Policy and Legislation
So far this year, more than 2.2 million people with Medicare have saved more than $1.2 billion on their prescriptions, for an average of $550 per person, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Friday.
A much-anticipated report from the Institute of Medicine providing guidance to the Department of Health and Human Services on how to define essential health benefits came down squarely on the side of controlling the costs of providing those benefits with an emphasis on benefits that are effective and provide high value.
The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) enables frail Medicare beneficiaries still in their homes to access medical and social services in the community.
It is believed that in its deliberations on how to reduce the federal deficit, the Joint Selection Committee on Deficit Reduction is considering permanently fixing the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. Many within the medical community have vigorously urged the super committee and Congress to repeal the SGR, and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted to recommend a repeal to Congress.
The application fee for providers to enroll in Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program has been set for calendar year 2012. The fee has increased to $523 from $505.
The growing drug shortage crisis is the number one supply chain concern for providers nationwide says Novation, a group purchasing organization. Yet, even in these dire circumstances, there may be a glimmer of hope.
The Medicare physician payment fee for 2012 is not as bad as predicted, but the lesser cut will be cold comfort to physicians.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday announced it will increase payment rates under its Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) by 1.9 percent and its Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) payments by 1.6 percent in 2012.
The final Accountable Care Organization regulations are out, the initial flurry of commentary is out, and we can now all catch our collective breath and contemplate the draft vs. final ACO regulation comparisons, the meaning of this new, final set of regulations, guidances and statements.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rule updating the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) for 2012. In a press release, CMS noted that the final changes are a result of the agency seeking to "improve payment accuracy" while still supporting patient access.