Readmissions Reduction Program Results Overstated?
A new study suggests that the encouraging results of Medicare’s hospital readmissions reduction program may not actually be as encouraging as people thought. According to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs, data on reduced readmissions may be [...]
Court Rejects 340B Cuts
A federal court has ruled that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services overstepped its authority in reducing Medicare payments for prescription drugs covered by the section 340B prescription drug discount program. While the court conceded that CMS has the [...]
Medicaid MCOs Skimping on Care?
Medicaid MCOs may be skimping on care, according to a recent Kaiser Health News report. According to Kaiser, for-profit companies that sub-contract with Medicaid managed care organizations to review requests for services often deny care to Medicaid patients to save [...]
CMS to Create New Office for Regulatory Reform
In 2019 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to create a new office to address regulatory reform. CMS administrator Seema Verma recently announced her intention to create this office, but other than saying its priority would be to [...]
Feds Urge States to Do More for Dually Eligible
In a formal guidance letter to state Medicaid directors, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has outlined ten ways that states can better serve individuals who are enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. Noting that such dually eligible individuals [...]
Bill Would Overhaul Medicaid DSH
A new Senate proposal would change how the federal government allocates Medicaid disproportionate share money (Medicaid DSH) to the states. The State Accountability, Flexibility, and Equity (SAFE) for Hospitals Act, introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), seeks to …create equity [...]
MACPAC Looks at Medicaid DSH
Last week the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission met in Washington, D.C. and one of the subjects on its agenda was Medicaid DSH. The Affordable Care Act mandated major reductions of Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments to [...]
CBO Targets Health Care in Options for Reducing Deficit
Every year the Congressional Budget Office publishes a menu of options for reducing federal spending and the federal budget deficit. As in the past, this year’s compendium includes a number of options to reduce federal health care spending and raises [...]
MedPAC Mulls Direct Billing for Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants
Medicare would permit nurse practitioners and physician assistants to bill directly for their services under a proposal being considered by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Currently such services are billed as “incident to” physician services, but according to a report [...]
MedPAC Meets
Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. The issues on MedPAC’s December agenda were: Medicare payments for physician and other health professionals services payments for ambulatory surgical centers [...]
