Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Most Nursing Homes Would Have To Hire More Staff Under Proposed Rule
Roll Call: HHS Releases Long-Awaited Nursing Home Staffing Proposal
The Biden administration released a proposed rule Friday morning that would mandate minimum staffing in nursing homes, but it fell short of what advocates had long been pushing for. The long-awaited proposed rule would mandate each resident receive at least three hours of direct care per day, with 33 minutes of that care coming from registered nurses. That standard falls below what the average nursing home already provides, according to experts. But the government said Friday 75 percent of nursing homes would have to increase staffing to comply with the proposed standard. (Hellmann, 9/1)
KFF Health News: Biden Administration Proposes New Standards To Boost Nursing Home Staffing
The proposal, by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, would require all facilities to increase staff up to certain minimum levels, but it included no money for nursing homes to pay for the new hires. CMS estimated that three-quarters of the nation’s 15,000 homes would need to add staff members. But the increases at many of those facilities would be minor, as the average nursing home already employs nurses and aides at, or very close to, the proposed levels. (Rau, 9/1)
Axios: Nursing Home Staffing Rule Falls Short Of Industry’s Worst Fears
The Biden administration's new proposed nursing home staffing minimums may be friendlier to industry than providers' loud protests suggest. The first-ever national staffing standard for nursing homes, issued just before Labor Day weekend, came in on the lower end of what federal officials previously analyzed, and it stops short of what patient advocates pushed for. (Goldman, 9/5)
Humana sues over Medicare clawbacks —
Stat: Humana Sues Biden Admin Over Medicare Advantage Audit Rule
Humana sued the federal government Friday, arguing that this year’s new rule to claw back overpayments from it and other Medicare Advantage insurers violates federal law due to its “shifting justifications and erroneous legal reasoning.” (Herman, 9/1)
On Medicare drug pricing —
Reuters: Novartis Sues US Government Over Medicare Drug Price Regulation
Swiss drugmaker Novartis on Friday said it had sued the U.S. government in an attempt to halt the Medicare drug-price negotiation program, which includes its top-selling heart-failure medicine Entresto. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, is the first since the Biden administration on Tuesday released its list of 10 prescription medicines that will be subject to price negotiations by the Medicare health program, which covers 66 million people. (Wingrove, 9/1)
Bloomberg Law: Drugs Up For Medicare Price Cuts Fuel Drugmakers’ Legal Strategy
Drugmakers are poised to change their lawsuits and bring new ones against the Biden administration now that the list of the first 10 drugs subject to Medicare price negotiations is out. (Lopez and Phengsitthy, 9/5)
Politico: Biden Administration Expects To Win Fight Over Medicare Drug Negotiations
White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden said Sunday that she’s convinced that the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare drug price negotiation program will be upheld in court. Speaking on “The Katie Phang Show” on MSNBC, Tanden said, “There is nothing in the Constitution that stops Medicare from negotiating drug prices. We really, we feel very strongly about our ability to win these lawsuits because this is just a basic principle.” (Cohen, 9/3)
