The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR)and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration issued a Final Rule modifying the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records regulations under 42 C.F.R. Part 2 (Part 2), applicable to certain federally assisted SUD treatment programs (Part 2 Programs), and … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court ruled in an 8-1 decision Monday in favor of four health insurers seeking hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government related to the Affordable Care Act’s “risk corridor” program, reversing a lower court’s decision that Congress had suspended the government’s obligation to make such payments. Collectively, the decision was a … Continue Reading
On Friday, May 11, 2018, President Trump vowed to fix “the injustice of high drug prices” by announcing the “Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices” (the Blueprint) to address the following challenges: Excessively high drug prices Seniors and government programs overpaying for drugs High out-of-pocket costs for consumers Lack of transparency in drug pricing Free-riding by … Continue Reading
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the launch of a new voluntary bundled payment model called Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced). Under the new BPCI Advanced model, participants can earn additional payment if all expenditures for a beneficiary’s episode of care are under a spending target that factors … Continue Reading
On July 21, 2017, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule that addresses Part B Medicare payments and policies for calendar year (CY) 2018. The major proposed rule is one of several Medicare payment rules for CY 2018 reflecting a broader strategy to relieve regulatory burdens for providers; support the … Continue Reading
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (the Commission) released an Order denying a Petition for Declaratory Ruling by Kohll’s Pharmacy & Homecare, Inc. (Kohll’s) originally filed on March 29, 2016, requesting the Commission to declare that certain faxes describing the health benefits of flu vaccinations did not constitute unsolicited advertising under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) … Continue Reading
On August 2, 2016, CMS released its final rule to update the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Medicare payment rates under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (Final Rule). By law, CMS is required to update payment rates for IPPS hospitals annually, and to account for changes in … Continue Reading
