Nick Hut
About the Author
Nick Hut is a former newspaper reporter with more than a decade of experience at HFMA. His HFMA Daily reporting is considered a top benefit of membership as members have come to rely on Hut’s daily insights on policy, legal and business developments. He has been at the forefront of major industry news, garnering a following from national media. Nick has earned multiple national awards, including two first-place honors in 2024 from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for excellence in analysis and reporting.
Latest Work
Medicare Worksheet S-12 adds to cost-reporting demands for hospitals
Acute care hospitals are taking steps to incorporate a required new worksheet in their Medicare cost reporting. Effective for cost-reporting periods that end on or after Jan. 1, 2026, most hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) must fill out Worksheet S-12. An analysis by Baker Tilly notes that the worksheet is the…
CMS proposes faster Medicare coverage for breakthrough medical devices
Medicare coverage of some breakthrough medical devices would be accelerated under a Trump administration proposal released this month. CMS published an Aug. 11 notice of proposed processes that would include issuing an initial national coverage determination (NCD) simultaneously with FDA authorization of an eligible device and finalizing Medicare coverage within three months of authorization. As…
Medicaid state-directed payments for hospitals face cuts across 37 states under OBBBA
Hospital state-directed payments (SDPs) in at least 37 states are set to be reduced as part of Medicaid cutbacks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), according to a new analysis. Roughly $60 billion in current federal spending on hospital SDPs will come in above the OBBBA’s limits, set at 110% of the Medicare…
CMS updates prior authorization transparency requirements for health plans
As part of efforts to improve prior authorization, CMS has bolstered its transparency requirements for health plans. Based on 2024 regulations that partially took effect in 2026 and are intended to promote electronic prior authorization, new requirements apply to health plans in Medicare Advantage (MA), Medicaid managed care and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, along with state…
Hospital cyberattacks underscore growing financial and operational risks
As seen in two incidents over the past month and in a newly issued warning, cyberattacks are a relentless threat to hospitals and their communities. The South Carolina-based health system AnMed and Texas-based JPS Health experienced disruptions that included implementation of downtime procedures and patient-diversion protocols. And in recent days, the American Hospital Association highlighted…
Court decisions on ACA marketplace rules affect key coverage provisions
As CMS moves ahead with Medicaid funding limits for gender-affirming care in minors, Democratic state leaders used litigation to block restrictions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) insurance marketplaces. The ACA policy, established in 2025 regulations, would remove the essential health benefit (EHB) designation from gender-affirming care. EHB status allows ACA consumer protections, such as…
No Surprises Act QPA calculations set to change after appeals court ruling
An appeals court sided with providers in a case about the No Surprises Act’s qualifying payment amount (QPA), a key benchmark in out-of-network payment determinations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling that QPA calculations must not include ghost rates, referring to non-negotiated rates listed in contracts for services a…
Guilty plea in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing comes amid sustained focus on obstacles to care
Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty Aug. 14 to federal stalking charges in the 2024 fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, potentially bringing resolution to an incident that spurred introspection by insurers and the healthcare industry. The charges, stemming from the killing of Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. Prosecutors…
HHS report raises scrutiny of gender-affirming care billing and coding
HHS followed up its final rule blocking Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care in minors by publishing a commissioned report alleging “potentially fraudulent” billing and coding among providers of the services. The report, released Aug. 13, alleges that financial incentives drove hospitals and physicians to expand access to the care, and that deceitful billing practices took…
CMS ends Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming care for minors
Federal Medicaid funding no longer will be available to cover gender-affirming healthcare for minors, according to a CMS final rule issued Aug. 11. The rule blocks Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) federal matching funds from reimbursing providers for what the rule refers to as “sex-rejecting procedures” in beneficiaries younger than 18 in Medicaid…