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...
On Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the proposed rules for the CY 2023 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System. Most notably, the CMS proposed increase for OPPS rates for hospitals and ASCs that meet quality reporting...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Colorado's plan to create a public insurance option through a Section 1332 innovation waiver. The "Colorado Option" will be offered in the Colorado Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Exchange beginning in 2023.
According to Healthcare Dive, the Colorado Option is the...
The political landscape for gay, lesbian, queer and especially transgender individuals has been fraught throughout 2022, with a wide range of anti-LGBTQ+ healthcare bills storming through state legislatures across the country. These include directives to prohibit gender-affirming healthcare services for minors in several states,...
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...
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously sided with the American Hospital Association (AHA) against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a case that challenged a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule that would have cut outpatient drug payments for hospitals that treat Medicaid enrollees and...
As fallout continues from the leaked Supreme Court (SCOTUS) opinion on Dodd v. Jackson Women's Health, in which it appears that the court plans to overturn Roe v. Wade (1974), policymakers and industry stakeholders are lining up to support for reproductive healthcare.
The American Medical Association released a statement on the leaked...
A report last week from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) highlights the challenges healthcare workers (HCWs) faced during the pandemic, including exhaustion, burnout and trauma.
The report, Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Hospital and...
The No Surprises Act, a law that aims to protect Americans covered by private health plans from receiving surprise medical bills relating to emergency services or non-emergency services from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities, has been met with trouble since its implementation at the beginning of the year.
In February,...National News
Under the Biden administration and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the national push to improve community access to health resources has gained steam and policy decisions reflect the public demand for greater resources.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a $105 million grant to strengthen...CMS Rules
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) filed the Fiscal Year 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Proposed Rule. The reimbursements include a 3.9% increase to industry reimbursements, but in aggregate the impact of payment policies would result in a decrease of $320 million in...
COVID-19 has fallen out of the national spotlight, as cases and death counts fall week-over-week. But there are still challenges present. The threat of the BA.2 variant that caused a post-Omicron resurgence in Europe demonstrated COVID-19 still requires vigilance, effort and funding to overcome.
In Arizona this week, there were 6,840...
Long COVID still remains elusive to medical and public health officials, and as cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. subside, researchers and the federal government are turning their attention to the lasting effects of COVID-19 infection.
Some studies on Long COVID estimate that 30% of people who catch the virus will experience long-term...Arizona News
Sexual and reproductive healthcare in the U.S. has received a barrage of policy changes and proposed legislation this spring, specifically on the topics of maternal healthcare, anti-abortion legislation and laws that seek to curb treatment for transgender children.
Maternal Health Care
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services...
March 23 was the 12th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) . The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a report to highlight the ways in which the ACA is "the strongest it has ever been" due to the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and other efforts by the Biden administration to strengthen Americans' access to...
In late February, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that after a full year of review, it would overhaul the Global Professional Direct Contracting Model and create the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access and Community Health (REACH) model. The redesign was intended to address...
