The newsroom includes access to CHA News, which provides timely information to members every Thursday and is at the core of CHA benefits. In addition, it is also home to resources such as toolkits and talking points designed to help member hospitals and health systems communicate with internal and external audiences on a range of current health care-related issues. Links to CHA media statements and press releases can also be found here.
Newsroom
CMS Issues FFY 2021 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued its final rule updating hospice payment rates for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2021. Overall, CMS finalizes a payment increase of 2.4%, or approximately $540 million, compared to FFY 2020.
CMS Proposes Rule to Retroactively Include Medicare Advantage Days in Medicare DSH Calculation
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule that would retroactively incorporate Medicare Advantage (MA) days into the Medicare fraction of a hospital’s disproportionate patient percentage for the Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program.
CDPH Director Steps Down, Acting Director and Acting Health Officer Announced
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
On Aug. 9, the California Health and Human Services Agency confirmed that California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director and State Public Health Officer Sonia Angell has resigned her post. Sandra Shewry will serve as acting director of CDPH; she was vice president at the California Health Care Foundation and previously director of the Department of Health Care Services. Dr. Erica Pan will serve as acting public health officer. On June 29, she was appointed deputy director, Center for Infectious Diseases and state epidemiologist at CDPH, and was previously the Alameda County interim public health officer.
CHA Letter to HHS Secretary Addresses State Testing Policies, Practices
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
Last week, CHA sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly addressing the patchwork of testing policies across jurisdictions in California. The lack of uniform policies has created confusion for providers, avoidable utilization of scarce testing supplies, and uneven reimbursement practices.
Appellate Court Reinstates ‘Public Charge’ Rule
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
As CHA reported last week, a U.S. district court on July 29 issued a nationwide injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing the “public charge” federal regulations that became effective last August. However, last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s order.
CHA Advocates for IMPACT Act ‘Reset’
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CHA is advocating that Congress include a ‘reset’ of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act in the next COVID-19 relief package. In a letter to Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, CHA reaffirms support for the act’s goals, including the ongoing implementation of standardized patient assessment data elements and numerous new quality, outcome, and resource use measures.
CMS Issues FFY 2021 SNF PPS Final Rule
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued the final rule for the federal fiscal year 2021 skilled-nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system (PPS). In the final rule, CMS finalizes a 2.2% increase in SNF PPS per diem rates of 2.2%, modifies ICD-10 code mappings for patient classification, and makes updates to the SNF value-based program, the patient driven payment model case-mix methodology, and the SNF quality reporting program.
Updates for the Week of Aug. 3
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the following updates this week:
HHS Issues Report on Addressing Surprise Billing Nursing Home Compare Quarterly Refresh with Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program Data Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program Hardship Exception Applications Due Sept. 1
CMS Issues CY 2021 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its calendar year (CY) 2021 physician fee schedule (PFS) proposed rule. In addition to addressing annual payment updates for Medicare Part B clinicians and changes to the quality payment program, CMS includes several proposals to make certain COVID-19 telehealth and scope of practice flexibilities permanent, and delays clinical laboratory reporting requirements – including for hospital outreach laboratories – until 2022.
CMS Issues CY 2021 OPPS Proposed Rule
This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its calendar year (CY) 2021 outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) proposed rule. In addition to annual payment and quality updates, CMS proposes significant cuts for drugs purchased under the 340B drug savings program, would eliminate the inpatient-only (IPO) list over three years, expand the list of outpatient services subject to prior authorization, and make significant changes to the hospital star ratings methodology.
