MACPAC Meets
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met for two days last week in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of the sessions. The March 2023 MACPAC meeting began with a staff presentation on potential recommendations for [...]
Hospitals Seek Delay in Medicaid DSH Cuts
“Delay upcoming cuts in Medicaid DSH payments” is the message hospitals delivered to Congress recently in response to a reduction of $8 billion in Medicaid disproportionate share cuts scheduled to take effect on October 1. The cuts, mandated by the [...]
MedPAC Meets
The government agency that advises Congress on Medicare payment matters met publicly in Washington, D.C. last week. During the virtual meeting, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission discussed: reforming Medicare’s wage index system addressing the high prices of drugs [...]
Administration to Propose Extending Medicare Solvency and Lowering Beneficiary Costs
Later this week the Biden administration will offer proposals that seek to extend the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund and reduce beneficiaries’ health care costs. As part of the proposed FY 2024 federal budget the administration will present this [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for March 3
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 27 to March 3. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act The Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) entities empowered [...]
Medicaid Programs See Roadmap for Unwinding
With the end of the COVID-19 pandemic’s continuous Medicaid eligibility coming on April 1, the states now face the challenge of reviewing the eligibility of 90 million people currently on the nation’s Medicaid rolls. The process, commonly referred to as [...]
CMS Proposes Regulation Governing Medicare DSH
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed altering its regulations governing the calculation of eligible hospitals’ Medicare disproportionate share payments (Medicare DSH). According to CMS, This proposed rule would revise our regulations on the counting of days associated [...]
The Emergence of “Food as Medicine”
In both the public and private sectors, a growing movement is working to integrate food as part of medical treatment – and have health care payers foot the bill. From the administration’s granting of Medicaid waivers to Arkansas, Massachusetts, and [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for February 23
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for February 17-23. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has issued an informational bulletin to [...]
Most Medicaid Participants Don’t Know About Looming Eligibility Redetermination
With the COVID-19 pandemic’s continuous Medicaid eligibility set to expire in a little more than a month, nearly two-thirds of the current Medicaid population is unaware their continued participation in the program will soon be subject to review and could [...]
