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What We're Reading: CMS Penalizes 758 Hospitals Over Patient Safety
What we're reading, December 11, 2015: CMS penalized hospitals for patient safety deficiences; MedPAC approved reducing Medicare Advantage plan reimbursement; and Kentuckians favor keeping Medicaid expansion.
More than 750 hospitals were penalized for higher rates of patient safety incidents, according to data from CMS. Kaiser Health News reported that more than half of the 758 hospitals penalized were also fined last year and some well-known institutions, such as Stanford Health Care, Denver Health Medical Center, and 2 hospitals run by the Mayo Clinic Health System, are being punished for the first time. Medicare payments to penalized hospitals will be reduced by 1% over the course of the year.
Meanwhile, Medicare Advantage plan reimbursement will be reduced by at least $200 million. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission supports Congressional legislation that would allow the HHS secretary to eliminate benchmark caps and the “double bonuses” now available to plans, reported Modern Healthcare.
Medicaid expansion in the state of Kentucky may not be going anywhere if residents have a say. A poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that although the state’s new governor, Republican Matt Bevin, opposes the Affordable Care Act and has called for reversing Medicaid expansion, 7 in 10 residents want the program to stay as it is. According to The New York Times, even a majority of Republicans said they would prefer not to scale back Medicaid to cover fewer people.
Trump Administration’s Message to Supreme Court Puts New Wrinkle in Braidwood Case
February 21st 2025The Trump administration argues that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr can overrule the US Preventive Services Task Force to determine the preventive services covered under the Affordable Care Act.
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Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
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5 Key Health Care Moments During President Trump's First Month Back in Office
February 21st 2025President Donald J. Trump pushed for significant health care changes during his first month back in office, through executive orders affecting managed care, drug pricing, and clinical trial diversity guidance.
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NSCLC Advancements Offer Hope, but Disparities Persist
February 20th 2025Ioana Bonta, MD, Georgia Cancer Specialists, discusses the evolving state of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatments, their impact on patient outcomes, and the need to address ongoing disparities in these populations.
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