Medicare Advisers Back Changes Aimed At Lowering Drug Spending
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission unanimously voted in favor of three recommended changes that could impact the amount the program pays out for covered prescriptions drugs. Other Medicare news is on hospice, payments to hospitals, and more.
Stat:
Medicare Advisers Endorse Reforms To Lower Drug Spending
In the latest move to address prescription drug pricing, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission unanimously approved three recommendations to address the cost of certain medicines covered by the program. (Silverman, 4/13)
Bloomberg:
Biden Medicare Chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Is Planning Drug-Price Negotiations
A top Biden administration official planning Medicare’s first drug-price negotiations is talking directly with pharma executives and consulting with other agencies that buy medications for the government to begin hammering out details of the new policy. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure didn’t name which chief executive officers she’s met with but said the conversations have been collaborative. Her comments contrast with the drug industry’s confrontational public stance against the policy. (Tozzi, 4/13)
In other Medicare news —
NPR:
Medicare's Hospice Experiment: Putting Private Insurers In Charge
Hospice doctor Bethany Snider sees the writing on the wall: "The hospice care we've known and loved won't be the same 10 years from now." Hosparus Health, the Louisville-based hospice agency where Snider serves as chief medical officer, is one of more than 100 provider organizations partnering with some of the country's largest health insurers on a federal experiment that could transform hospice care for millions of people. (Walker and Gorenstein, 4/13)
Bloomberg Law:
Hospitals Battle Formula For Medicare Payments For Treating Poor
Roughly 200 acute care hospitals on Friday will press their challenge to the rule used in Medicare to compensate them for treating low-income patients. ... How the Department of Health and Human Services calculates the annual supplemental payments, known as disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustments, is a contentious issue. At stake are billions of dollars for thousands of hospitals. (Shetty, 4/13)
Mississippi Today:
Days After Being Named Mississippi’s First Rural Emergency Hospital, Holly Springs Hospital’s Designation Is Rescinded
Mere days after being approved as the state’s first rural emergency hospital, the federal government rescinded the designation for Alliance Healthcare System in Holly Springs. Now, it’s not clear how the hospital will move forward — the conversion to rural emergency hospital is intended to be a lifeline for hospitals on the brink of financial collapse. At a state board of health meeting on Wednesday, State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney said the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services awarded the hospital the designation, and then took it away. (Bose, 4/12)
