Clock Ticking on Some Telehealth Prescribing?
The COVID-inspired flexibility to prescribe some medicines via telehealth will soon expire – and it is not clear whether the practice will be extended. While there is general support for telehealth prescribing, policymakers appear to be divided over whether to [...]
ASH Comments on Proposed 2025 Medicare Physician Payments
Medicare should increase payments to physicians for caring for Medicare patients and not decrease them as it has proposed, the Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals wrote in a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in response to CMS’s [...]
ASH Comments on Proposed 2025 Medicare Outpatient Payments
Medicare’s proposal to increase payments for outpatient services by 2.6 percent in FY 2025 is not enough, the Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has told the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in a letter responding to the agency’s proposed changes [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for September 5
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 31 – September 5. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has posted a [...]
Telehealth Gains in Jeopardy?
The ability of doctors to use telehealth to prescribe medicines like buprenorphine for patients with opioid use disorder may be in jeopardy. While COVID-19 inspired an expanded use for caring for patients using telehealth, the regulatory flexibility that made remote [...]
Drug Company Seeks to Alter 340B Terms
A pharmaceutical company proposes launching an effort to begin transforming the 340B prescription drug discount program from an upfront discount program to a rebate program. Last week, Johnson & Johnson told eligible 340B providers, including safety-net hospitals, that later this [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for August 30
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 23-30. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. 340B Johnson & Johnson, the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies company, told health [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for August 22
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 16-22. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. The Courts The federal government must include uninsured patients whom hospitals serve under [...]
Jury Still Out on Revised 2-Midnight Rule
A regulation that requires Medicare Advantage plans to comply with Medicare’s 2-midnight rule in the same manner as traditional Medicare as of 2024 is bringing mixed results for hospitals. Some hospitals report increased admissions – and inpatient revenue – as [...]
Court Rejects Non-Compete Ban
A federal court has rejected a Federal Trade Commission regulation that banned non-compete agreements between employers and employees under most circumstances. In a suit brought in Texas by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, the Texas Association of [...]
