MedPAC Meets
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met last week in Washington, D.C. to address a number of Medicare reimbursement-related issues. Among the subjects on MedPAC’s agenda were: using payments to ensure appropriate access to and use of hospital emergency department services [...]
Medicaid is Toughest Insurer for Providers
Medicaid is the hardest insurer for providers when it comes to billing. Or so reports a new study published in the journal Health Affairs. According to this analysis, Medicaid claims take longer to file, are more likely to be rejected, [...]
Eat! You’ll Feel Better
And maybe need to spend less on health care. That is the lesson learned from a program in Massachusetts that provided home delivery of food to dually eligible Medicare/Medicaid recipients who were struggling with their meals. In a limited experiment, [...]
Safety-Net Hospitals Improve More on Readmissions But Still More Likely to be Penalized
Hospitals that serve large numbers of minority patients are reducing their Medicare readmissions rates more than other hospitals but are still more likely to be penalized under Medicare readmissions reduction program. This is one of the findings in a new [...]
Tackling Social Determinants of Health
The growing awareness of the impact of social determinants of health comes at a time when health care providers are assuming unprecedented degrees of risk for the health of their patients, leaving many providers wondering how best to invest resources [...]
340B Program Getting the Job Done
The oft-scrutinized section 340B prescription drug discount program is doing what the program is supposed to do, according to a new analysis published on the Health Affairs Blog. According to the report, 340B DSHs treat significantly more low-income patients than [...]
CMS Proposes Easing Medicaid Access Requirement
Under a new regulation proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, some states would no longer need to analyze access to care for their Medicaid population. In a newly proposed regulation, CMS calls for eliminating the need for [...]
Court Rebuffs CMS on Medicaid DSH
A federal court has rejected the manner in which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services collects certain Medicaid data from states in a ruling that has potential implications for eligible hospitals’ Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments (Medicaid DSH). In [...]
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 [...]
