Articles and Blogs

In Becerra v. Empire Health Found., the Supreme Court upheld CMS’s decision to include Medicare exhaust and secondary payor days in the Medicare Fraction of the Disproportionate Share Hospital (“DSH”) statute. Although a loss for the hospitals in Empire, the ruling may support hospitals seeking to add SSI days to the numerator of the... READ MORE

House and Senate Panels Announce Surprise Billing Fix On December 8, leaders from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (“HELP”) and House Energy and Commerce committees announced an agreement on surprise billing legislation. The proposal is intended to end surprise billing of patients by creating a new system of dispute resolution that includes... READ MORE

On September 30, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) published notice of a proposed survey (“Survey”) of drug acquisition costs for all hospitals participating in the 340B drug discount program (“340B Program”). The Survey would require reporting of acquisition cost data on 340B discounted drugs, referred to as specified covered outpatient... READ MORE

Another Band-Aid: Congress Clears Continuing Resolution to Avoid Shutdown On Thursday, the Senate cleared legislation (H.R. 4378) by a vote of 82-15 to fund federal agencies and extend several health care-related programs through November 21. The vote on the continuing resolution followed House approval of the measure, which overwhelmingly passed the measure last week.... READ MORE

House Passes Temporary DSH Cut Delay, Health Care Extenders On September 19, the House passed a stopgap spending measure (H.R. 4378) in an effort to avoid another government shutdown. The health care extenders included in the measure will run through November 21 as lawmakers continue negotiations on a broader package to fund the government.... READ MORE

House Subcommittee Passes Surprise Billing Measure Despite Member Disagreement On Thursday, the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved 10 bills, including a measure addressing surprise medical billing. The “No Surprises Act” (H.R. 3630), introduced by Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), would prohibit surprise billing and limit... READ MORE

House Committee Pushes Renewal of Health Programs, Debates Medicaid DSH Cuts The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee considered twelve health care-related bills in a hearing this week. Eleven of the bills renew funding for community health centers, doctor training programs and other public health initiatives which have funding authorizations that expire at the... READ MORE

Presidential Budget for 2020 Proposes Major Health Care Cuts President Trump released his administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget this week. While this proposal stands little chance of being implemented in its entirety, it is a good indicator of where the administration’s priorities stand for the next year, and some of the provisions, especially those... READ MORE

Short-Term Funding Deal Reached to End Government Shutdown This afternoon, President Trump announced a deal to temporarily reopen the federal government and end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The deal funds the remaining federal agencies until February 15, giving lawmakers more time to try to work out a compromise on the immigration and... READ MORE