K&L Gates Triage: An Insider’s Perspective on the Health Care Debate in Washington, DC
Congress was in session for a final week of legislative business before the two-week Independence Day recess. The House brought a small-business-focused healthcare bill to the floor, approving it along party lines....more
On March 4, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published a wide-ranging proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) with the intent to “move the health care ecosystem in the direction of interoperability” in...more
The OIG added six new items to its Work Plan in the July 2018 update. Areas addressed include HHS cybersecurity vulnerabilities, increased payments for transfer claims with outliers, oversight of funds for Access Increases in...more
The wide-reaching Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA), passed by Congress and signed by the President on February 9, 2018, extends and modifies dozens of health care programs, including extending funding for two years for...more
• Congress amended current law to prevent CMS from applying the “MIPS” payment adjustment to separately billed items like drugs and biologics, which will drastically reduce the total amount of payment adjustments to clinical...more
After a brief federal government shutdown overnight, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 on February 9, 2018. The Senate voted 71-28 and the House voted 240-186 to approve the...more
On January 8, 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) issued a rule entitled, Reimbursement for Emergency Treatment. The VA revised its regulations concerning payment or reimbursement for emergency treatment for...more
On January 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new voluntary bundled-payment demonstration program, also known as Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Advanced. The new model will test...more
Happy New Year!?! 2017 was an eventful year for health care, and now we can all sit back and relax with very little concern that major health policy will be on the table in 2018. Right? Why must Speaker Ryan ruin our...more
On November 15, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) announced a bipartisan agreement on Medicare "extenders," Medicare programs and payment policies that have...more
The total U.S. health care expenditure was $3.2 trillion in 2015, and is projected to grow to nearly $5.6 trillion by 2025. As our nation’s cost of care rises, both Democrats and Republicans recognize the overwhelming need to...more
On December 21, 2016, the HHS OIG posted a report summarizing its early review of CMS’s management of the implementation of the Quality Payment Program (QPP) and related findings (“Report”). The Report concludes that, while...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), Office of the National Coordinator (“ONC”) has published two free online playbooks to assist healthcare providers navigate healthcare information technology (“IT”)....more
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), both federal and state policies have promoted the adoption of alternative payment models (APMs), providing financial incentives for groups of providers to improve care...more
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) proposes a new approach, with new branding labels, to paying clinicians for the value and the quality of care that they provide by replacing a patchwork of existing...more
This Week: Medicaid program takes financial hits as the House looks for “savers” and acts on a budget... while the Senate sees no reason to do a budget... The Senate focuses on ACA oversight and mental health and opioid abuse...more
This Week: The House and Senate were out for Presidents’ Day recess... The Senate to vote on FDA Commissioner nominee Califf after 5:30 today... Medicare Advantage rates announced....more
While Medicare’s path toward pay for performance (P4P) has evolved over time, 2015 is proving to be a landmark year. July marked the 50th anniversary of the Medicare program. And in self-described “historic announcements”...more
This Week: CMS Releases Guidance on Fast Track Process for 1115 Waivers for Medicaid and CHIP... Healthcare.gov CEO Sends Letter to State Insurance Commissioners Concerning 2016 Premium Decisions... Medicare Board of Trustees...more
On April 16, 2015, President Obama signed into law H.R.2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), a critical piece of health care legislation which represents significant movement towards a health...more