Medicaid DSH money will be allocated among states based on a new methodology under a regulation adopted this week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

But it is not clear when that new methodology may actually be used.

Cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (Medicaid DSH) allotments to states were mandated by the Affordable Care Act based on the expectation that the law would greatly reduced the number of uninsured Americans.  While this has been the case, the decline in the number of uninsured has not been as great as expected.  For this reason, Congress has on several occasions delayed the required Medicaid DSH cut.

That cut is now scheduled to take effect next week, on October 1, but a continuing resolution to fund the federal government, passed last week by the House and now under consideration by the Senate, would delay that cut again – at least until November 22.

Learn more about the new regulation governing the future allotments of Medicaid DSH money to the states and the prospects for Medicaid DSH allocation cuts being made anytime soon in the Healthcare Dive article “CMS finalizes Medicaid DSH cuts, but Congress could still delay” and see the …

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services did not have the authority to implement the site-neutral payment system for Medicare-covered outpatient services that it introduced last year, a federal court has concluded.

According to the court, CMS exceeded its authority because it

…was not authorized to ignore the statutory process for setting payment rates in the Outpatient Prospective Payment System and to lower payment rates only for certain services provided by certain providers.

In general, hospitals oppose the movement toward site-neutral payments and independent physician groups support it.

The court did not order CMS to reimburse affected physician practices for lost revenue.  Instead, it directed CMS to develop an appropriate remedy.

CMS is likely to appeal the ruling.

Meanwhile, CMS has proposed continuing its phase-in of the site-neutral payment policy in its proposed 2020 outpatient prospective payment system regulation that will take effect on January 1, 2020.  It is not clear how or if – the court ruling might affect CMS’s decision to move ahead with this proposal.

Learn more about the case, the court decision, and what might happen next in the Healthcare Dive article “Hospitals score victory as judge tosses CMS site neutral rule.”…

More than 15 million Americans who are currently entitled to free or subsidized health insurance are currently uninsured.

Among them are 11 million who are eligible for Medicaid but have not applied for benefits and 4.2 million who could afford insurance with the help of federal premium subsidies and either have decided not to take advantage of those subsidies or are unaware of the availability of such subsidies.

In addition, another two million people would be eligible for Medicaid if their states expanded their Medicaid program as authorized by the Affordable Care Act.

In light of such figures, it is not entirely surprising that the uninsured rate, according to the census bureau, rose last year for the first time since implementation of the Affordable Care Act.  That uninsured rate, 15 percent at the time the law was adopted in 2010, fell to 7.9 percent in 2017 but rose to 8.5 percent in 2018.  The uninsured rate has especially risen among Hispanics and the foreign born.

Another possible reason for the rise in the number of uninsured Americans:  the federal government has greatly reduced its outreach effort to inform people about the various options they have for obtaining insurance.

Learn more …

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues.

The issues on MedPAC’s September agenda were:

• context for Medicare payment policy
• the effects of Medicare Advantage “spillover” on Medicare fee-for-service spending and coding
• evaluation of the hospital readmissions reduction program
• examining the effects of competitive bidding for diabetes testing supplies and improving payment policies for DMEPOS products excluded from competitive bidding
• a value incentive program for post-acute-care providers
• Medicare indirect medical education (IME) policy, concerns, and considerations for revising

MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving the Medicare program.  While its recommendations are not binding on either Congress or the administration, MedPAC is highly influential in governing circles and its recommendations often find their way into legislation, regulations, and new public policy.

Go here for links to the policy briefs and presentations that supported MedPAC’s discussion of these issues.…