On September 22, 2014, twelve hospitals filed a complaint in a Pennsylvania state court against a Medicare Advantage plan, Highmark, Inc., along with its HMO subsidiary, for implementing a two-percent reduction to the...more
A recent Congressional budget deal, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, would exclude hospitals from sequester relief. Medicare provider payment cuts would be extended through 2023, two years longer than the cuts set by the...more
Pursuant to the requirements of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, on March 1, 2013, President Obama signed an Executive Order reducing the budgetary authority in accounts subject to...more
During the coming summer months, Congress will focus its attention on the appropriations process—an annual exercise that, ideally, ends with a determination of funding for the federal government for the following fiscal year...more
A June 3, 2013 letter from CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Tex.) states that the agency does not believe it has any discretion under the Budget Control Act of 2011 to exempt Part B cancer drug...more
March 2013 On March 1, 2013, $85 Billion in automatic reductions in federal spending occurred as mandated by federal law. The automatic budget cuts are known in the parlance of the Beltway as “sequestration.” For issuers of...more
Current reports from Congress suggest that “sequestration” will likely take effect as early as March 1, 2013. The sequestration is a key part of the Budget Control Act of 2011, which requires the federal government to...more