Hospices in Arizona and three other states are now facing a "period of enhanced oversight" from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for new hospices, following reports of unethical or illegal business practices including "fraud, waste and abuse."
The agency will require a medical review of claims before a Medicare...Arizona News
The federal government is worried that procedural disenrollments are too high as the Medicaid redetermination process proceeds.
On Monday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra published a letter requesting that states take advantage of allowances and flexibilities authorized by HHS in their...
Lawmakers and stakeholders are still very upset with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) plan to cut payments to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program and to enforce regulations against MA plans that have benefitted financially from improper overpayments. This week, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra defended the rule in two...
Providers who use telehealth platforms are already concerned about the restrictions they will face if the public health emergency (PHE) ends and COVID-19-related waivers for telemedicine expire. But new rules from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will further complicate their practices.
Under the DEA's new rule, patients will...CMS Rules
Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that aims to improve quality reporting for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
According to the CMS press release, the rule would include mandatory annual state reporting of three new quality measures, called "Core Sets,"...Arizona News
With more than 7,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox across the country, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced a public health emergency (PHE) for the monkeypox epidemic. The PHE declaration may help to streamline vaccination efforts, but stockpiles of vaccine are low and a drug that could...
Even more counties in Arizona are seeing elevated community transmission levels of COVID-19 this week, and the surge is now having an impact on local hospitals. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has renewed the public health emergency.
Last week, there were 18,135 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Arizona and 66...
The idea that housing has an integral place in patient health and wellness is no longer a hypothetical question. In recent years, the pivot to value-based care (VBC) and research into the impacts on social determinants of health (SDOH) on patient outcomes has been quite clear. But the catch now, in the contemporary American healthcare...CMS Rules
Last Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a report that reviewed the Medicare Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI) Trust Fund for 2023 and determined that cost-savings from unexpectedly low Medicare Part B spending in 2022 could be recommended to drive premium cuts for Part B coverage next year.
The...
On Monday evening, a draft of an abortion opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court was leaked and published in the national press. The leak concerns the case Dodd v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which challenges the constitutionality of a 15-week abortion ban passed by the Mississippi state legislature in 2015. Written by Supreme...
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its Fiscal Year 2023 Budget, which focuses on investments in public health, behavioral health, health disparities, child care and advancing research. Coupled with the HHS announcement, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also released the 2021-2030 National...
The Biden Administration’s nursing home reform plan was unveiled earlier this month, with emphasis on improving quality of care. The plan includes more than 20 initiatives, with minimum staffing requirements a top priority. The plan was met with discontent from industry stakeholders who assert the implication that nursing home quality...
This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the annual update to the Department’s National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease. The update includes a new goal focused on reducing risks that may contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and promoting healthy aging.
The National Plan to Address...National News
The U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking steps to improve access to and quality of maternal healthcare nationwide, including supporting the delivery of equitable care for both pregnancy and postpartum care. The Children's Action Alliance in Arizona wants...National News
Cases are on a slow uptick nationwide with new cases on Tuesday, November 23 totaling 92,785. The rolling seven-day average for new cases is 95,481. There were 1,474 new deaths nationally and the total number of deaths nationally is now over 775,000. About 70% of the country has received at least one dose of the vaccine and just under...
On Wednesday, Arizona reported 2,180 new cases of COVID-19 and 124 deaths related to COVID-19. This brings the total of COVID-19 related deaths to 21,273. There were 20,976 vaccine doses administered in Arizona on Wednesday, including booster shots. 59% of the state is vaccinated. The number of intensive care unit beds in use also rose,...
Nationwide, community transmission of COVID-19 remains high and 77.8% of Americans over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Over 190 million people have been fully vaccinated and 14.4 million have received a booster dose. In Arizona, over 8 million vaccine doses have been administered with 58.9% of...
As Texas continues on course to implement the de facto ban on abortion following the Supreme Court decision to allow the law to stand, medical industry groups are voicing their concerns. But in Arizona, groups that have pursued similar bans in the past are looking forward to the next legislative session.
According to U.S. News and...
This week the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 set a record with 1,900 pediatric cases in hospitals across the United States on Sunday night. The Delta variant's rapid spread is to blame, primarily among unvaccinated populations which include children under age 12.
Of all hospitalizations, children comprise just 2.4%...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a new rule last week that would impose higher penalties for large hospitals that fail to comply with price transparency rules.
From U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra:
With today's proposed rule, we are simply showing hospitals through...
