If you are a physician, mid-level provider, or work with those providers, then you have been bombarded with new acronyms for new programs and promises to remove older acronyms from your Medicare vocabulary. Medicare...more
On Oct. 8, the House Republican caucus did not select a candidate for Speaker of the House and selection has been delayed. The current Speaker, John Boehner (R-OH), had announced that he would step down and retire from...more
This Week: Senate Reauthorizes Older Americans Act; Bill Heads to the House... White House Holds 2015 Conference on Aging and Launches Several New Administration Healthy Aging Initiatives Enveloping Alzheimer’s, Dementia,...more
This Week: 21st Century Cures Legislation Passes House in Bipartisan Vote... CMS Releases Proposed CY 2016 Home Health Prospective Pay Rule... CMS Releases Final CY 2016 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS)...more
President Obama recently signed into law Public Law No. 114-10, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015” (P.L. 114-10), which overhauls Medicare physician reimbursements by eliminating the use of the...more
Medicare continues to transition its primary physician payment methodology from a traditional fee-for-service model into a quality and value-based model. Recently, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015...more
CMS Announces Round 1 2017 DMEPOS Competitive Bidding System – On April 21, 2015, CMS announced plans for a new bidding process for the supplier contracts awarded in the Round 1 Recompete of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding...more
On April 16, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). MACRA repeals the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) that was set to cut Medicare Physician Fee...more
This is the second post in our continuing series on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA). Pub.L. No: 114-10. In addition to repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR), which was covered in our April 20th...more
This week, CMS proposes continued 90% funding for Medicaid eligibility and enrollment system development. Montana is on the verge of becoming the 29th state (plus D.C.) to expand Medicaid eligibility, and Florida Governor...more
On April 14, 2015, Congress ended over a decade of repeated “doc fixes” which temporarily suspended scheduled Medicare provider reimbursement cuts, by passing the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (the “Act”). If...more
On April 16, 2015, President Obama signed into law H.R.2, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (the "Act"), which provides for sweeping changes to how Medicare pays doctors. Specifically, the Act seeks to...more
On April 16, 2015, President Obama signed into law, the “Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015” (MACRA), ending annual temporary patches and massive lobbying efforts since the late 1990s to prevent significant...more
In This Issue: - SGR Bill Facing Final Hurdles This Week - Implementation of the Affordable Care Act - Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives - Congressional Initiatives - Other Health Care...more
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted 392-37 to approve the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 2), a bill that would, among other things, permanently replace the sustainable...more
This Week: House Approves FY 2016 Budget Proposal... House Passes Permanent SGR Reform and Two-Year CHIP Reauthorization... Senate Passes FY 2016 Budget Plan... HHS Report: ACA Led to $7.4 Billion Decline in Uncompensated...more
On October 31, 2014, CMS released the CY 2015 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule. CMS calculated the conversion factor using the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). Due to the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, there...more
CMS has issued the Proposed 2015 Physician Fee Schedule and Fact Sheets for specific issues (ASC, ESRD, Home Health, Physician Quality Programs)....more
As we head into the mid-term election cycle, the ongoing implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues to consume the nation’s healthcare industry and political leaders in 2014. On the...more
On April 14, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) reported their findings that show a smaller rise in insurance premium costs under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) than previously...more
On Sunday, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) turned four. Unsurprisingly, Democrats celebrated the law’s birthday by touting its many successes and Republicans used it to highlight the problems the law has faced, as well as...more
This week President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Proposal, which provides useful information on his priorities for the year but, as is normally the case, is not likely to gain much traction; the administration...more
In This Issue: Implementation of the Affordable Care Act; Other Federal Regulatory Initiatives; Other Congressional and State Initiatives; Other Health News; and Hearings and Mark-Ups Scheduled. Excerpt from...more
President Obama Signs Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013 – On December 26, 2013, President Obama signed the Pathway for SGR Reform Act of 2013 (the “Act”), preventing the scheduled payment reduction for...more
As part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), Congress enacted a number of payment reforms designed to curb the growth of expenditures under Medicare Part B. One of the more notable of those provisions was the Sustainable...more