The Trump Administration took several steps this past week in support of its efforts to transform the Medicaid program.
Medicaid update
Hospital alert: CMS hospital transparency requirements in effect January 1, 2019
On January 1, 2019, all hospitals are required to make public a list of their standard charges. As a reminder, Section 2718(e) of the Public Health Service Act, as enacted by the Affordable Care Act, requires:
“each hospital operating within
Judge declares ACA unconstitutional
On Friday, December 14, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Federal District Court in the Northern District of Texas issued a declaratory judgment holding the shared responsibility provision (also referred to as the “Individual Mandate”), and with it, the entire Affordable
Federal court strikes down Kentucky Medicaid work requirements
On June 29 Judge James Boasberg of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the approval by the Secretary of Health and Human Services of Kentucky HEALTH. Kentucky HEALTH was to be implemented on July 1.
Department of Labor publishes final rule to expand access to Association Health Plans
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule on June 19 that relaxes the regulation of, and expands access to, association health plans (AHPs). President Donald J. Trump’s October 12, 2017 Executive Order instructed the DOL to
Coalition of conservative groups release outline of plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act
On June 19, the Health Policy Consensus Group, a coalition of conservative groups including the Heritage Foundation, the Galen Institute and the Hoover Institution, released an outline of a new proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Department of Justice will not defend ACA individual mandate
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on June 7, 2018 that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of section 5000A of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a.k.a. the individual mandate. DOJ announced its policy change in a three page
Legislation introduced to suspend health insurer tax for 2020
On May 25, 2018 legislation was introduced in the United States House of Representatives to suspend the annual fee on health insurance providers implemented by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for 2020. HR. 5963 was introduced by Reps. Kristi Noem
CMS FY 2019 IPPS and LTCH PPS proposed rule targets interoperability, transparency and burden reductions
On April 24, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its fiscal year (FY) 2019 inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and long-term care hospital prospective payment system (LTCH PPS) proposed rule. CMS proposes to reduce regulatory burdens
CMS publishes annual exchange final rule for 2019
On April 9, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2019 final rule (Payment Notice) and related guidance affecting the health insurance markets, including: key dates for calendar