Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Industry Weighs In On Possible Changes Designed To Rein In Hospital Accreditation Conflicts Of Interest
The Wall Street Journal: Health-Care Industry Debates Hospital Accreditation Rules
Companies and organizations tied to health-care accreditation have offered differing views on whether the Trump administration should establish new rules or guidance to curb potential conflicts of interest in the industry, ahead of a possible action later this year. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, has received more than 120 comments over several months on actions it may take to rein in financial arrangements in the accreditation market. The comments come as the Trump administration has been weighing whether to continue approving accreditation groups that also have consulting arms, after articles in The Wall Street Journal raised concerns about possible conflicts of interest and patient safety. (Armour, 3/5)
Modern Healthcare: CMS Makes Changes To Nursing Home Star Ratings
The CMS will update the star ratings on Nursing Home Compare in April with several changes including new ratings for health inspection performance and stricter criteria for staffing level ratings. The changes to the ratings, which will likely go live in mid-April, are part of an ongoing effort by the CMS "to improve the accuracy and value of the information found on the site," the agency said Tuesday in a release. The CMS has made modified the ratings several times over the years, including most recently replacing the collection of staffing data from a self-reported process to the Payroll-Based Journal system, which is said to be more accurate because it requires nursing homes to submit their payroll information every quarter. (Castellucci, 3/5)
ProPublica: Nursing Home Deficiency Reports
Use this tool to compare nursing homes in a state based on the deficiencies cited by regulators and the penalties imposed in the past three years. You can also search over 60,000 nursing home inspection reports to look for trends or patterns. Here's our guide to making the most of this tool. Groeger and Ornstein, 3/5)
Modern Healthcare: Medicare Advantage Insurers Criticize Data Used To Set Payments
While Medicare Advantage insurers are excited about getting more flexibility to tailor supplemental benefits for chronically ill patients in 2020, they aren't happy with the CMS' plan to increase the use of "encounter data" to calculate their payments. In the more than 200 comments on the 2020 Medicare Advantage and Part D Advance Notice and call letter, insurers were generally supportive of CMS' plan to expand the supplemental benefits that plans may offer their chronically ill patients to include things like nonmedical transportation and home-delivered meals or produce, as called for by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. (Livingston, 3/5)
Georgia Health News: One-Quarter Of Georgia Hospitals Penalized Over Patient Safety Problems
One in four Georgia hospitals will be paid less by Medicare due to high rates of infections and patient injuries. The 27 percent figure of eligible Georgia hospitals facing penalties is slightly above the national average, which is 25 percent. (Miller, 3/5)
Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized By Medicare? Use KHN's New Search
