Senate Committee Looks at 340B Program
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) held a hearing last week on the 340B prescription drug discount program. The hearing was prompted by complaints from pharmaceutical companies about the discounts they are required to provide to eligible [...]
MedPAC Issues 2018 Report to Congress
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has issued its 2018 report and recommendations to Congress. The report includes MedPAC’s recommendations for next year’s Medicare fee-for-service payments; a review of the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D programs, with recommendations; and a [...]
MACPAC Issues Annual Report, Recommendations to Congress
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission has published its annual report and recommendations to Congress. MACPAC’s report addresses three primary areas: Medicaid managed care, telehealth, and Medicaid disproportionate share payments (Medicaid DSH). With 80 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries [...]
Addressing Socio-Economic Challenges Through Medicaid Payment Policies
Amid the growing awareness of the impact of social factors on health, policy-makers are increasingly interested in finding ways to address those factors through state Medicaid programs. In a new blog post, the journal Health Affairs offers six ways for [...]
New Report Details Key Health Care Provisions in February Budget Bill
The Congressional Research Service has published a new report describing the health care-related provisions in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 that Congress passed last month to fund the federal government. A major part of that law was the Advancing [...]
Study Looks at Medicaid and Managed Care
A new Commonwealth Fund study examines how managed care plans have tackled serving new members in Affordable Care Act-authorized Medicaid expansion states. According to the report, these managed care organizations have …focused on identifying and helping high-risk populations and addressing [...]
MACPAC Meets
Members of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met in Washington, D.C. last week to discuss a number of Medicaid and CHIP meetings. The following is MACPAC’s summary of this meeting. MACPAC’S March 2018 meeting began with a [...]
Readmissions Program Working; Expansion in Order?
The Medicare hospital readmissions reduction program is working, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. And it may even be worth expanding to additional medical conditions, MedPAC members believe. According to MedPAC, hospital readmissions among patients with medical conditions covered [...]
MedPAC Meets
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which advises Congress on Medicare payment issues, met last week in Washington, D.C. Among the issues on MedPAC’s agenda were: paying for sequential stays in a unified Medicare payment system for post-acute care encouraging Medicare [...]
New Bill Proposes Greater 340B Accountability
A new bill proposed last week by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) seeks to foster greater accountability among participants in the federal government’s section 340B prescription drug discount program. The three-page bill is called the Ensuring the Value of the 340B [...]
