MedPAC Meets
The commissioners of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently met virtually. The subjects on the agenda of their two-day meeting were: rural emergency hospitals dual-eligible special needs plans MedPAC’s work plan for hospice issues Medicare coverage of and payment for [...]
ASH Asks Congress for Two-Year Delay of Medicaid DSH Cuts
Delay Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) cuts for two years, the Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has requested in a message to members of Congress. Noting that Medicaid DSH payments are “… a vital tool for helping safety-net hospitals care for [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for November 9
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for November 3-9. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. ASH Advocacy ASH has written to members of Congress to ask them to [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for November 2
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for October 27 – November 2. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. 340B Remedy Payments Late Thursday afternoon CMS published its final [...]
Medicare Leaving Gaps in Care
Medicare is leaving large numbers of the program’s beneficiaries without at least some of the care they need. According to the Commonwealth Fund’s annual health care affordability survey, One-third of Medicare beneficiaries said it was difficult to afford health care [...]
Telehealth Serving Some Medicare Patients Well
Medicare patients with serious mental health problems were well-served through telehealth during the COVID-19 crisis. According to a new study published by the JAMA Network, such patients experienced … 13.0% more mental health visits than those receiving care at practices [...]
Medicaid Now Covering Care on the Street
Medicaid is now paying providers for “street medicine”: care provided to the homeless and delivered on the street as opposed to in traditional medical settings such as clinics, offices, and hospitals. For years, programs throughout the country have focused on [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for October 26
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for October 20-26. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress More than three weeks after House Republicans voted Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA) [...]
Medicaid Unwinding Continues
States continue to work on redetermining Medicaid eligibility for those who were enrolled in the program during the period of continuous eligibility that extended through the COVID-19 public health emergency and ended on March 31. Six months into what has [...]
Telehealth May Help Medicaid Patients With Opioid-Related Addictions
When access to buprenorphine treatment became available to Medicaid beneficiaries in response to the COVID-19 crisis, patients who obtained such treatment via telehealth were more likely to remain under treatment for their disorder than those who received similar care through [...]
