Articles and Blogs

On May 18, 2018, CMS released the preliminary FY 2020 Worksheet S-3, Parts II and III wage index Public Use File (“PUF”). The PUF contains wage data based on FFY 2016 hospital cost reports; that is, cost reports with fiscal year begin dates of on or after October 1, 2015 and on or before September 30, 2016.  The FFY... READ MORE

NATIONAL Hospitals Are All Over Facebook, But What Are They Posting About? Early 340B hospitals gave more uncompensated care than later participants With shortage looming, primary care doctors’ salaries rise CMS to consolidate Medicare quality reporting programs Kaiser, BCBS of North Carolina enlist in 40+-member Health Care Transformation Task Force More doctors become hospital... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently finalized several new policies aimed at preventing and combating prescription opioid misuse by Medicare Part D beneficiaries. The policies, detailed in CMS’s 2019 Final Call Letter (“Call Letter”)[1] and outlined below, require Part D plan sponsors to implement various safety measures to reduce opioid overuse among... READ MORE

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission says it will now act on complaints made by patients, employees and others in Michigan who believe they were discriminated against on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation. The Commission voted on Monday to consider such discrimination as a form of discrimination prohibited by the Elliott Larsen Civil... READ MORE

Senate HELP Committee Takes Another Look at 340B The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held its second hearing on the 340B program. Representatives from two major government watchdogs, the Government Accountability Office and the HHS Office of the Inspector General, testified at the hearing. The testimony focused on oversight reports related to... READ MORE

NATIONAL States Ease More Restrictions To Physician Assistants As Team Care Takes Hold Amazon’s Alexa Healthcare Team Bones Up on HIPAA Compliance GAO: Patient access to medical records remains a challenge Alexa Could Soon Become Your In-House Doctor According to Amazon Internal Document CMS Launches Rural Health Strategy with Telehealth Aims Seema Verma gives... READ MORE

Recently providers have had success challenging CMS rules, as well as its failure to properly promulgate them. In Ruling 1727-R, issued April 23, 2018, CMS acquiesced to the decision in Banner Heart v. Burwell, invalidating CMS’s regulation prohibiting appeals unless they stemmed from a cost report adjustment or a protested item. In Banner, the... READ MORE

NATIONAL Payer Roundup—CMS delays 340B rule … again A Collaboration to Keep Physicians at the Center of Healthcare ManorCare Mega-Deal Blurs Care Lines, But Will Doctors Buy In? CMS Chief Fires Back at Critics FDA chief Gottlieb to pharma: Those rebates you love to hate may soon count as kickbacks Healthcare a bright spot... READ MORE

On May 7, 2018, CMS published its inpatient prospective payment system (“IPPS”) proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule addresses a variety of provider topics, and this article discusses three noteworthy issues related to graduate medical education (“GME”). First, CMS announced the next two rounds of GME slot redistribution through the closed hospital slot... READ MORE

On April 24, 2018, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued its proposed rule for the CY 2019 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (“Proposed Rule”). Among many other changes, one very important change stands out in the Proposed Rule, specifically eliminating the requirement that providers record a written inpatient admission order in the medical... READ MORE