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 [...]
Federal Court Rejects Medicare DSH Regulation
The federal government must include uninsured patients that hospitals serve under state Medicaid waivers when calculating hospitals’ Medicare DSH payments, a federal court has ruled. In the case of Baylor All Saints Medical Center, et al. v. Xavier Becerra, federal [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for August 15
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 9-15. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Department of Health and Human Services To advance its implementation of the 2009 [...]
