Health Care During the Government Shutdown
With the federal government technically without spending authority now that FY 2026 has begun without an approved FY 2026 budget, the federal role in health care will change in some respects and be greatly reduced in others. The Department of [...]
Hospitals to Face More Readmissions Penalties in 2026
Hospital readmissions penalties will increase, as will the size of the typical penalty, in the coming year. Beginning in FY 2026, the proportion of hospitals that will be penalized at least one percent for excessive readmissions under the Centers for [...]
Why Urban Hospitals Close
A new GAO analysis explores why urban hospitals – most of them community safety-net hospitals – fail and close. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, urban hospitals generally close for one or a combination of five reasons: financial decline [...]
New Medicaid Work Requirement Could Slam Hospital Finances
The Medicaid work/community engagement requirement included in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act could cost hospitals millions of dollars – losses that could translate into potential declines of 11.7-13.3 percent in hospital operating margins, according to a Commonwealth Fund analysis [...]
MACPAC Meets
Members of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met recently in Washington, D.C. The following is MACPAC’s own summary of its two days of public meetings. MACPAC’s September 2025 meeting began with a summary of Public Law 119-21, [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for September 25
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 19-25. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Federal Funding for Fiscal Year 2026 Telehealth and Acute Hospital Care at Home [...]
Looking at Potential Health Coverage Losses
Changes adopted in the FY 2026 budget reconciliation bill (“the One Big Beautiful Bill” Act) could result in a significant increase in the ranks of the uninsured across the country. According to an Urban Institute analysis supported by the Commonwealth [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for September 18
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for September 12-18. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. ASH Advocacy ASH contacted House members asking them to block an imminent $8 [...]
Providers Objecting to New HHS Programs
Health care providers are expressing concern about two new programs recently announced by the Department of Health and Human Services: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicare WISeR (Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction) Model and HHS’s 340B Rebate Model [...]
ASH Comments on Medicare Outpatient Rule
ASH has submitted written comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in response to that agency’s proposed CY 2026 Medicare outpatient prospective payment regulation, which presents how CMS envisions paying providers for Medicare-covered outpatient services and regulating those [...]
