Medicare Acute Hospital Care at Home program

Hospital at Home Program in Limbo

Medicare’s Acute Hospital Care at Home program is in limbo after the law authorizing it lapsed at the end of the 2025 federal fiscal year on September 30. As a result of this loss of authorization, CMS directed the more than 300 hospitals that participate in the program and care for seriously ill patients in their homes to discharge current participants or bring them back into their hospital. The program, created during the COVID-19 pandemic to free hospital beds for sicker patients who also were highly contagious, has been credited with lower mortality rates, reduced crowding in hospital emergency rooms, [...]

joe2025-10-15T12:52:33-04:00October 17, 2025|Medicare|

Federal Health Policy Update for June 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for June 7-13. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government document. Supreme Court The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to how the Department of Health and Human Services calculates hospitals’ Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) payments. The case was added to the court’s 2024-2025 schedule. Congress Individual members and key committees in Congress continue to introduce and mark up health care-related legislation with an eye toward including these initiatives in an end-of-year package. This work is expected to continue through the [...]

joe2024-06-13T20:15:06-04:00June 13, 2024|Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, health equity, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid regulations, Medicare, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|