Category: Federal Regulations
Updates on the Federal Response to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the country, Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continue to advance funding opportunities, temporary policy changes and waivers to support states, providers, and the public in their efforts to address the pandemic and its broad impact. This article aggregates the latest updates on the ...
Health Policy News – April 2020
Last month, Health Policy News brought you breaking news about the legislation and guidance aimed at providing greater flexibility to states and providers as they struggle to meet health and service demands during this global pandemic; requirements relative to COVID-19-related health coverage; and examples of action at the state level to address local need. As ...
Public Comment Period on Draft Transparency in Coverage Rule Extended Until January 29th
The draft Transparency in Coverage rule was developed by the Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services (hereinafter “the Departments’) and published on November 27, 2019. This rule was developed in response to the President’s Executive Order on Improving Price and Quality Transparency. The proposed rule applies to group plans and health insurance ...
Health Policy News – December 2019
Health Policy News is once again dedicating our December edition to reflecting on the past year’s high-profile healthcare topics—providing context, summarizing recent developments, and predicting what activity is in store for these issues in the coming year. HPN editors Lisa Kaplan Howe and Margot Thistle have dedicated this edition to reflect on 2019 and forecast ...
2020 Prediction: More State Waivers and Activity Related to Major Health Policy Litigation and Federal Regulations
Many major health policy developments in 2019 were related to state waivers, major health policy litigation, and federal health insurance regulations, with activity on these issues expected to continue into 2020. One of these developments—this week’s new ruling in the Texas vs United States case challenging the validity of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—is certain ...
Health Policy News – October 2019
Introduction This month, we are featuring a new report by the Health Policy News Team: “Innovative Approaches to Accountable Care”. This report aims to assist those states that are thinking about integrating alternative care delivery methods into their Medicaid program or commercial insurance marketplace. To accompany this report, HPN will host an overview of the ...
HCBS Conference Recap: Topics, Trends, and Takeaways from PCG
In August, PCG attended and presented at a successful and informative National Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Conference in Baltimore, MD. This annual event is a unique opportunity for federal, state, and local policymakers to meet up with the people who administer, manage, and deliver HCBS programs across the country. This year, the conference hosted ...
Health Policy News – September 2019
Introduction Since publishing our summer edition, the Health Policy News team has attended various conferences. We were thrilled to see many subscribers in person at the National Conference of State Legislatures Legislative Summit, as well as the National Academy of State Health Policy annual conference. In this edition, we share our insights (and relevant fact ...
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 integrity enhancements to the provider enrollment process under Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The CMS rule will be effective November 4, ...
Critical Incident Management Solutions in Medicaid Long-Term Care
Medicaid agencies must assure the health and safety of their Home & Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver program recipients by managing the reporting, investigation, and prevention of incidents. Failure to do so poses a host of risks around compliance, fraud, and the safety of Medicaid recipients. States’ Medicaid agencies have administrative authority of their Medicaid Waiver ...