Medicare sequestration

Health Care and the End of the Shutdown

Passage last week of a continuing resolution to fund the federal government brought the 43-day shutdown to an end – and relief for many health care organizations and the people and communities they serve. The final continuing resolution, which extended federal funding through the end of January of next year, includes: Restoring the delay of reductions of Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (Medicaid DSH) payments. Extending authorization for the Medicare Acute Hospital Care at Home program and Medicare telehealth flexibilities. Extending the low-volume hospital adjustment program and the Medicare-dependent hospital program all through that same date. The bill waives the pay-as-you-go [...]

joe2025-11-13T16:30:32-05:00November 17, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for November 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 7-13. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Please note that during the federal government shutdown, most HHS and other health care-related agencies, with limited exceptions, engaged in little public activity such as announcements, the publication of new regulations, and updating their web sites. Now that the shutdown has ended, normal activity can be expected to resume shortly. The End of the Federal Government Shutdown On Wednesday night the House passed the Senate-amended version of the continuing resolution (CR) in a [...]

joe2025-11-13T15:20:05-05:00November 13, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for September 11

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 5-11. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress With fewer than three weeks until the end of the federal fiscal year, congressional leaders are beginning to devise a strategy to avoid a federal government shutdown on October 1. Whatever strategy they ultimately adopt will certainly involve some form of continuing resolution (CR). Some conservatives in Congress would like to see a full-year CR that would keep funding at current levels and permit the President to cut spending via rescissions. Appropriators [...]

joe2025-09-11T16:41:56-04:00September 11, 2025|340b, Affordable Care Act, Congress, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for September 4

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 29 – September 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate have returned to Washington D.C., where their focus has turned to funding for the federal government, which expires on September 30. Senior appropriators predict that Congress will pass a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open through at least mid-November. We expect any CR to include a number of health care extenders for programs that also expire after September 30, including for telehealth flexibilities, [...]

joe2025-09-04T15:15:10-04:00September 4, 2025|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for August 21

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 15-21. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate are in recess and will return to Washington D.C. on September 2. Funding for the federal government expires on September 30, as will a number of health care extenders, including for telehealth flexibilities, the Acute Hospital Care at Home program, the Medicare-dependent hospital and low-volume hospital programs, and delays to Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments. In the fall, Congress is considering pursuing health care legislation along two [...]

joe2025-08-21T14:43:11-04:00August 21, 2025|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicare, Medicare cuts, Medicare reimbursement policy, post-acute care, Telehealth|

The Likelihood of Major Medicare Cuts

While the potential for significant Medicaid cuts resulting from passage of the FY 2025 federal budget reconciliation bill – the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill – has received a great detail of attention, the possibility of Medicare cuts as well has flown mostly under the radar. Until now. In a letter to Democratic congressional committee leaders, the Congressional Budget Office has put a price tag on prospective Medicare cuts. According to the CBO, the FY 2025 budget reconciliation bill could lead to more than $500 billion in federal Medicare payment cuts between next year and 2034. The federal “PAYGO” law [...]

joe2025-08-19T14:06:16-04:00August 20, 2025|Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for January 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 11-17. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress House Budget Committee Republican members of the House Budget Committee have circulated a list of possible policy changes that would reduce federal spending by between $5.3 trillion and $5.7 trillion over a period of ten years. Up to $3.4 trillion of those possible cuts could include reductions in federal health care spending. The health care cuts the document lists (all figures are ten-year reductions) are: Medicare introducing Medicare site-neutral outpatient payments - [...]

House Committee Mulls Possible Health Care Cuts

Republican members of the House Budget Committee have circulated a list of possible policy changes that would reduce federal spending between $5.3 trillion and $5.7 trillion over a period of ten years. Up to $3.4 trillion of those possible cuts could include reductions in federal health care spending. The health care cuts the document lists (all figures are ten-year reductions) are: Medicare introducing Medicare site-neutral outpatient payments - $146 billion reducing Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) uncompensated care payments - $229 billion reducing Medicare bad debt reimbursement - $42 billion extending the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 budget sequestration that [...]

joe2025-01-14T15:44:54-05:00January 15, 2025|Affordable Care Act, Congress, deficit reduction, Federal Update, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare bad debt reimbursement, Medicare cuts, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare reimbursement policy, Pennsylvania Update|

Federal Health Policy Update for December 22

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of December 19-22. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress As of this writing, Congress continues to work on an FY 2023 omnibus spending bill: the Senate has passed it but the House has not yet addressed it. Highlights of what negotiators have agreed to – but that have not yet been adopted – include: Preventing the additional four percent Medicare sequester for two years. Reducing by more than half the 4.5 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians [...]

iqtsupport2022-12-22T17:30:38-05:00December 22, 2022|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Congress, COVID-19, hospitals, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare bad debt reimbursement, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Friday, April 1

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, April 1. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund After April 5, this program also will stop accepting claims for administering vaccines to uninsured individuals. See this notice for further information about both deadlines for submitting claims. Proposed Medicare Payment Regulations for FY 2023 CMS has published its proposed inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system and IRF quality reporting program for FY 2023. The agency proposes a 2.8 percent net increase in Medicare [...]

iqtsupport2022-04-01T17:09:26-04:00April 1, 2022|Accountable Care Organization, ACO, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, health equity, Medicare reimbursement policy, Telehealth|