All posts by Thomas Entrikin

CMS Issues New Regulations to Enhance Program Integrity

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), published a final rule in the September 10, 2019 Federal Register to implement program ...

Hearings Begin on “Medicare for All” Legislation

On June 12, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee conducted its initial hearings on H.R. 1384, the Medicare for All Act of 2019. Introduced by U.S. ...

CDC issues new report on the growing opioid crisis

On March 6, 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report which shows that from July 2016 – September 2017, hospital emergency department visits for opioid ...

President Signs Bipartisan Budget Act

On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed H.R. 1892, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.  The new law reauthorizes federal funding for many health programs, modifies scheduled reductions in Medicaid ...

Congress reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program

On January 22, 2018, Congress reauthorized funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023. The CHIP provisions are included as the Healthy Kids Act ...

CMS finalizes rules on episode payment models

On January 3, 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published final rules on new Medicare episode payment models (EPMs) to be implemented on July 1, 2017. The ...

CHIP funding crisis remains unresolved

Congressional authorization of Federal funds for CHIP expired on September 30, 2017.  Nine million children depend on this program.  States are now operating CHIP on carryover and redistribution payments from ...

White House releases report on opioid crisis

On November 1, 2017, the White House released a report drafted by the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.  The report offers 56 recommendations for action ...

Senators introduce ACA repeal legislation

On September 13, 2017, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Dean Heller, and Ron Johnson introduced legislation to scrap many provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) while imposing funding ...

White House issues report on the opioid epidemic

On July 31, 2017, the White House posted the initial findings and recommendations of its Commission on Combatting Drug Abuse and the Opioid Crisis. The Commission cites evidence that: 142 ...