The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the 2026 KidneyX EMPOWER Prize Challenge and new work on interoperability in the kidney care ecosystem. KidneyX is a Kidney Innovation Accelerator public-private partnership between HHS and the American Society of Nephrology. EMPOWER Prize Challenge: The challenge will be a $4 million national competition to accelerate innovation supporting living kidney donors and kidney recipients. Winners will… (McClurg, April 15, 2026) #Health Information Technology, #Public Health

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) convened a session to review findings from a policy scan and literature review on Medicaid coverage of assistive technology (AT) for adults receiving home- and community-based services (HCBS). MACPAC staff described AT as a broad set of items that support individuals in maintaining or improving functional capabilities and emphasized that HCBS… (Colocho, April 14, 2026) #Coverage Decisions, #Waivers

Yesterday, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI/Innovation Center) released a list of more than 150 applicants  accepted to participate in the ACCESS (Advancing Chronic Care with Effective Scalable Solutions) Model. Inclusion on the list does not guarantee participation; final approval remains contingent on meeting all program requirements, including Medicare enrollment (as applicable), execution of a Participation Agreement, and… (Testa, April 14, 2026) #Care Coordination, #Chronic Diseases, #Delivery Reform, #Demonstration Programs, #Health Information Technology, #Prevention

Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the fiscal year (FY) 2027 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and long-term care hospital prospective payment system (LTCH PPS) proposed rule (fact sheet), which applies to acute care hospital and LTCH payments beginning Oct. 1, 2026. Under the proposed rule, acute care hospitals would receive a 2.4 percent increase, which… (Testa, April 10, 2026) #Ambulatory Surgical Centers, #Costs, #Delivery Reform, #Demonstration Programs, #Graduate Medical Education (GME), #Hospitals, #Long-Term Care Hospitals, #Quality

Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to advance interoperability and improve prior authorization (press release; fact sheet). The regulations apply to Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations, Medicaid managed care plans, State Medicaid Agencies, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies and managed care entities; issuers of Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) on the Federally-Facilitated Exchanges (FFEs), and eligible hospitals… (McClurg, April 10, 2026) #Health Information Technology, #Prescription Drugs

The Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) convened to discuss service delivery, network-adequacy requirements, and star ratings for institutional special-needs plans (I–SNPs). Staff provided an overview of these plans and presented available analyses to the Commission to understand the benefits of and barriers to these plans. Commissioners expressed strong interest in continuing the Commission’s work in this area, emphasizing the model’s… (Eisen, April 10, 2026) #Quality, #Skilled Nursing Facilities