Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cigna To Miss Fall Enrollment Of New Private Medicare Customers Due To CMS Investigation
Bloomberg: Cigna Can’t Sign Up New Medicare Customers Due To U.S. Probe
Health insurer Cigna Corp. won’t be able to sign up new customers for its private Medicare plans during the fall enrollment season this year because of an investigation by U.S. regulators. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in January that it found “widespread and systemic failures” in Cigna’s private Medicare business. On Tuesday, the Bloomfield, Connecticut-based insurer said in a regulatory filing that it probably can’t fix the problems in time for the enrollment season for private health insurance and drug coverage plans, which starts next month. (Tracer, 9/6)
Modern Healthcare: Cigna's Medicare Problems Won't Be Fixed By Annual Enrollment
Cigna Corp. has spent the past eight months attempting to resolve the major problems found in its Medicare Advantage plans, but the health insurer does not expect those issues will be rectified by the time Medicare beneficiaries participate in annual enrollment this autumn, according to a regulatory filing released Tuesday. Cigna and some financial analysts do not think the federal sanctions will hurt the company financially this year even though Cigna is prohibited from enrolling new Medicare Advantage members. (Herman, 9/6)
Morning Consult: House Committee Leaders Urge Successful MACRA Implementation
The leaders of two House committees wrote a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday to urge flexibilities for practitioners as MACRA is implemented. Reps. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) and Gene Green (D-Texas) wrote to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell to urge the administration to implement the new Medicare payment system with all providers in mind, including small practices. (Owens, 9/6)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Deborah Heart & Lung Seeks Extra Medicare Pay
Deborah Heart and Lung Center sits deep in New Jersey's Pine Barrens, about halfway between Center City and Seaside Heights on the Jersey Shore, and meets key criteria for classification as a rural hospital. Gaining that rural designation would allow the Browns Mills tax-exempt organization to be designated a "Medicare Dependent Hospital" and bring it an additional $5 million a year in Medicare revenue. The catch is that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided that New Jersey has no rural areas, blocking Deborah from the extra money, despite a favorable ruling in 2014 from a Medicare review board. (Brubaker, 9/6)
