Policy and Legislation

Based on the Supreme Court's ruling, states now can refuse to expand Medicaid without losing federal funding. But how does that bode for the future of Medicaid?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is making available up to $275 million to states to help them develop and test improvements to their healthcare systems that would bolster healthcare quality and reduce expenditures.

Cleared by an eight to six vote, the Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) bill would effectively prohibit any federal funding of patient-centered outcomes research, which is conducted by AHRQ. Other provisions of the bill include withdrawing funding from the prevention fund incorporated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

An interim final rule adopting electronic funds transfer (EFT) standards has been finalized announced the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last week.

I am heartened by the release of the Report of the State Budget Crisis Task Force, which highlights the fact that state finances are a mess and likely to get worse. The report identifies six big threats.

Now more than ever, providers are exploring whether the Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement program is best to receive their EHR incentive payments. For many, both are an option, and according to Stephen Martinez, CEO at MTS Healthcare, it's imperative to understand the ins-and-outs of each.

Changing the method for how CMS adjusts payments to reflect regional variations in the cost of care as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) can help ensure payment accuracy, but would do little to tackle the broader issues of access to care and care quality.

One of the few points of consensus in the “replace” part of “repeal and replace” is that malpractice reform should play a central role.

In what is shaping up as the first state-federal showdown on Medicaid following the Supreme Court's ruling on President Barack Obama's health law, Maine is moving ahead with plans to cut about 38,000 people from its rolls to balance its state budget.

Guidelines on how certain mobile medical apps will be governed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may be released as soon as the end of the year.