It’s getting hot outside, which means that the summer regulatory season is almost upon us. In June or July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will release proposed regs impacting Medicare payments in...more
Earlier this week, Congress released the text of a continuing resolution that includes a more-robust-than-anticipated healthcare package. While the bill’s primary purpose is to keep the government open through March 14, 2025,...more
The proposed rule would make transparency-related updates to state directed payments (SDPs). It would also require states to submit an annual payment analysis that compares managed care plans’ payment rates for routine...more
The OIG added five new items to its Work Plan in the October 2018 update: (1) childcare provider compliance with criminal background check requirements; (2) early results from Opioid State Targeted Response Grants; (3)...more
Foley & Lardner LLP’s (“Foley”) Bipartisan Public Policy Team is pleased to share our “Public Policy Weekly* Health Care Newsletter” in which we compile the latest Health Care policy news and legislation. *Please note that we...more
Happy New Year!?! 2017 was an eventful year for health care, and now we can all sit back and relax with very little concern that major health policy will be on the table in 2018. Right? Why must Speaker Ryan ruin our...more
If the 2017 healthcare environment could be summed up in one word, it would be “uncertainty.” With the largely unexpected election of Donald Trump as President, the multiple, unsuccessful attempts by the Republican controlled...more
Uncertainty and pressures continue to mount for healthcare providers, creating a new operating environment – Uncertainty around Medicaid and other programs, the shift to value-based care, margin pressures, the need to search...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Nov. 1, 2017, released the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and the Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System Final Rule for...more
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act ("HITECH Act") established financial incentives under Medicare and Medicaid for eligible health care providers that adopt, implement, and demonstrate use...more
The total U.S. health care expenditure was $3.2 trillion in 2015, and is projected to grow to nearly $5.6 trillion by 2025. As our nation’s cost of care rises, both Democrats and Republicans recognize the overwhelming need to...more
On December 7, 2016, Congress passed the 21st Century Cures Act (the “Act”). The Act began as a proposal to increase funding to the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) and streamline the Food and Drug Administration’s...more
Since I began writing this year-end review in 2013, there have been some common themes – a shift to pay for quality and away from fee-for service, much of which has been brought about by the Affordable Care Act (ACA): efforts...more
President-elect Donald Trump announced on November 28, 2016, that current House Budget Chair Representative Tom Price is his choice for Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. Many providers are wondering what health care...more
ALERT: "No Contract" Disclaimer in Employee Handbook Upheld by Illinois CourtAuthor: Employee handbooks have long been a trap for the unwary employer that desires merely to establish a set of rules and policies without...more
President-elect Donald J. Trump campaigned on a promise to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). For several years, the newly reelected Republican majority in Congress has likewise identified ACA repeal as a...more
Many observers view the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) as a game changer for the delivery and payment of health care services. On Oct. 14, 2016 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...more
On the heels of the release of its final rule implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2017 list of Advanced Alternative Payment...more
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
After receiving roughly 4,000 comments to its proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 14, 2016 released its final rule for implementing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act...more
On October 14, 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule for the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). The final rule marks the most significant reform to our...more
Significant changes to the Medicare payment system are underway. The Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) is set to take effect January 1, 2017. MACRA represents a deliberate departure by the...more
The integration of technology into health care delivery is exploding throughout the health industry landscape. Commentators speculating on the implications of the information revolution’s penetration of the health care...more
In Depth - On April 27, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled the much-anticipated (and, for some, feared) proposal to implement the physician payment reforms required under the Medicare Access to...more
On May 9, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the bipartisan Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Although the...more