Search

The article discusses a Medicare trustees' report indicating that higher spending and lower tax revenue will deplete Part A of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund by 2026.

The article outlines updates, as of April 2019, to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) quality programs for lowering hospital-acquired conditions (HAC).

The article reports on the recommendation of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment Advisory Commission (MACPAC) that the U.S. Congress change the definition of a Medicaid shortfall following hospitals' challenge of the calculation in court. Topics discussed include MACPAC's proposal for the exclusion of the costs and payments for Medicaid patients and the impact of terms in the shortfall on the amount of disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) payments.

The article reports on the recommendation by the U.S. Medicare Payment Advisory Commission for the Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a national guideline for coding all emergency department visits by 2022.

The article reports that there is a 16% drop in the number of healthcare providers participating in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) Advanced model introduced by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as of March 25, 2019. Topics discussed include the process on how participants receive additional payment; number of participants of the BPCI Advanced model in October 2018; and implications of the withdrawal option to stakeholders.

The article reports on a proposal by the U.S. Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to implement a 2.8% increase in Medicare acute-care hospital payments as of March 2019.

The article reports that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will test allowing ambulance suppliers and providers to transport Medicare and Medicaid patients to areas besides the emergency room in a bid to reduce unnecessary trips to the hospital. Topics discussed include a payment model that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will pilot and benefits of the model.

The article discusses U.S. President Donald Trump's possible unveiling of his strategy against high drug prices following the introduction of various regulatory proposals in fall 2018 that are expected to be finalized in 2019.