HHS issues regulations to strengthen anti-discriminatory protections in healthcare (updated)
July 3 update A judge with the Southern District of Mississippi federal court granted an injunction preventing the Biden administration from enforcing regulations expanding anti-discrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Issued two days before the new rule was to take effect, the order applies to the provisions concerning gender identity. The move came…
Annual report on Medicare financing could reduce the immediate impetus to address longstanding issues
New data on the state of Medicare funding show short-term improvement while keeping the stakes high for ensuing decades. The annual report from Medicare’s trustees shows the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund (i.e., Medicare Part A) has enough money to keep beneficiaries covered and providers paid through 2036. That’s an increase of five years from the…
FY 2025 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities PPS Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA presents a detailed summary of the FY 2025 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System proposed rule, published in the April 3, 2024.
Why the Medicare physician fee schedule is sheer madness
Amid the complexities of U.S. healthcare, there is probably no construct that’s more byzantine than the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) — the program’s elaborate system of paying physicians and other clinicians (including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and clinical psychologists) for more than 10,000 medical services.a In 2022, the schedule drove about $71.2 billion in…
A new 340B dispute resolution process could create more opportunities for providers
Regulatory updates to the administrative dispute resolution (ADR) process in the 340B Drug Pricing Program seem likely to expedite the filing of claims over manufacturers’ refusal to offer discounts on drugs distributed at contract pharmacies. HHS and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which administers the 340B program, published a final rule that modifies…
FY 2025 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PPS Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA presents a detailed summary of the proposed rule published by CMS on the Medicare inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system updates for FY 2025.
FY 2025 IPPS/LTCH PPS Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA presents a detailed summary of the FY 2025 IPPS/LTCH prospective payment system proposed rule, released by CMS on April 10, 2024.
FY 2025 Hospice Payment Rate Update Proposed Rule Summary
HFMA provides a detailed summary of the proposed rule updating the Medicare hospice payment rates, wage index and Hospital Quality Reporting Program for FY 2025.
CMS calls for hospitals to be subject to a new bundled payment model and data-reporting requirements
Notable policies in Medicare’s FY25 proposed rule for inpatient hospital care and long-term care hospitals include the formation of a mandatory bundled payment model and requirements for hospital data reporting. Although the proposed payment rate was the headlining aspect of the rule for hospitals, the policy developments could have a longer-term impact on segments of…
Hospital advocates bemoan the small Medicare payment increase proposed for FY25
The payment increase described in Medicare’s FY25 proposed rule for acute care and long-term care hospitals falls well short of what hospitals need to keep up with costs, advocates say. The payment rate would rise by 2.6% for hospitals that fulfill quality-reporting requirements and meet the criteria to be designated as meaningful users of electronic…