Billy Wynne

Commissioners Discuss Mandated Report on Rural Emergency Hospitals The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened a session to discuss the new Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) program established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (based on a MedPAC recommendation). The legislation requires MedPAC to review payment to REHs annually starting in 2024. In preparation, MedPAC Senior…

Commissioners Divided on Payment Policy for Software as a Medical Service The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened a session on software as a medical service (SaaS) and prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs). The staff provided an overview of current coverage and payment for SaaS and software as a medical device (SaMD) under the different Medicare payment streams…

Agency Finalizes 3.4 Percent Decrease for CY 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Payments The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule (press release; fact sheet; MSSP fact sheet; QPP fact sheet), which addresses an array of policies under Medicare Part B and…

Agency Seeks Input on Strengthening Broadband Tools to Address Disparities and Improve Maternal Health The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a notice of inquiry (NOI) soliciting input on ways to enhance its “Mapping Broadband Health in America” platform to leverage digital health tools for maternal care improvement. The platform facilitates data-driven decision-making at the intersection…

Agency Estimates CY 2024 Home Health Agency Payments to Increase by 0.8 Percent; Finalizes to Implement Half of the Permanent Behavioral Assumption Adjustment The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the cycle year (CY) 2024 home health prospective payment and rate update final rule (fact sheet). What it is. The final rule updates…

EHC Program Requesting Public Comment on Delivering Clinical Preventative Services for People with Disabilities The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) Effective Health Care (EHC) Program is requesting public comments on challenges and barriers for people with disabilities to receive clinical preventative services. The review seeks to: (1) compile and summarize the key obstacles…

Report Finds Internal Process Issues That Led to the Failure of CDC’s First COVID-19 Test Kit The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) initial COVID-19 test kit failure. After researchers in China posted the genome sequence…

Report Shows Difficulty Meeting Medicaid Third-Party Liability Requirements The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on challenges meeting the Medicaid payer of last resort requirement. In general, if a Medicaid enrollee has another source of health care coverage, that source should pay the full extent of…

Senator Sanders’ Field Hearing on Nurse Staffing and Labor Disputes Draws Political Divide and Hospital Critique The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee convened a ‘field hearing’ to examine the issue of nurse staffing ratios. Senate HELP Chair, Bernie Sanders, visited New Jersey to address the labor dispute involving approximately 1,700 striking nurses…

Independent Dispute Resolution Process Proposed Rule Today, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury (the Departments) and the Office of Personnel Management issued a proposed rule on regulations governing the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (IDR) process under the No Surprises Act (fact sheet).   What it is. The Departments propose an…