Billy Wynne

COVID-19 Booster Recommended for All Persons Ages 6 Months and Older The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13 to 1 to recommend the 2023-2024 monovalent, XBB containing COVID-19 vaccines as authorized under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or approved by Biologics License Application (BLA) for all persons ages 6 months and older.  Yesterday, the FDA approved the…

Senator Cassidy Releases RFI on How to Modernize HIPAA and Safeguard Health Data Privacy; Comments Due September 28 Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a request for information (RFI) on enhancing the protection of health data privacy in the United States. In his…

OIG Finds That Home Health Agencies Failed to Report 55 Percent of Falls Resulting in Major Injury The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on the reporting of falls with major injury by Home Health Agencies (HHAs). Beginning in 2019, HHAs were required to report that…

Commissioners Discuss the Benefits and Drawbacks of Surgical Procedures Migrating from HOPDs to ASCs The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened a session to discuss ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) and the factors that might be slowing the shift from hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) to ASCs. Principal Policy Analyst Daniel Zabinski presented a status report on…

Agency Describes Challenges that Nursing Homes Face Preparing for Public Health Emergencies and Natural Disasters The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report the emergency preparedness of nursing homes. OIG examined a random sample of nursing homes in geographic areas that have a high or relatively…

Additional Fact Sheet on Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program Processes Released The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a fact sheet detailing the factors the agency will consider when developing an initial offer under the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. CMS explains that it will consider the following information, data, and evidence when developing an…

Commissioners Discuss Context Chapter on Medicare Financing and Payment Policies; Express Interest in Consolidation and Growth in Service Intensity The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) convened a session to discuss a presentation on the Commission’s context chapter on Medicare payment policy and financing. Senior Analyst Rachel Burton detailed that the chapter serves as the backdrop…

Bipartisan Lower Costs, More Transparency Act House leadership from the Energy and Commerce (E&C), Ways and Means (W&M) and Education and Workforce Committees introduced the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act – bipartisan legislation that largely includes previously marked up and advanced bills from the three Committees (press release; text; section-by-section). The legislation features the following…

In 2023-2024 Meeting Cycle, MedPAC Will Examine MA Program, Including Benefit Standardization, Prior Authorization, Coding Intensity, Encounter Data, D-SNPs, and More The Medicare Payment and Access Commission (MedPAC) convened to discuss their analytic workplan on Medicare Advantage (MA) for the 2023-2024 cycle. Commissioners expressed strong support for the workplan, which will culminate in five chapters.…

HHS Proposes Rule to Clarify and Extend Prohibitions Against Discrimination on the Basis of a Disability The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released (press release; fact sheet) a proposed rule to amend the regulations at section 504 which protect against discrimination based on disability by recipients of financial assistance through HHS programs or…