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February 21, 2024

New CMS DSH Rule Will Reduce Medicaid Hospital Payments Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments are being cut by $8 billion annually for the nest five fiscal years based on a new rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  The rule is purported to rein in overpayments. A recent study suggested that a liberal formula calculation meant a third of all qualifying hospitals should not have received payments.  CMS has been pushing to reduce such payments in favor of broad coverage. Additional articles: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/many-disproportionate-share-hospitals-face-lower-medicaid-payments-under-new-final-rule and https://www.modernhealthcare.com/policy/medicaid-dsh-cuts-safety-net-hospitals-cms-final-rule (Some articles may require a subscription.) #medicaid Link to Article HCSC Believes In Medicare Advantage As Cigna decided its investment in Medicare Advantage (MA) was too much on the health plan side, Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) agreed with most large insurers that MA investments made sense.  It paid $3.3 billion for about 600,000 Cigna MA lives, bringing its total

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February 20, 2024

Analysts Say Digital Health Facing Funding Challenges After record years of funding, digital health ventures are facing lean times to stay solvent. (Article may require a subscription.) #digitalhealth #healthcare Link to Article 2024 Financial Woes For Medicare Advantage Plans Excellent Healthcare Dive article on the potential financial woes for Medicare Advantage (MA) plans resulting from rising medical expense and insufficient rates.  I covered some of this in my blog here: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/with-boom-over-will-medicare-advantage-collapse-or-adjust/ #medicareadvantage #rates Link to Article New Challenges For Providers On Medicare Drug Price Negotiations Interesting article on the impediments to provider entities suing on their fallout from the Medicare drug price negotiations. A judge found they have a lack of standing right now to sue. (Article may require a subscription.) #ira #drugpricing Link to Article AI Task Force In The House Similar to Senate interest, the House Speaker has formed a bipartisan task force on regulating AI in healthcare.

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February 19, 2024

A Look At Growing Provider-Payer Disputes In California A good article from Kaiser Health News (KHN) that looks at growing contract disputes between providers and payers.  This one was in CA, but this is occurring nationwide.  KHN mentions higher costs coming from provider consolidation as well as increasing leverage when payers merge. The Biden administration is on to something with its anti-trust initiative. #providers #healthplans #coverage #payments Link to Article Wakely’s Assessment Of The 2025 Medicare Advantage Advance Notice As it does each year, Wakely has issued its annual assessment of the advanced notice for Medicare Advantage (MA).  My analysis is here: https://www.healthcarelabyrinth.com/2025-rates-for-medicare-advantage-plans-look-tight/ . #2025 #rates #medicareadvantage Link to Article Dual Eligible Special Needs Plan Analysis By Kaiser Family Foundation The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) published a look at Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs).  Among the findings: My own research shows that SNPs in general, most of it dual

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February 16, 2024

No Surprises Act Dispute Process Favors Providers The No Surprises Act (NDA) remains  a huge mess with volume 13 times higher than forecast for 2023.  What’s more, providers won 77% of arbitration cases and health insurers won in 23% of cases. The winning offers were above the qualifying payment amount, which is the median in-network rate. The good news is that 10 million surprise bills were avoided with the law in the first nine months of 2023.  The bad news is that providers are winning huge in the baseball-style arbitration as they do in other states that have it.  Studies show that rates and premiums rose in those states under the provider-friendly process.  Researchers say that will happen nationwide now.  Yet, providers continue to sue to get things even more slanted toward them.  Congress has to even the playing field.  But they won’t as lawmakers from both sides of the

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