The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 12-18.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

Congress

The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee has approved and advanced five bipartisan health care bills.

• H.R. 3281 combined a number of proposals into a larger package and includes provisions that would:
  • delay for two years Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) cuts currently scheduled to take effect on October 1;
  • require health providers to use a unique identifier for each off-campus or remote outpatient department beginning in 2026;
  • change how Medicare pays off-campus hospital outpatient departments that are currently paid the site-neutral rate under the outpatient prospective payment system.  Those departments would submit a professional bill instead of a hospital bill and would be paid the physician fee schedule rate.  The bill does not expand site-neutral payment policy to off-campus hospital outpatient departments that are currently excepted; and
  • reauthorize and increase funding for teaching health centers, community health centers, and the National Health Services Corps.
• H.R. 2666 would enable states to strike outcomes-based contracts for prescription drugs, which the committee believes would help improve access and reduce costs for expensive gene and

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for May 5-11.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

• DeBrunner & Associates has prepared a summary of the status of selected government health care waivers and flexibilities following expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency today.  The DeBrunner summary covers telehealth, COVID-19 treatment and coverage, flexible hospital operations, long-term-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and units, patient cost-sharing, and state Medicaid waivers.  Find the summary here.
• CMS has sent a memo to state Medicaid and CHIP programs about the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and the COVID-19 national emergency and the implications for Medicaid and CHIP.  Find that memo here.
• The CDC has posted information about how its role and responsibilities will change with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.  Some of those changes involve the data it will collect from providers and how it will share that data.  Find this new information here.  Another CDC bulletin, with a greater emphasis on COVID-19 surveillance, offers a more detailed and technical explanation.  Find it here.
• The White House has

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 28 – May 4.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

• DeBrunner & Associates has prepared a summary of the status of selected government health care waivers and flexibilities upon the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11. The DeBrunner summary covers telehealth, COVID-19 treatment and coverage, flexible hospital operations, long-term-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and units, patient cost-sharing, and state Medicaid waivers.  Find the summary here.
• The COVID-19 public health emergency led to the temporary creation of a number of flexibilities in the delivery of health care, including one issued by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) that made possible prescribing controlled medications via telehealth.  With the coming end of the public health emergency on May 11, and with it the expiration of some but not all COVID-related flexibilities, the DEA has announced that it is temporarily extending this flexibility while continuing to evaluate the situation.  It has submitted a draft regulation to the Office of Management and Budget to this effect but will provide no further information about it

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 21-27.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

• DeBrunner & Associates has prepared a summary of the status of selected government health care waivers and flexibilities upon the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11.  The DeBrunner summary covers telehealth, COVID-19 treatment and coverage, flexible hospital operations, long-term-care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and units, patient cost-sharing, and state Medicaid waivers.  Find the summary here.

• CMS has posted a new FAQ that addresses its waivers and flexibilities upon the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.  Find it here.

• CMS has updated its “COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Billing” document to indicate that this FAQ will expire at the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency and will not be updated and directing stakeholders to other agency resources for answers to frequently asked questions.  Go here to learn more.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• CMS has issued a proposed rule that would reduce barriers to care for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) individuals by removing

The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 8 – 20.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

The White House

The Biden administration has announced a plan to expand health coverage for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) individuals.  To this end, it announced that HHS will soon propose a rule amending the definition of “lawful presence,” for purposes of Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage, to include DACA recipients.  If finalized, the rule would make DACA individuals eligible for these programs for the first time.  Under the proposed rule, DACA individuals would be able to apply for coverage through the health insurance marketplace, where they may qualify for financial assistance based on income, and through their state Medicaid agency.  Learn more from this White House fact sheet.  HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has released a letter on the same subject.

Congress

Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY) has introduced H.R. 2665, the Supporting Safety Net Hospitals Act, bipartisan legislation that would delay pending cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (Medicaid DSH) payments.  Currently, Medicaid DSH payments would be cut, beginning in 2024, by $8 billion a year through 2027.  …