Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
CMS Issues Final Rule On At-Home Dialysis Payment Expansion
Modern Healthcare: CMS Signs Off On New Payments To Encourage Home Dialysis
CMS on Monday signed off on its proposal to pay providers extra money if they use home dialysis machines to treat end-stage renal disease patients. The final rule expands a transitional add-on payment to cover home dialysis machines that CMS Administrator Seema Verma touted in July when the agency proposed it, saying the COVID-19 highlighted the need to increase home dialysis access. (Brady, 11/2)
Modern Healthcare: Safety-Net Hospitals Still Hit With Penalty In Readmissions Program
Hospitals with the highest proportion of patients insured by both Medicare and Medicaid were more vulnerable this fiscal year to receive a penalty in CMS' readmissions program compared to hospitals with the smallest percentage of such patients, new data shows. For the third year in a row, CMS peer grouped hospitals by proportion of dual eligible patients to determine penalties in its Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. The change, which passed Congress in 2016, is an attempt to address long-standing complaints from safety-net hospitals that they are unfairly penalized when compared to hospitals that see patients with less socioeconomic challenges and risks such as specialty facilities. (Castellucci, 11/2)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Releases Long-Term Care Rebalancing Tool Kit For State Medicaid Agencies
CMS, the largest payer of long-term care services, said it wants to "ensure that Medicaid beneficiaries receive high quality, cost-effective, person-centered services in the setting of their choice." While all states cover institutional care such as nursing homes, not all states cover home- and community-based services, CMS said. (Christ, 11/2)
How will Trump administration regulations fare in court? —
Modern Healthcare: Courts Will Decide Fate Of Trump's Regulatory Agenda If He Wins
If he wins a second term, President Donald Trump will have to do some heavy lifting to get a regulatory agenda that's been derailed by the coronavirus back on track. But he'd also have a new backstop—a court system, including the U.S. Supreme Court, loaded with his nominees. First, Trump will have to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout, including vaccines and therapeutics, testing, and financial help for states and providers. He would also have to focus more on coverage than he did during his first term as people lose their employer-based insurance and Medicaid enrollment grows, said Avalere Health founder Dan Mendelson, a former Clinton administration official. (Brady, 11/2)
