Nov 15, 2018 | ASC, Hospitals, Outpatient
CMS finalized Medicare payment policies for CY2019 for services provided in the hospital outpatient department (HOPD) and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) settings. CMS only finalized part of its HOPD site neutral policy and will phase in the remaining policy, mitigating the impact to HOPDs, and estimates the net payment effect will be +0.6%. The estimated payment rate update for ASCs will be +2.1%, consistent with the proposed rule. This brief highlights key provisions from the rule. Click to read more.
Nov 8, 2018 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
The 2018 mid-term election has delivered divided government to Washington, which is a positive outcome for the healthcare sector. Democrats have gained control of the House while Republicans have retained control of the Senate. At the state level Democratic governor pick-ups and 3 ballot initiatives bring Medicaid expansion to additional states. Click to read more.
Nov 5, 2018 | Home Health, Infusion, Post-Acute Care
CMS finalized a 2.2% CY 2019 rate update to home health payments and the transition to a revised payment system for CY 2020, largely following the proposed approach, as well as the policies for the temporary home infusion transitional benefit, again following the proposed approach. Click to read more.
Oct 31, 2018 | Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro
The 2018 mid-term election is very likely to have a neutral outcome for the healthcare sector. The most likely outcome is divided government that engenders legislative stalemate and thus shelters current levels of federal healthcare spending. The low-probability negative scenario is Republicans maintaining control of Congress and returning to efforts to reform Medicaid and reduce federal Medicaid spending. Click to read more.
Oct 30, 2018 | Drugs, Legislation/ Budgets/ Macro, Medicare, Products
This past week, President Trump and HHS Secretary Azar outlined a potential reform package aimed at lowering the price of Part B drugs. The proposal would tie Medicare Part B drug prices to a lower international pricing index rather than ASP, and replace the 6% add-on for physicians with fixed payments that remove the incentive to dispense higher priced drugs. This brief outlines the proposal, and discusses the potential timing of such reforms. Click to read more.
