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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Filed under:
340b,
Accountable Care Organization,
ACO,
Alternative payment models,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,
COVID-19,
Medicaid,
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission,
Medicaid disproportionate share,
Medicaid DSH,
Medicaid DSH allotments,
Medicaid managed care,
Medicaid regulations,
Medicare post-acute care,
Medicare regulations,
Medicare reimbursement policy,
MedPAC
Posted
on January 5, 2023
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 23 through January 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
No Surprises Act
- HHS, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury have announced increases in the administrative fee for initiating the No Surprises Act’s Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process and for certified IDR entities. Learn more about the administrative fee change here and about the certified IDR entity fee change here. Both changes took effect on January 1.
- HHS, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury have released their initial report on the No Surprises Act’s IDR process. This report includes information on the number of disputes initiated; the number of disputes closed; the types of parties engaged in disputes; the types of services under dispute; and the states in which disputed items and services were provided. The report notes that the process is being used far more often than federal officials anticipated and documents the backlog of disputes that still await resolution. Go here to find the report, which the agencies note is incomplete and will be updated at a later date.
Centers
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Posted
on December 15, 2022
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of December 12-15. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
White House
- The White House has unveiled its “COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan,” the major components of which are expanding easy access to free COVID-19 testing options in the winter; making vaccinations and treatments readily available as cases rise; preparing personnel and resources; and focusing on protecting the highest-risk Americans. Learn more about the plan from this White House fact sheet and go here for a transcript of the White House press briefing about the plan.
Congress
- Yesterday the House passed a one-week continuing resolution (CR) that will prevent the federal government from shutting down when the current CR ends tomorrow, December 16; the Senate will take up that bill although some senators have expressed their objection to a short-term CR. Appropriators have agreed on the spending limits for FY 2023 spending bills and hope to pass an omnibus spending bill encompassing all 12 appropriations bills before next Friday, December 23. House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, backed by other House Republicans, objects to passing an omnibus spending bill before the end of
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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 managed care,
Medicaid regulations,
Medicare,
Medicare cuts,
Medicare reimbursement policy,
MedPAC,
Telehealth
Posted
on December 15, 2022
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C.
The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the sessions.
The December 2022 MACPAC meeting began with a Commission discussion on two potential recommendations for improving Medicaid race and ethnicity data reporting. As part of its commitment to prioritizing health equity in all of its work, the Commission is focused on how to improve Medicaid race and ethnicity data collection and reporting. In October, staff presented findings from a literature review and key stakeholder interviews, as well as possible approaches for improving the collection and reporting of these data. In this presentation, staff reviewed the state data collection and reporting processes, data quality priorities, and barriers to improvement. Staff also presented two potential recommendations for the Commission’s consideration, with the goal of making recommendations in MACPAC’s March report to Congress. The Commission will vote on these recommendations in January 2023.
Next, the Commission discussed two potential recommendations to improve the transparency of nursing facility payment data. The Commission has undertaken long-term work to examine the extent to which Medicaid nursing facility payment policies are consistent with the statutory goals of efficiency, economy, quality, …
Posted
on December 8, 2022
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for the week of December 4-8. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
No Surprises Act
- CMS has published an FAQ about implementation of good faith estimates for uninsured and self-pay patients under the No Surprises Act. In the FAQ the agency explains that it will extend enforcement discretion for situations in which good faith estimates do not include expected charges from co-providers or co-facilities. This enforcement discretion was expected to end on January 1 but CMS now writes that it will remain suspended pending future rulemaking. Find the FAQ here.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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