Congress doesn’t seem to be mulling a fix for the 2024 Medicare physician payment cut
Congress has mitigated a scheduled Medicare payment cut for physicians going into each of the last three years, but relief does not appear to be on the way for a fourth year running. Medicare’s 2024 final rule for physician payments includes a $1.15 decrease to the conversion factor, amounting to a reduction of more than…
Proposed rule sets Medicare penalties for providers that commit information-blocking infractions
Hospitals and other healthcare providers would face penalties for knowingly engaging in information blocking, with the sanctions affecting their Medicare reimbursement, according to a proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS. Published at the beginning of November, the rule implements some terms of the 21st Century Cures Act,…
Healthcare News of Note: The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade shows hospitals ‘significantly’ reduced 3 hospital-acquired infections post-pandemic
Over the past few weeks, I have found these recent industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals. 1. Healthcare-acquired infection scores improve for hospitals, but patient experience scores continue to decline, says new Leapfrog report Although hospitals are doing better when it comes to reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) “after significant…
Senate bill would give hospitals a big break from looming Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts (updated)
Nov. 15 update: On Nov. 14, the House passed legislation on a bipartisan basis to keep the government funded through Jan. 19. Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments would be guaranteed to remain at their full amount through that date, and the bill similarly maintains short-term funding for graduate medical education, community health centers and the…
CMS finalizes enhanced hospital price transparency requirements for 2024
Hospital price transparency mandates are set to become more stringent in the coming year as CMS seeks to strengthen regulations that have been on the books since 2021. Medicare’s 2024 final rule for hospital outpatient payments includes updates to the price transparency rules. Hospitals will need to post charge information using a more precise template,…
CMS’s 340B-acquired drug payment policy final rule is here
The 340B Drug Pricing Program final rule was published[DF1] [SS2] [SS3] in the Federal Register Nov. 8, 2023, after CMS released details of it (CMS-1793-F) on Nov. 2, 2023. The rule details the agency’s actions, and in some cases non-actions, to adjust Medicare payment rates for drugs acquired under the 340B program from calendar year 2018 through Sept.…
Medicare’s hospital outpatient payment rate for 2024 improves marginally from the proposed rule
The final rule setting Medicare’s 2024 payment rates and policies for hospital outpatient services and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) contained no major surprises and little to make hospitals optimistic about the government portion of their payer mix. Here are five of the most important payment and coverage takeaways from the rule, which totals 1,672 pages…
Healthcare News of Note: CDC says healthcare workers’ mental health depends on positive working conditions
Over the past few weeks, I have found these industry news stories that should be of interest to healthcare finance professionals. 1. Positive working conditions represent the No. 1 thing healthcare organizations can provide to boost employee mental health Providing “positive working conditions” is the main thing healthcare organizations can do to help lessen burnout…
Medicare’s final $9 billion remedy plan for 340B providers doesn’t address hospitals’ key concerns
Hospitals received final details on a $9 billion remedy payment plan for participants in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, with advocates expressing disappointment that corresponding reductions to other payments will go through as previously proposed. CMS issued a Nov. 2 final rule describing the terms of the remedy payment, which was necessitated after the Supreme…
With No Surprises Act independent dispute resolution changes pending, provider reps voice systemic concerns
The No Surprises Act’s arbitration process continues to be hampered by parties that don’t always follow the regulations, stakeholders expressed to CMS on Thursday. The agency hosted a forum to describe changes being made to the arbitration process, also known as independent dispute resolution (IDR). A proposed rule issued Oct. 27 introduces various technical changes…