Medicare Underpayment of Hospitals Continues
Medicare paid hospitals only 82 percent of what they spent caring for Medicare patients in 2022, according to a new analysis. That amounted to a Medicare payment shortfall of nearly $100 billion. Medicare payment shortfalls are especially challenging to community [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for January 11
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for January 5 - 11. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS will establish 200 new [...]
Addiction Care for Adolescents is Scarce
Finding residential treatment for adolescents suffering from addiction is difficult. According to the National Institutes of Health, Access to residential addiction treatment centers caring for U.S. adolescents under 18 years old in the United States is limited and costly, according [...]
“Drivers of Health” Drive Most Health Outcomes
A recent analysis has found that newly coined “drivers of health” are the primary drivers of health outcomes. According to a Commonwealth Fund report, Research indicates that an estimated 20 percent of health outcomes are linked to medical care; the [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for January 4
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 21 to January 4. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. No Surprises Act HHS, the departments of Labor and the [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for December 20
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government December 14-20. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress The House is in recess until January 9. The Senate has delayed its [...]
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 meeting. MACPAC’s December 2023 meeting opened with a session that highlighted findings related to sexual [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for December 14
The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for December 8-14. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. MedPAC Rate Recommendations At their latest public meeting, members of the Medicare Payment [...]
MedPAC Meets, Makes 2025 Payment Recommendations
2025 Medicare payments led the agenda at last week’s meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. After hearing presentations on the various Medicare payment systems and discussing the adequacy of current Medicare reimbursement, MedPAC’s commissioners provisionally endorses the following changes [...]
Delay DSH Cuts and Reject Site-Neutral Payments, ASH Asks Congress
Congress should reject site-neutral Medicare outpatient payments and delay scheduled Medicaid disproportionate share payment allotment cuts to states for two years, ASH urged House members in a recent message. In response to proposals in H.R. 5378, the Lower Costs, More [...]
