Overview The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a report entitled “Comparison of U.S. and International Prices for Top Medicare Part B Drugs by Total Expenditures.” The report comes as the Trump administration continues to implement its “American Patients [...] Read More
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new guidance for states related to State Innovation Waivers granted under section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). With this new guidance, CMS will now refer to these waivers as State Relief and Empowerment Waivers. CMS believes that this new guidance will give [...] Read More
This afternoon, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule related to drug pricing transparency as part of the administration’s continuing effort to combat high drug prices. Comments on the proposed regulation are due on December 17, 2018. While the rule cites elements of the Social Security Act as the source […]
Read MoreThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that the average premiums for second lowest cost silver plans (SLCSP) available on the Exchanges will drop by 1.5% in 2019. This is the first year-to-year drop in average premiums since the Exchanges became operational in 2014. The data released today includes plans sold on [...] Read More
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a public meeting on October 4-5, 2018. The commission discussed a variety of topics at the meeting including, opioid use in Medicare Part D, opioids and alternatives in hospital settings, and payment policies for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs). No draft recommendations were presented [...] Read More
On June 19, 2018, the Department of Labor (DOL) released a final rule, “Definition of an “Employer” under Section 3(5) of ERISA—Association Health Plans.” The rule is the final version of a proposed rule initially released in January 2018. It creates a new pathway for the formation of association health plans (AHPs) but does retain […]
Read MoreOn January 9, 2017, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of Alex Azar II to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). This hearing follows the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee nomination hearing on November 29, 2017. Mr. Azar has been nominated to replace Tom […]
Read MoreThis afternoon, the Trump Administration released the first proposed rule under regular order concerning the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplaces (or Exchanges). The rule, which covers benefit and payment parameters for qualified health plans (QHPs) operating on and off the Marketplaces, would impact plans offered in 2019. This is another signal that despite the uncertainty surrounding […]
Read MoreToday, President Donald Trump, citing inaction from Congress, has signed an executive order related to health care. While the action comes before open-enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces begins on November 1, it is unclear how much of an impact this order could have since federal agencies will likely need to follow rulemaking […]
Read MoreFollowing an announcement last week from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb about pending agency action on generic drug competition, a draft of an alleged White House executive order about drug pricing has leaked. However, a White House spokesperson has said that the leaked draft is a fake. The leaked draft order aims […]
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