Number of Uninsured Children Rising
The number of uninsured children in the U.S. is rising. Since 2016, the number of uninsured children has risen by approximately 726,000 as the uninsured rate among children rose from 4.7 percent to 5.7 percent in 2019. An increase of [...]
Feds Penalizing Wrong Hospitals for Readmissions, Study Finds
Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program often penalizes the wrong hospitals for excessive readmissions. Or so concludes a new study published in the journal JAMA Cardiology. According to the study, …the percentage of hospitals that were incorrectly penalized was 10.1% for [...]
Coronavirus Update for Thursday, October 15
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 15. Provider Relief Fund Yesterday HHS held a webinar to provide more detailed information to health care providers about its planned $20 [...]
Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, October 14
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14. Reminder: HHS Webinar on Phase 3 General Distributions HHS will hold a webcast on Thursday, October 15 at 3:00 (eastern) to [...]
NASH Asks Congress to Help Preserve Federal COVID-19 Aid for Hospitals
Protect the COVID-19 aid the federal government has given to private safety-net hospitals, NASH has asked in a letter to Congress. The letter refers to changes in how the Department of Health and Human Services wants hospitals to calculate the [...]
Coronavirus Update for Friday, October 9
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:15 p.m. on Friday, October 9. Provider Relief Fund Five questions in the Provider Relief Fund FAQ have been modified with updated answers; they can be found [...]
MedPAC Meets
Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. Among the issues on MedPAC’s October agenda were: Medicare Advantage benchmark policy indirect medical education: current Medicare policy, concerns, and principles [...]
Congress Gives Hospitals Medicaid DSH Relief
Medicaid DSH allocations to states will not be reduced right away thanks to a new continuing resolution to fund the federal government through December 11. The Medicare disproportionate share allocation cuts to the states, mandated by the Affordable Care Act [...]
Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, October 7
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: Updated Hospital Data Reporting Requirements CMS has issued guidance in support of an interim [...]
Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Rising in Pandemic
Medicaid enrollment rose 6.2 percent and CHIP enrollment 0.5 percent during the first four months of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reports. The enrollment increase can be traced to rising unemployment, with many [...]
