Healthcare was a top voter priority in the 2018 midterm elections, with 41 percent of national voters stating that healthcare was their "most important" issue. Accordingly, the Democratic strategy to focus on healthcare...more
11/13/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicaid Expansion ,
Medicare ,
Trump Administration
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the Calendar Year (CY) 2019 Final Rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), which includes provisions related to Medicare physician payments as well...more
11/7/2018
/ Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
MIPS ,
MPFS ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physician Payments ,
Physicians ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Quality Payment Program (QPP) ,
Telehealth
On July 25, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released proposed policy and payment updates affecting the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC)...more
8/16/2018
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Clinics ,
Hospitals ,
Off-Campus Departments ,
OPPS ,
Outpatient Services ,
Payment Rates ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Site-Neutral Exception
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on July 12, 2018, published the CY 2019 Proposed Rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). While in previous years regulations for the Quality Payment Program (QPP)...more
7/23/2018
/ Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Bi-Partison Balanced Budget Act (BBA) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Comment Period ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
MIPS ,
Outpatient Services ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Quality Payment Program (QPP) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Telehealth
Enforcement -
OIG Issues Advisory Opinion on Provision of Samples by a Device Distributor -
On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a...more
5/30/2018
/ Adverse Action ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Antitrust Litigation ,
Beneficiaries ,
Biosimilars ,
CMMI ,
Competition ,
Constructive Discharge ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Distributors ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FDCPA ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Kickbacks ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Patients ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Request For Information ,
Section 340B ,
Sherman Act ,
Statute of Limitations
On Feb. 9, 2018, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA). This wide-reaching legislation enacts major changes for telehealth policy in Medicare by incorporating...more
4/17/2018
/ Bi-Partison Balanced Budget Act (BBA) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
ESRD ,
FQHC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
HELP Act ,
Home Health Care ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
OIG ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Ryan Haight Act ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Ways and Means Committee
On Feb. 9, 2018, the Trump Administration released a 30-page report analyzing domestic and global factors influencing drug pricing. The report by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is expected to inform the HHS' Fiscal...more
2/13/2018
/ Antitrust Provisions ,
Biosimilars ,
Budget Reconciliation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Federal Budget ,
Fixed Price ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GAO ,
Health Care Providers ,
Incentives ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
MedPAC ,
OIG ,
Outpatient Services ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Price-Fixing ,
Rebates ,
Secretary of HHS ,
Section 340B ,
Social Security Act ,
Supply Chain ,
Trump Administration
Congress moved one step closer to avoiding a government shutdown on Feb. 6, voting overwhelmingly (245-182) to pass a short-term, GOP-backed government funding bill (text; section-by-section) that would keep the federal...more
2/9/2018
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Budget Cuts ,
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Costs ,
Hospitals ,
IPAB ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
MIECHV Program ,
National Health Service Corp (NHSC) ,
National Institute of Health (NIH) ,
Offsets ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Tax Extenders ,
Trump Administration
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Oct. 14, 2016, released the highly anticipated Final Rule implementing the Medicare physician payment reforms enacted as part of the Medicare Access and CHIP...more
10/20/2016
/ ACOs ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
MIPS ,
Nurse Practitioners ,
Physician Assistants ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
PQRS ,
Quality Payment Program (QPP) ,
Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) ,
Value-Based Payments
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released on April 27, 2016, the highly anticipated proposed rule to implement major Medicare physician payment reform provisions included in the Medicare Access and CHIP...more
5/10/2016
/ Alternative Payment Models (APM) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization (MACRA) ,
MIPS ,
Physician Payments ,
PQRS ,
PTAC ,
Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR)