Posted
on March 10, 2023
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 6-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
White House FY 2024 Budget Proposal
The Biden administration this week released its proposed FY 2024 federal budget. Among its many proposals are measures to extend the life of the Medicare hospital trust fund and reduce Medicare beneficiaries’ health care costs; to reduce prescription drug costs for consumers, Medicare, and Medicaid; to return high Medicaid managed care organization profits to the federal government; to make behavioral health care more affordable for seniors; to expand the health care workforce; to improve access to care in rural areas and among underserved communities; to improve HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C prevention and treatment for Medicaid participants; and more. Learn more about the health care aspects of the administration’s budget proposal from this White House fact sheet on its Medicare proposal; additional White House fact sheets; this HHS news release outlining the budget’s health care highlights; and the budget document itself, where the Department of Health and Human Services section begins on page 75.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- CMS has posted anticipated 2023 state
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Medicaid regulations,
Medicare post-acute care,
Medicare regulations,
Medicare reimbursement policy,
MedPAC
Posted
on February 23, 2023
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 17-23. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- CMS has issued an informational bulletin to states reiterating certain federal requirements that pertain to health care-related taxes. Recently, CMS became aware that some health care-related tax programs appear to involve agreements among providers to redistribute their Medicaid payments to hold taxpayers harmless for the cost of the tax. The bulletin reminds states that such arrangements are prohibited. Find the CMS bulletin here.
- CMS has posted a presentation on accessibility requirements in Medicaid and CHIP. Find it here.
- As required by law, HHS has published a semi-annual list of rule-making actions under development throughout the department. Find that list here, along with a link to a formal Federal Register notice.
- Writing in the journal Health Affairs, CMS officials report that in a limited review of hospital compliance with the agency’s hospital price transparency rule, the proportion of hospitals in compliance with both parts of the rule rose from 27 percent in 2021 to 70 percent in 2022 and more than 80 percent currently
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Posted
on April 1, 2022
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 rates; a permanent cap of five percent on year-over-year wage index losses for any reason; an increase from $9491 to $13,038 in the outlier threshold; and changes in the IRF quality reporting program in future years – but not 2023 – that address patient vaccinations and health equity. CMS also is soliciting comments on incorporating discharge to home health in an IRF transfer policy. Learn more from this CMS news release and from the proposed rule itself. Interested parties have until May 31 to submit formal comments.
- CMS has published its proposed FY 2023 Medicare hospice payment rule, which
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Posted
on March 30, 2022
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
Provider Relief Fund
- The Provider Relief Fund last week distributed more than $413 million to more than 3600 providers across the country, the fourth round of Phase 4 payments since those payments began last November. This is in addition to nearly $7.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments over the past four months. HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which administers the Provider Relief Fund, has now processed 89 percent of the applications it received for Phase 4 grants and HHS reports that “Remaining applications require additional manual review and HRSA is working to process them as quickly as possible.” Learn more about this latest round of Phase 4 Provider Relief Fund grants and find links to a state-by-state breakdown of payments and a list of all recipients in this HHS news release.
- The Provider Relief Fund Uninsured Program, which has reimbursed providers at Medicare rates for testing uninsured individuals for COVID-19 and treating those diagnosed with the virus, has stopped accepting such claims
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Medicare reimbursement policy
Posted
on March 22, 2022
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
Provider Relief Fund
- As of March 22 at 11:59 p.m. (eastern) the HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) COVID-19 Uninsured Program will stop accepting claims for testing and treatment due to lack of funds and on April 5 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. HRSA has released additional information about this significant change in federal COVID policy with the publication of two new documents:
o HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program Shutdown FAQs
o HRSA COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund Shutdown FAQs
Separately, HRSA advises that “Submitted claims will be paid subject to the availability of funds.” This means that when the money is gone HRSA will no longer be able to pay claims. The administration continues to encourage Congress to provide additional funding to support COVID-related activities and replenish this fund but it is not clear at this point if it will succeed in doing so.
- Providers that received Provider Relief
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Telehealth
