At today’s meeting, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) began their consideration of challenges facing the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit, building up to a slate of recommendations to be included in their report to Congress later this year. Last year, the Commission approved several changes aimed at shifting more risk away from the […]
Read MoreOn January 4, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the 340B Drug Pricing Program Ceiling Price and Manufacturer Civil Monetary Penalties final rule. This rule implements a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that required HHS to publish the methods for calculating 340B ceiling prices and also imposes civil monetary […]
Read MoreThe Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has released their Fiscal Year 2017 HHS OIG Work Plan. The OIG seeks to identify opportunities to improve various HHS programs and also holds those who do not meet requirements or violate federal laws accountable. Their work encompasses […]
Read MoreOn Thursday, November 4th, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) hosted the next public meeting of their current term. The topics of the meeting varied but heavily featured provider-related topics in Medicare. The meeting agenda and presentations can be found here. Provider Consolidation: The Role of Medicare Policy The first topic at the meeting was […]
Read MoreThe Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held the second meeting of their new term on October 6, 2016 and October 7, 2016. The Commission covered a number of topics, but much attention was given Medicare Accountable Care Organizations, Medicare Part B drug payment policy, and biosimilars in Medicare Part D. At the meeting, commissioners were […]
Read MoreOn October 5, 2016, the National Institute for Healthcare Management (NIHCM) Foundation hosted a Capitol Hill briefing entitled “The Future of Healthcare in America.” NIHCM brought together a distinguished panel of healthcare thought leaders to discuss what they viewed to be the most important healthcare issues for the next Administration and Congress, as well as […]
Read MoreToday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an estimate of the savings that could potentially be realized if CMS were to implement the proposed payment reductions and value-based purchasing tools for physician-administered drugs covered under Medicare Part B. The estimate was made within the context of H.R. 5122, “A bill to prohibit further action on the […]
Read MoreThe Treasury Department and HHS released the 2016 Medicare Trustees report earlier today, and to the relief of many, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) was not triggered. As a refresher, IPAB was created by the Affordable Care Act to make recommendations to keep Medicare spending growth below specified targets. Under current law, IPAB’s responsibilities […]
Read MoreOn Tuesday, March 29, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the long-awaited proposal to increase the number of patients that one prescriber may treat with buprenorphine medication assistance treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Comments on the proposal are due Tuesday, May 31, 2016. Due to the risk of misuse and […]
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