This afternoon, the Department for Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it has issued the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule for 2013. According to a news release from HHS, this new rule will ensure doctors are paid the same rates for treating Medicare and Medicaid patients, without raising the costs for states.
The rule comes in response to the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that (more…)
The HCA has submitted to CMS a waiver request that would end a burdensome Medicaid administrative process known as “reconciliation” and attempt to institute an incentive based methodology for care delivery in the rural setting. (more…)
An article in this week’s edition of the Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) brought to light a fear which many primary care doctors share about Medicaid expansion in Washington: it will equate to more Medicaid patients.
The Washington State Hospital Association states that the rate paid by private insurers for an adult’s typical doctor’s office visit in Washington is $112.20. The rate paid by Medicaid? $37.84. (more…)
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced today that 89 new Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are now serving 1.2 million people on Medicare in 40 states and Washington, D.C. as of July 1. This addition takes the nationwide number of organizations participating in Medicare shared savings initiatives to 154. (more…)
Building on the national and state level momentum to integrate mental health care into traditional acute care payment models, CMS announced today that 11 states would receive $75 million in grant funding to support managing emergency psychiatric care into Medicaid payment streams. (more…)
The CMS Innovation Center will be hosting a Strong Start webinar on March 7th from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. The “Strong Start” initiative was announced by CMS earlier this year to “reduce preterm births and improve outcomes for newborns and pregnant women.” CMS sent an email blast with the following (more…)
We’re hearing this morning from our contact at the White House that CMS has approved the state Medicaid plan amendments submitted by the Health Care Authority. We have not yet had this confirmed by the state of Washington. (more…)
The CMS Center for Innovation today announced that the Washington State Hospital Association was one of 26 hospital groups in the country to share in an awarded $218 million to create “Hospital Engagement Networks.” (more…)
