Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission

MACPAC Meets

Members of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met publicly last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of its meeting. The March 2024 MACPAC meeting began with proposed recommendations on improving the transparency of Medicaid financing. The proposed recommendations are intended to improve the transparency of Medicaid financing methods, state-level financing amounts, and provider-level financing amounts. The presentation also included a recommendation to apply the proposed Medicaid financing transparency requirements to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Staff reviewed the rationale for the recommendations and the implications for various stakeholders. The Commission will vote on [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for February 8

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 2 - 8.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Members of the Senate’s 340B bipartisan working group have released a discussion draft of legislation that would update the 340B prescription drug discount program.  Last year the group sought stakeholder input on policy solutions that might provide stability and transparency to the 340B program to ensure that the program can continue to achieve its original intent of supporting entities serving eligible patients.  Find a news release describing the discussion draft [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for February 1

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 26 – February 1.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has released its calendar year (CY) 2025 Advance Notice for the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Programs that would update payment and other policies for these programs.  Under the notice, federal Medicare Advantage spending would increase an expected 3.7 percent, or more than $16 billion, but the agency also proposes reducing by 0.16 percent the program’s base rate.  CMS also detailed [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for January 25

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 12 - 25.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Department of Health and Human Services – Funding Models HHS has announced a new model to test approaches for addressing the behavioral and physical health and health-related social needs of people with Medicaid and Medicare.  The goal of the Innovation in Behavioral Health Model (IBH) is to improve the overall quality of care and outcomes for adults with mental health conditions and/or substance use disorders by connecting them with the physical, behavioral, [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for January 11

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 5 - 11.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS will establish 200 new Medicare-funded residency slots in FY 2025.  Learn more about the additional slots here and find information about how to apply for those slots here.  The deadline for applications is March 31. CMS released guidance for Medicare Part D plans that describes coverage and processing claims for COVID-19 therapeutics.  Medicare Part D plans must cover commercially available oral antivirals for COVID-19 [...]

MACPAC Meets

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the meeting. MACPAC’s December 2023 meeting opened with a session that highlighted findings related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection as part of the Commission’s focus on the collection of primary language and limited English proficiency, SOGI, and disability data for the purposes of assessing and addressing health disparities. During this discussion, we reviewed the purpose of SOGI data and federal and state priorities for collecting these data, which includes an overview of [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for November 9

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 3-9.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Senate Finance Committee Earlier this week the Senate Finance Committee passed the Better Mental Health Care, Lower-Cost Drugs, and Extenders Act of 2023.  The bill, which passed out of the committee by a vote of 26-0, would: eliminate $16 billion in cuts to Medicaid DSH for 2024 and 2025; soften the 2024 cut to Medicare physician payments by reducing the conversion factor by 2.15 percent rather than the 3.4 percent that CMS [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for October 12

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for October 6-12.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act CMS has reopened the federal independent dispute resolution (IDR) portal for the initiation ofnew single disputes, including single disputes involving bundled payment arrangements, but parties still cannot initiate new disputes involving air ambulance services and batched disputes for air ambulance and non-air ambulance items and services.  IDR portal functionalities related to previously initiated batched disputes also are unavailable.  Learn more about this action from this CMS announcement, which includes an [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for September 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 22-28.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House President Biden has signed H.R. 2544, the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act,  which provides for awarding multiple grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to operate the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Congress Congressional leaders have not come to agreement on how to avert a federal government shutdown this weekend.  While Senate leaders introduced a continuing resolution that would fund the government through November 17, that bill has [...]

Federal Health Policy Update for July 28

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for July 21 -28.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Medicare Payment Regulations CMS has published a final rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates under its inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system and IRF quality reporting program for FY 2024.  The final rule includes a 3.4 percent rate increase and changes in the outlier threshold, the case-mix-group relative weights and average length of stay values, and the wage index.  In addition, this rule rebases and revises the IRF market [...]

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