The federal government is taking action to challenge restrictions on birth control and abortion this week with a new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Also, the Biden administration is reportedly weighing a declaration of a public health emergency...
Nursing homes continue to experience the worst job loss of any other healthcare sector according to new analysis from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), but Congress is cautioning against the use of skilled nursing facility (SNF) staffing minimums planned by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Also, CMS is working to...
The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona's Medicaid program, announced last week that it would initiate member eligibility reviews and renewals in accordance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, beginning April 1.
AHCCCS plans to complete the renewal process for all 2.4 million enrolled members...
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced its timeline for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, a key point of legislation in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
In a press call, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said that the department will...
New information on Long COVID is emerging as researchers investigate the causes and symptoms of the elusive condition. Meanwhile, stakeholder groups and providers are appealing to the federal government for guidance on returning to normal operating procedures as perception of the pandemic subsides.
The U.S. Department of Health and...
Nearly 3.4 million Americans have enrolled in 2023 individual market health insurance coverage through state and federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces since the beginning of the enrollment period. This is a substantial increase that President Joe Biden attributes to the offering of low-cost plans through federal subsidies from...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has signaled that it will delay the end of the public health emergency (PHE) related to the COVID-19 pandemic until April, quelling fears from stakeholders that not enough time was given to review Medicaid eligibility for everyone enrolled since the pandemic began.
In Arizona,...
Proposition 209, the Predatory Debt Collection Act, which would intervene against creditors on behalf of Arizonans with medical debt, passed during the 2022 Midterm Election.
Prop. 209 will lower the maximum interest rates on medical debt and changes rules for debt collection. According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation...
Following reported success of both the COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and the antiviral pill Paxlovid, Pfizer has announced that it will move forward on new vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic and influenza at the same time. Meanwhile, stakeholders are requesting an extension of the public health emergency declaration beyond its...
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard arguments in the case which asks two questions that could have huge impacts for not only Medicaid and state-owned nursing homes, but any person who receives federally funded benefits.
The first question the case asks is narrow, and more to the point of the plaintiff. Indiana...
Nearly 200,000 Arizonans have now received the bivalent COVID-19 booster shots that are designed to specifically counter the Omicron subvariants of the virus, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized that the shots be extended to children as young as five years old.
In Arizona, cases are down for the first week...
Last week, Judge Rudolph Contreras, a federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must restore full 340B payments to participating hospitals for the rest of the calendar year.
This is the second successive blow to HHS regarding 340B payments,...National News
The federal government is curious about states' use of value-based payment (VBP) in nursing facility reimbursement through Medicaid programs. In August, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) published an issue brief on its investigation into which states use VBP and how well the systems work.
On the federal level,...CMS Rules
Last Wednesday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would streamline the application and renewal process for enrollees in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The overhaul aims to "reduce red tape" and simplify the application and verification process for children,...
On Monday, Planned Parenthood resumed providing abortions at a clinic in Pima County.
According to KNAU, a Planned Parenthood representative said that the clinic would be allowed to provide abortions under a court injunction that stops the Arizona near-total abortion ban from going into effect. A judge is expected to rule on the...
Last Friday, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury issued a joint final rule that rectifies issues with the implementation of the No Surprises Act, a law that aims to curb surprise billing practices.
The rule defines the processes for payers and providers to settle payment for services provided that...
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,"...CMS Rules
The No Surprises Act has been a hot-button point of contention among insurers and providers as physician groups feel threatened by the leverage that insurers are given through the Act's enforcement. The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for...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...
COVID-19 cases have now plateaued at an unusually high level in Arizona, and research demonstrates that rural people of color were hit the hardest by the surge in cases related to the Omicron variant earlier this year. The Biden administration has announced that it has procured vaccines specifically designed to combat the BA.4 and BA.5...
