Billy Wynne

Agency Seeks TEP Nominations to Advise on Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings; Due Aug. 15 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking nominations for a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) to support the maintenance and evolution of the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings methodology. Details about the TEP follow below. Title: Overall Hospital Quality…

EHC Program Requesting Public Comment on Management of Suicidal Thoughts in Youth, Responses Due August 4th The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ’s) Effective Health Care (EHC) Program is requesting public comments on draft key questions related to the management of suicidal thoughts in youth. According to the announcement, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts…

Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care Hearing on the Cost of Inaction and the Urgent Need to Reform the U.S. Transplant System The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care convened a hearing yesterday on the current status of the Organ Procurement and Transplant System (OPTN) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden’s (D-OR) legislation, The…

CMS Update on Enforcement Actions During Medicaid Unwinding Period Highlight Ex Parte Renewal Challenges; Redeterminations Data in Next Few Weeks Amid ongoing concerns about procedural terminations during the Medicaid unwinding period, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provided an update making clear that the agency is taking enforcement actions, as necessary, to ensure…

Committee Chairman Sanders Releases Legislation to Fund and Expand the Health Care Workforce Including Doctors, Nurses, Mental and Behavioral Health Providers, Midwives, Community Health Workers, Family Caregivers, and Dentists The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) unveiled a sweeping piece of legislation to overhaul the nation’s primary care health…

OIG Finds that Provider Relief Fund Allocations Differed by the Race and Ethnicity of Communities The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report showing that allocations of the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) different with respect to the race and ethnicity of the populations served.The PRF included…

Health Subcommittee Discusses Medicare NCD Process and Proposed TCET Pathway; Express Support to Modernize Coverage Pathways The House Energy & Commerce (E&C) Health Subcommittee convened a hearing to examine Medicare coverage of innovative drugs, medical devices, and technology, including the National Coverage Determination (NCD) process and coverage with evidence development (CED) requirements, particularly for Alzheimer’s…

Bridge Access Program for Free COVID-19 Vaccines to Uninsured and Underinsured Adults to Launch in Fall 2023 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to launch the Bridge Access Program for COVID-19 Vaccines in the fall of 2023. Announced earlier this year, the program aims to provide free COVID-19 vaccines and treatments…

Presentations for CMS’s Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment Meeting Due on July 31; CMS Still Accepting Nominations to the Advisory Panel The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a meeting of the Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP Panel) for August 21 and 22, 2023. The HOP Panel advices the Secretary…

988 Hotline Adds Spanish Language Text and Chat Services to Existing Call Response Services One year after the rollout of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the addition of Spanish text and chat services. The 988 Lifeline is a network of over 200 state and…