Billy Wynne

Committee Marks Up Fiscal Year 2024 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Bill The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the bipartisan fiscal year 2024 (FY 24) Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations bill by a vote of 26-2 (summary). The bill provides $224.4 billion in total funding with $117.0 billion in discretionary…

Agency Finalizes Overall 4.0 Percent Increase in Payments for Skilled Nursing Facilities in FY 2024 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2024 skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS) final rule (fact sheet). What it is. The final rule addresses payment rates and parity adjustment for SNFs…

CMS Finalizes 3.1 Percent Payment Rate Increase for Hospices in FY 2024  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2024 hospice payment rate update final rule (fact sheet). What it is. The final rule addresses the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for FY 2024, along…

Agency Awards $11 Million to Expand Medical Residences in Rural Communities The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it has allocated nearly $11 million to 15 recipients through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to enhance the health workforce by establishing new medical residency programs in rural communities. The aim is to…

CMS Finalizes 3.4 Percent Payment Rate Update for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities in FY 2024  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2024 inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system (PPS) final rule. What it is. The final rule includes updates on the payment rate, outlier thresholds, and wage index…

3.3 Percent Payment Rate Update Finalized for Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities in FY 2024 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2024 inpatient psychiatric facility (IPF) prospective payment system (PPS) final rule. What it is. The final rule addresses the wage index, payment rates, and outlier threshold for IPFs for FY 2024, along…

Proposed Rules to Strengthen Parity Requirements for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Benefits Today, the Departments of  the Treasury, Labor (DOL), and Health and Human Services (HHS) (collectively, the Departments) released proposed rules intended to strengthen parity requirements for mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) benefits provided by group health plans and health…

Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2023 Introduced Ahead of Tomorrow’s Markup The House Ways and Means (W&M) Committee introduced H.R. 4822, the Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2023, ahead of tomorrow’s markup, which aims to increase transparency for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs), health insurance plans, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Major provisions of the bill include the…

USDA Announces New Food and Agriculture Investments to Improve Nutrition and Support Local Economies The Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a series of investments in urban agriculture and food access.  USDA will fund $10.7 million in investments for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program which will help 1.2 million children gain access to nutritious…

Ahead of SFC PBM Markup, Senators Release Additional PBM Bills Ahead of the Senate Finance Committee markup on pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) legislation, several Senators released legislation aimed various PBM practices. Additional details on each bill follows: The Neighborhood Options for Patients Buying Medicines (NO PBMS) Act (bill text, press release) – Sponsored by Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)…