Interview With Seema Verma
In late December, PBS broadcast an interview with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma. Kaiser Health News has published a transcript of excerpts from that interview during which Verma discusses Medicaid – including enrollment, eligibility, services, and [...]
Medicare Money for Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant Training?
Should Medicare offer graduate medical education money for nurse practitioner and physician assistant training? That was the subject of a recent inquiry by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. In a new report inspired by concern over the current physician shortage [...]
Medicaid DSH Cut Delayed
Scheduled cuts in Medicaid DSH payments to hospitals will be delayed until at least late May under new federal spending legislation. The cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share allotments to the states, mandated by the Affordable Care Act and delayed several [...]
A Look at Surprise Medical Bill Legislation
While Congress’s decision this week to put off addressing the surprise medical bill challenge until next year has disappointed many, that decision did not reflect any lack of ideas for what to do. At last count, various parts of Congress [...]
Good News and Bad for Hospitals on Outpatient Payments
A federal court has provided relief to hospitals that saw reduced Medicare payments for some outpatient services in 2019. But that relief is only partial. In response to a suit filed by several hospital groups, a federal court ruled that [...]
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 Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission kicked off its December meeting with [...]
President, VP Attempt to Mediate HHS Feud
President Trump and Vice President Pence have stepped into a feud between Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma. Azar and Verma have apparently clashed on numerous occasions in recent [...]
NASH Conveys End-of-Year Priorities to Congress
Preventing Medicaid DSH cuts, a fair approach to protecting patients from surprise medical bills, and reducing prescription drug costs are among the policy positions that the National Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals recently shared with Congress. In its message to Congress, [...]
Prescription Drug Bill Would Kill Two Years of Medicaid DSH Cuts
Two years of Medicaid DSH cuts would be eliminated under a new prescription drug bill released last week by the Senate Finance Committee. The Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act includes a provision that would eliminate two years of Affordable Care [...]
MedPAC Meeting Transcript Now Available
Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. Among the Medicare payment issues on its agenda of interest to private safety-net hospitals were: Assessing payment adequacy and updating payments: Physician and other health professional services Assessing payment [...]
