ensure that such hospitals have valid contracts with [...]

iqtsupport2020-01-17T06:00:47-05:00January 17, 2020|340b|