MedPAC Meets
MedPAC’s commissioners held their latest public meeting on Thursday, April 9 and Friday, April 11. The subjects on the meeting’s agenda were: improving payment incentives in Medicare analysis of regional benchmarks and benchmark-plan availability in the Part D prescription drug [...]
Is CON on the Way OUT in Rural States?
The federal Rural Health Transformation Program may sound the death knell for certificate-of-need laws in some states. The rural funding program, created last year as part of H.R. 1, often referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for April 10
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for April 4-10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House and Senate were in recess this week and are scheduled [...]
Insurer Use of Prior Authorization Down
The insurance industry appears to be making good on its pledge to reduce its use of prior authorization for services and to make that process simpler for providers and patients Last June, some of the leading health insurers agreed to [...]
Search for Undocumented Medicaid Participants Not Yielding Major Results
An administration effort to identify undocumented U.S. residents illegally enrolled in Medicaid is not turning up many undocumented residents illegally enrolled in Medicaid. At least not so far. Last fall, the administration sent the names of hundreds of thousands of [...]
States Looking to Swap Medicaid Taxes
With Medicaid provider taxes on the road to oblivion as a result of passage of last year’s H.R. 1, often referred to as “The One Big Beautiful Act Law,” a number of states are looking to Medicaid managed care plan [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for April 3
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for March 27 to April 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Proposed and Final CMS Medicare Regulations Proposed FY 2027 Medicare [...]
Hospitals Sue Over Medicare DSH Payments
More than 100 hospitals have sued the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that the manner in which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services calculates their Medicare disproportionate share payments shortchanges hospitals that care for especially large numbers [...]
Medicare Increases Emphasis on Behavioral Health
Medicare policy is evolving to encourage providers to take a more active role in addressing the behavioral health needs of their patients. In traditional Medicare, new payment codes encourage practitioners to spend more time identifying and helping patients with their [...]
No More Hospital Jello?
The days of enjoying a heaping bowl of jello while stuck in a hospital bed may soon become a thing of the past. In a new directive to hospitals, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has told hospitals that [...]
