Billy Wynne

CMMI Announces New Value-Based Care Model to Advance Integrated Behavioral Health Services The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) announced (model website) that it is planning to test a new voluntary, value-based care model to increase access to high-quality integrated care for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries with substance use disorder and moderate to severe mental health…

ARPA-H Launches HEROES Program to Increase Investment In Addressing Preventable Health Challenges; Letters of Interest Due February 29 The Biden-Harris Administration launched a new program called Health care Rewards to Achieve Improved Outcomes (HEROES) through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). This initiative is part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda and aims to address preventable health…

FNS Announces Cooperative Agreement to Support Indigenous Foods in Child Nutrition Programs The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced a request for applications (RFA) for cooperative agreements to support the use of Indigenous foods in child nutrition programs. FNS will award up to $2 million in total funding to up to four organizations to…

Agency Finds That Amounts of Nutrients in Prenatal Supplements Differ From Labels The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on product labels for prenatal supplements. GAO says that it was asked to assess the accuracy of over-the-counter prenatal supplement labels for amounts of certain nutrients, and to determine if the supplements contain harmful substances. Key takeaways are…

Agency Finalizes the Advancing Interoperability and Promoting Prior Authorization Rule The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule to advance interoperability and improve prior authorization (press release; fact sheet). The regulations apply to Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations, Medicaid managed care plans, State Medicaid Agencies, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies and managed care entities;…

Department Proposes New Disability Access Requirements for Medical Diagnostic Equipment; Comments Due on February 12 The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to update regulations regarding the accessibility of medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) (press release, fact sheet). What is it. DOJ has received complaints…

Commission Presents Status Report on Ambulatory Surgical Centers; Commissioners Reiterate Recommendation to Require ASCs Submit Cost Data The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened a session to provide a status report on ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) supply, volume of services provided to beneficiaries, and Medicare spending. Principal Policy Analyst Daniel Zabinski presented the current landscape of ASCs, highlighting the prevalence…

Commissioners Express Concern About Excess Payments to MA Plans and Support Moving Towards Less Plan Offerings  The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened two sessions on Medicare Advantage (MA), including a status report on the program and policy recommendations for standardized benefits. In examining the MA program and the Commission’s recent analyses, staff highlighted the…

Lowering Costs and Increasing Access to Health Care with Employer-Driven Innovation The House Committee on Education and Workforce (Ed & Workforce) Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) convened a hearing that sets the stage for the Committee to further tackle high health care costs in the commercial sector. Democrats and Republicans agree that…

Commissioners Approve Medicare Payment Adequacy and Update Recommendations for 2025 On January 11, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a public meeting at which it considered a series of payment update recommendations to Medicare payment systems in 2025 for inclusion in its March 2024 Report to Congress. These sessions continued conversations from the Commission’s December meeting…