Children’s Health Insurance Program

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, January 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:45 p.m. on Friday, January 28.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS and its Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced that this week they made more than $2 billion in Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 7,600 providers.  Nearly $11 billion of the $17 billion allocated for Provider Relief Fund Phase 4 payments have now been distributed.  Phase 4 payments have an increased focus on equity, including reimbursing a higher [...]

Safety-Net Hospitals Under the Gun

Safety-net hospitals across the country face a new challenge:  adjusting to several cuts in the supplemental payments they receive from the federal government to help them serve the low-income residents of the communities in which they are located. First there is a $2 billion cut in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH).  These are payments made to hospitals that serve especially large numbers of low-income patients.  These payments help safety-net hospitals with the unreimbursed expenses they incur caring for such patients.  This cut, mandated by the Affordable Care Act but twice delayed by Congress, took effect on January 1.  [...]

2018-01-19T06:00:18-05:00January 19, 2018|Affordable Care Act, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare cuts|
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