GAO Recommends Changes in Oversight of 340B Program
The federal Government Accountability Office is recommending that the Department of Health and Human Services improve its oversight of the 340B prescription drug discount program. That program was created by Congress to help safety-net providers obtain discounts on prescription drugs [...]
NAUH Comments on Proposed Changes in Medicare Payments (Part 3 of 3)
In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the National Association of Urban Hospitals has offered extensive comments on CMS’s proposed regulation describing how it intends to pay hospitals for Medicare-covered services in FY 2019. NAUH offered [...]
NAUH Comments on Proposed Changes in Medicare Payments (Part 2 of 3)
In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the National Association of Urban Hospitals has offered extensive comments on CMS’s proposed regulation describing how it intends to pay hospitals for Medicare-covered services in FY 2019. NAUH offered [...]
NAUH Comments on Proposed Changes in Medicare Payments (Part 1 of 3)
In a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the National Association of Urban Hospitals has offered extensive comments on why the Medicare cost report’s S-10 worksheet remains unsuited for use when calculating hospital Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare [...]
CMS Unveils Medicaid “Scorecard”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had introduced a new “Medicaid scorecard” that the agency says it hopes will “…increase public transparency about the programs’ administration and outcomes.” The scorecard, now posted on the Medicaid web site, presents information [...]
Proposed Federal Reorganization Could Affect Health Care
Aspects of a proposed reorganization of the federal government could affect the agencies that administer key health care programs. In its 132-page Delivering Government Solutions in the 21st Century: Reform Plan and Reorganization Recommendations proposal, the White House calls for [...]
Uninsured Rise Could Hurt Non-Profit Hospitals
The recent growth in the number of uninsured Americans could be especially harmful to non-profit hospitals and health systems, according to S&P Global Ratings. As reported by Healthcare Dive, S&P believes that because non-profit hospitals serve larger proportions of uninsured [...]
Hospital Government Payment Losses Could Reach $218 Billion by 2028
A recent study concluded that hospitals can expect to lose about $218 billion in federal Medicare and Medicaid payments between 2010, when the latest round of major cuts began, and 2028. Among those cuts cited in the study, which was [...]
MedPAC Issues 2018 Report to Congress
The non-partisan legislative branch agency that advises Congress and the administration on Medicare payment policies has submitted its mandatory annual report to Congress. Among the findings included in the report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission are: Medicare’s hospital readmissions [...]
ACOs Moving Into Medicaid
Accountable care organizations, one of the centerpieces of recent Medicare efforts to test new ways to deliver care more effectively and at less cost, are finding their way into state Medicaid programs as well. Today, a dozen states employ Medicaid [...]
