On January 31, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a proposed rule that would, if finalized, remove the existing legal “safe harbor” that protects rebates currently negotiated between pharmaceutical manufacturers and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and Medicaid plans. In its place, the agency [...] Read More
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a Draft Strategy titled “Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs.” As required by the 21st Century Cures Act, the draft strategy identifies an overall goal of reducing burden related to the use of EHRs and Health IT [...] Read More
On November 21 2018, Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) released a report, titled “Significant Vulnerabilities Exist in the Hospital Wage Index System for Medicare Payments”, which describes their examination of the wage index system for acute-care hospitals. The objective of their analysis was to identify “significant vulnerabilities” and propose solutions to […]
Read MoreOverview On December 6-7, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a public meeting. This meeting began the annual process MedPAC conducts to review payment adequacy for physicians and the sites of care covered under the Medicare program. The meeting also included a discussion of redesigning hospital quality incentive programs and Medicare Advantage. Draft recommendations [...] Read More
Overview This evening, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule entitled “Modernizing Part D and Medicare Advantage to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenses.” CMS believes that the changes proposed in this rule will give plans more tools to negotiate lower drug prices. The proposed rule discusses the definition [...] Read More
Healthcare will be first on the docket when the 116th Congress convenes in January, according to Rep. Don Beyer, speaker at this month’s gathering of the Northern Virginia Health Policy Forum. Mr. Beyer, who was just reelected to a third term, said he is looking forward to serving in the House majority with the hope [...] Read More
At next week’s Northern Virginia Health Policy Forum (NVHPF) breakfast on Tuesday, November 13, Representative Don Beyer will be the featured speaker. He will discuss the outcome of the November midterm elections and share how it will impact Congress’ health care agenda in 2019. Following his remarks, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions [...] Read More
This evening, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in conjunction with the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Labor, released two final rules on exemptions and accommodations for the coverage of certain preventive services under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). One final rule covered religious exemptions while the other covered moral [...] Read More
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a proposed rule that, if finalized, will require federal and state-based Exchanges to conduct more frequent checks to verify enrollee eligibility for premium tax credits, cost-sharing assistance, and Medicaid. Individuals would also be able to authorize Exchanges to automatically terminate coverage once the individual becomes [...] Read More
Following the release of an HHS report on international drug pricing, President Trump announced a new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiative to index pricing for Medicare Part B drugs to international prices. The advance notice of proposed rulemaking solicits comments on a demonstration program HHS is considering that would test changes to [...] Read More