“If you’re focused on what’s wrong, you can always find it. Focus on what’s right,” Tony Robbins told an audience of CMS leaders and quality professionals at the 2026 CMS Quality Conference. The remark came during a fireside chat with CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. Robbins’ appointment to the Department of Health and Human Services’ newly […]
Read More“We actually read the comments,” Chris Klomp, CMS Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare, noted during a fireside chat at the 2026 Better Medicare Alliance Executive Policy Summit. The line—like Klomp’s suggestion that comment closing periods are followed by “comment-paloozas”—drew a laugh, but it also captured where Medicare Advantage policy is heading. […]
Read MoreIn February, the American College of Physicians added fresh energy to a long-running debate over how clinicians are described in modern healthcare with the release of a policy paper titled Physicians Are Not Providers: The Ethical Significance of Names in Health Care. ACP argues that “Physicians should be referred to as physicians, not providers” and […]
Read MoreOn January 29 and 30, 2026, the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) held a public meeting, which included the following sessions: State and Federal Tools for Ensuring Accountability of Medicaid Managed Care Organizations: Policy Options, Considerations for Implementing Community Engagement Requirements: Principles and Policy Option, Medicaid Payment Policies […]
Read MoreIn its response to a recent CMS request for information on modernizing the Medicare Advantage (MA) program, Applied Policy encouraged the agency to explore new approaches to responsibly combining data across federal agencies to improve risk identification, payment accuracy, and care targeting. Applied Policy President and CEO Jim Scott notes that current MA and CMS […]
Read MoreOn January 20, 2026, the American Hospital Association joined nine other organizations, including the National Rural Health Association, the American Medical Group Association, and the American Nurses Association, in urging CMS to issue clear guidance on the use of signage meant to discourage threats and acts of violence against healthcare workers in emergency departments, while […]
Read MoreOn January 15 and 16, 2026, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a public meeting. By law, the Commission reviews Medicare’s fee-for-service (FFS) payment policies each year and makes payment update recommendations. MedPAC’s recommendations are typically informed by four indicators: beneficiaries’ access to care, quality of care, access to capital, and provider revenues and […]
Read MoreIn a recently released white paper, members of the Applied Policy medical devices and diagnostics verticals examine how federal tax incentives could be used to strengthen domestic production of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other essential healthcare products. The analysis considers the complexity of the healthcare supply chain and the United States’ reliance on foreign sources […]
Read MoreOn December 11, 2025, the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) held a public meeting, which included a session titled, State and Federal Tools for Ensuring Accountability of Medicaid Managed Care Organizations: Interview Findings. This summary highlights key takeaways from that session. The full meeting agenda and session presentations […]
Read MoreOn December 4 and 5, 2025, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a public meeting. By law, the Commission reviews Medicare’s fee-for-service (FFS) payment policies each year and makes payment update recommendations. MedPAC’s recommendations are informed by four indicators: beneficiaries’ access to care, quality of care, access to capital, and provider revenues and costs. […]
Read More