Reimbursement

President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law.

The impact of the payment policies would result in an increase of about $444 million in Medicare Part A payments in 2022.

CMS is also proposing to add Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Hospice Survey Star ratings on Care Compare.

This week's top stories include U.S. Anesthesia Partners claiming UnitedHealthcare has an "unlawful scheme" to eliminate providers like itself from its network, Bright Health buying Zipnosis, and AstraZeneca working with MGH on disease management.

With specialty reintegrated into the pharmacy services, the goal is to deliver cost savings for Service Benefit Plan members.

Under white bagging, the specialty pharmacy is reimbursed by the payer, while the physician is paid only a drug administration fee.

The Texas lawsuit claims UHC has advanced an "unlawful scheme" to eliminate providers like itself from its network for its own financial benefit.

The federal government claims insurers are being funded through a practice of raising premiums known as "silver loading."

Round 2 contains a number of tweaks that seek to address disparities and distribute funding to more areas.

The number of Medicare and Medicaid patients declined during the pandemic, changing the 340B hospital payer mix.