It is widely reported that healthcare is a top antitrust enforcement priority in the U.S. The healthcare industry has undergone a transformation over the over the last twenty years and now comprises 17.7% of the U.S. gross domestic product and over $3,795.4 billion of the U.S. government budget. Mega-deals among national payors and household names […]
Doctors are urging Congress to call off cuts scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 in the reimbursements they receive from Medicare. In what has become an almost yearly ritual, physician groups are arguing that patients will have greater difficulty finding doctors who accept Medicare if lawmakers allow the pay cuts to happen. Whether doctors’
Medicare Pay Cuts Will Hurt Seniors’ Care, Doctors Argue Read More »
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Thursday conditionally approved the sale of financially distressed Madera Community Hospital to the Trinity Health Corporation. The 106-bed hospital located in the Central Valley offers vital services to more than 150,000 residents living in Madera and its surrounding communities. Many of those residents live in rural areas and rely
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is poised to recommend that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reduce the aggregate cap for hospice payments by 20% in 2024. The commission has yet to vote on the recommendations, but MedPAC has called for similar cuts annually since 2018. To date, Congress has not
MedPAC to Push for 20% Cut to Hospice Aggregate Payment Cap Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a new proposal that would require health plans offered through the federal and state-based marketplaces to cover mental health facilities and substance use disorder treatment centers. The new proposal, announced Monday, would make these two types of facilities essential community providers (ECPs). It would
CMS to Mandate Marketplace Plans Cover Mental Health Facilities, SUD Treatment Centers Read More »
The Biden administration is moving to make permanent the pandemic rules that allowed take-home drugs to help fight opioid addiction. The proposed rule from HHS would make it easier for patients with opioid use disorder to access drugs like methadone for home use and for providers to prescribe them via telehealth for patients with opioid
Biden Admin Extends Pandemic-Era Flexibilities on Opioid Use Treatments Read More »
The Biden administration is set to kick off the work of a key advisory committee designed to help stop patients from getting hit with pricey surprise medical bills from ground ambulances, The Health 202 has learned. It took roughly two years for the new committee to get its start. But the panel’s meetings are now
Surprise Bills from Ground Ambulances Is Next up in the Move toward Reform Read More »
The Illinois Health Facilities and Review Board approved Quorum Health’s sale of four southern Illinois hospitals to Deaconess Health System. Evansville, Indiana-based Deaconess, a nonprofit 12-hospital system with facilities in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, plans to acquire Crossroads Community Hospital in Mt. Vernon, Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Union County Hospital in Anna and
Illinois Board Approves Quorum-Deaconess Hospital Deal Read More »
MedPAC wants Congress to increase hospitals and clinicians’ 2o24 Medicare payment rates. Commissioners hashed out draft payment recommendations for providers in a marathon two-day meeting last week. The advisory agency looks poised to recommend that Congress increase Medicare payment to hospitals by 1% over what the law prescribes. MedPAC is also likely to recommend a
MedPAC Wants Pay Boost for Docs and Hospitals Read More »
Behavioral health parity continues to be a key priority in congressional legislation. And it’s possible that new legislation could pass out of Congress before the end of the year. Leading into the lame-duck session, payers and care providers have called for clarity around parity, continuing a legal and legislative quest that stretches back to the
What Will Define Year-End Behavioral Health Parity Efforts in Congress Read More »
