MedPAC

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, March 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund On March 22, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. (eastern), the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment due to lack of funds. On April 5, 2022 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. See the announcement of these changes. Providers that received Provider [...]

iqtsupport2022-03-16T17:41:14-04:00March 16, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicaid DSH allotments, Medicaid upper-payment limit, Medicare post-acute care, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

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, March 2

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund The Provider Relief Fund FAQ has been updated with three modified questions that address 1099 forms and procedures involved in returning Provider Relief Fund money to the federal government. Find the three updates, all marked “Modified 2/25/2022,” on pages 6 and 8 of the Provider Relief Fund FAQ. Federal Response to Surprise Billing Regulation Court Decision Last week a federal court decision invalidated a major [...]

iqtsupport2022-03-02T17:41:03-05:00March 2, 2022|Accountable Care Organization, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, January 13

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, January 13. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Supreme Court The Supreme Court has ruled that the administration’s vaccine mandate for health care workers will remain in effect while the mandate is challenged in the lower courts. See the court’s ruling here. White House The White House has announced new efforts to protect children from COVID-19 and keep schools open. The new measures include: Sending more point-of-care and lab-based PCR tests to schools. Deploying federal surge [...]

iqtsupport2022-01-13T17:31:49-05:00January 13, 2022|Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, post-acute care|

Federal Health Policy Update for Tuesday, January 11

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS has updated its FAQ for reconsideration requests involving Phase 4 and rural hospital payments. Find the updated FAQ here. Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 HHS announced that beginning January 15, individuals with private health insurance coverage who purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 diagnostic test authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA will be able to have those test costs covered by their insurance. [...]

iqtsupport2022-01-11T17:32:41-05:00January 11, 2022|Affordable Care Act, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, January 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, January 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund The Provider Relief Fund reporting portal is now open for reporting period 2 and will remain open through March 31, 2022. Go here for more information about what organizations do and do not need to report and how to do so. The Provider Relief Fund web page offers updated information about what constitutes an allowable expense when reporting on the use of Provider Relief Fund [...]

iqtsupport2022-01-06T17:30:52-05:00January 6, 2022|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Coronavirus, COVID-19, hospitals, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid managed care, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|

Federal Health Policy Update for Thursday, December 16

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, December 16. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Provider Relief Fund HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is releasing $9 billion in phase 4 Provider Relief Fund grants. Payments will average $58,000 for what HHS is calling “small” providers, $289,000 for medium providers, and $1.7 million for large providers. Learn more about the release of these funds from this HHS news release and go here for an explanation of how the agency calculated the payments. [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-16T16:47:23-05:00December 16, 2021|Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Congress, Coronavirus, MACPAC, Medicaid, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH, Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Federal Health Policy Update for Monday, December 6

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, December 6. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The White House The White House has published a plan outlining the steps the administration will take to combat the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19 in the coming months. The major components of this plan are boosters for all adults, vaccinations for children, expanded free home testing, stronger public health protocols for international travel, workplace protections, rapid response teams to help battle rising cases, and supplying treatment [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-06T17:23:36-05:00December 6, 2021|Accountable Care Organization, Alternative payment models, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MACPAC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC, Telehealth|

Federal Health Policy Update for Wednesday, December 1

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 1. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Omicron Variant The CDC has confirmed the first case of the COVID-19 omicron variant on U.S. soil. Learn more from this CDC news release. Health Care Employee Vaccine Mandate COVID-19 A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the federal government’s requirement that health care workers receive COVID-19 vaccines by December 6. Find the court’s ruling here. The ultimate ruling will be made by a [...]

iqtsupport2021-12-01T17:37:13-05:00December 1, 2021|Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, CMMI, Coronavirus, COVID-19, MedPAC, Telehealth|

MedPAC Looks at Outpatient Payments

The question of whether Medicare should pay different rates for outpatient services delivered in different types of settings was very much on the minds of Medicare Payment Advisory Commission members during their public meetings last week. The issue has been around for a while: are there valid reasons for some facilities to be paid more for certain outpatient services than other facilities? Or should the payment rate for a given service be the same regardless of where that service is delivered? Does the site of the service matter – or should it? At issue are Medicare payments made to private [...]

iqtsupport2021-11-18T06:00:01-05:00November 18, 2021|Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|