The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Contract Year (CY) 2024 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program (Part D) (press release). What it is. The proposed rule includes proposals intended to enhance beneficiary protections, advance health equity, and improve access to behavioral health and prescription drugs in… (Slifer, December 14, 2022) #Health Equity, #Medicare Advantage, #Medicare Part D, #Mental and Behavioral Health

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) requesting public comment on its proposal to modify regulations regarding medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder. What it is: In this rule, HHS proposes to modify certain provisions of part 8 of the Controlled Substances… (Colocho, December 13, 2022) #COVID-19, #Health Equity, #Opioids, #Public Health, #Telehealth

The Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis was established in April 2020 to investigate the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The committee recently released its final report summarizing efforts to date and outlining recommendations for the future.  Entitled, “Preparing for and Preventing the Next Public Health Emergency:  Lessons Learned from the Coronavirus Crisis,”… (Joyce, December 13, 2022) #COVID-19, #Prevention, #Public Health

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on creating a National Health Care System Action Alliance to Advance Patient Safety (Action Alliance) to support sustained improvements in patient safety. The Action Alliance is intended to support improvements across health care delivery systems and between settings of care, considering issues of equity as it… (Colocho, December 13, 2022) #Health Equity, #Quality, #Workforce

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2024 HHS Notice of Benefit Payment Parameters proposed rule (press release) – a wide-ranging rule affecting Marketplaces and qualified health plans in the individual and small group markets.   What it is. The proposed rule makes changes to the rules governing Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace plans, insurance standards, and… (Llamas, Slifer, LaRosa, December 12, 2022) #Health Insurance Exchanges

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report finding that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should improve oversight of online tobacco retailers. OIG notes that online tobacco marketing and sales may be especially dangerous for youth tobacco use because of the multitude of ways that minors use the internet. OIG first describes FDA’s authority to regulate… (McClurg, December 9, 2022) #Pediatrics, #Tobacco

On December 8-9, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) held a virtual public meeting at which it considered a series of draft payment update recommendations to Medicare payment systems in 2024 for inclusion in its March 2023 Report to Congress.   The Commission expressed support for 2024 draft payment recommendations to increase payments to acute care hospitals and providers and… (Testa, LaRosa, McClurg, Colocho, December 9, 2022) #Costs, #Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), #Home Health, #Hospice, #Hospitals, #Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, #Physicians, #Program Integrity, #Quality, #Skilled Nursing Facilities

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) convened a session on Medicaid coverage drug coverage based on Medicare National Coverage Determinations (NCDs). Principal Analyst Chris Park offered the following policy recommendation for Commissioner consideration: Congress should amend § 1927(d)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act to allow states to exclude or otherwise restrict coverage of a covered outpatient drug… (Slifer, December 8, 2022) #Coverage Decisions, #Prescription Drugs

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR), HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) jointly created an updated tool to help health app developers learn about federal regulations that apply to their software. The tool is intended to help developers… (McClurg, December 8, 2022) #Health Information Technology, #Privacy

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule to establish a new annual reporting requirement for investigational new drug applications (INDs), known as the FDA development safety update report (DSUR).  Additional details of the proposed rule follow: The FDA asserts that the proposed FDA DSUR would require these sponsors to provide an annual report that is more comprehensive… (Slifer, December 8, 2022) #Food and Drug Administration, #Prescription Drugs