Aug 20, 2019 | ASC, Medicare, Outpatient
CMS has released proposed updates to Medicare payments for services provided in outpatient hospitals and ASCs in 2020. This brief summarizes key highlights of the proposals. Click to read more.
Aug 19, 2019 | Inpatient, LTCHs, Medicare
CMS has released the 2020 final rule for the hospital inpatient (IPPS) and the long-term care hospital (LTCH) payment systems. CMS estimates a 3.0% increase to IPPS payments and a 1.0% increase to LTCH payments in 2020. Additionally, CMS has finalized changes to the hospital wage index to decrease disparities between states. Click to read more.
Aug 16, 2019 | Managed Care Friday
1. 406: The number of responses to our recent caregiver story about the health impact of being a caregiver and what was most shocking was that about half came from those in healthcare, and the other half from educators or business owners, almost all of whom are struggling themselves to take care of their parents. The response is by far the biggest reaction to any one story in the 20 some years of this managed care column. Our full study will be published by 2020 and we will make every effort to incorporate everyone’s ideas. A teacher from Oregon said she wishes her dad trusted others. She...
Aug 14, 2019 | Drugs, Medicaid
Louisiana recently received approval to move forward with their “subscription” model under which Asegua Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Gilead Sciences, will supply, for a negotiated sum, enough hepatitis C drugs to cure virtually all Medicaid patients and incarcerated individuals with hepatitis C over the next 5 years. Click to read more.
Aug 13, 2019 | ESRD, Medicare
CMS proposed a +1.6% update to the ESRD prospective payment system for dialysis facilities in 2020, along with modest policy proposals. The agency also recently introduced a mandatory demonstration program to encourage kidney transplants and use of home dialysis. Click to read more.
