Billy Wynne

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…

CMS Finalizes CY 2024 ESRD PPS, Payments Expected to Increase by 2.1 Percent for ESRD Facilities The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its calendar year (CY) 2024 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) prospective payment system (PPS) final rule (fact sheet). Details follow. What it is. This final rule outlines ESRD PPS payment policies…

CISA and HHS Release Health Care Cybersecurity Toolkit; HHS to Consider Tying Cyber Standards to Payments The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) jointly released a cybersecurity toolkit tailored for the U.S. health care and public health (HPH) sector to address the growing cybersecurity challenges faced…

Biden-Harris Administration Introduces National LIHEAP Eligibility Tool and Commits Close to $3.7 Billion to Assist in Reducing Home Energy Costs Through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced almost $3.7 billion in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to provide financial assistance…