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Blog

Medicare hospital outpatient rule: new rural emergency hospitals and questions for payment policies

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Today’s blog is the next in our series highlighting significant developments in the Medicare program. In our first article we covered the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) calendar year 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule. This week we are highlighting a few key policy developments in the proposed rule that governs payment levels and policy updates for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs).

As we discussed last week, this is a pivotal moment for the Biden Administration’s Medicare policy agenda. Because the rulemaking cycle takes about 18 months, CMS needs to begin the process of collecting input on new proposals this year if it intends to finalize proposals before the end of the President’s first term. Additionally, the CY2023 rule represents an important transition year for CMS as it navigates the COVID-19 related anomalies in the data used to calculate payment levels.

Health care plans, providers, and facilities are continuing to transition to value based payment strategies, making it increasingly important to assess the entire environment of Medicare payment rules as these payment systems are the basis of financial benchmarks, quality incentives, and other key components of value-based payments. In addition, these payment rules provide insight into the cost pressures, incentives, and areas of misalignment throughout the health care system.

HMA experts are analyzing and closely tracking several issues in the CY 2023 hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) proposed rule. A brief summary of some of the most important proposed policy changes for the outpatient hospital setting are included below and highlight many of the Administration’s top health care priorities.

  1. Policies to sustain access and address health disparities in rural communities.
  2. Enhancing Medicare’s behavioral health payment and access policies beyond the COVID-19 public health emergency.
  3. Uncertainty in the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) rate increase due to future implementation of changes in 340B payment.
  4. Increasing transparency of consolidation and mergers in the marketplace to help advance quality and affordability.

The remainder of our post delves into these issues and other notable proposals. Our post also includes analysis of the implications of these policies for stakeholders deserving.

Key Action Items for Stakeholders

The CY 2023 OPPS Proposed Rule was published on July 15, 2022, and all comments from stakeholders are due to CMS by September 13, 2022. We anticipate CMS will release their Final Rule in late fall 2022, before the new rules are implemented January 1, 2023.

The public comment period is also an important window of opportunity during which stakeholders can analyze the impact of CMS’s proposed policies, assess the proposals against other applicable pending federal and state payment policies, and consider how the proposals may impact business decisions. Further, the public comment period is essential for CMS to deepen its understanding of the impact of its policies on stakeholders. The agency benefits from hearing stakeholder’s perspectives, viewing their quantitative and legal analyses, and understanding the general stakeholder environment.

Rural Emergency Hospitals: Definition and Payment

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) established a new provider type called Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) beginning in 2023. REHs are facilities that convert from either a critical access hospital (CAH) or a rural hospital with less than 50 beds, by choosing to close their inpatient capacity. Instead, these facilities provide emergency department services, outpatient services, post-hospital extended care services, and other defined services.

While the statute specifies many foundational aspects of REHs, CMS was given the authority to further define REH eligibility status and to specify the unique reimbursement mechanisms for REHs. All of these components will be vital to a provider or entity’s decision to pursue REH status.

On June 30, CMS released the first component: Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for REHs, which defined REH status within the Medicare program. Within the CY 2023 OPPS Proposed Rule CMS proposed to define reimbursement and several other key components of REHs. Below we detail the key elements of REH reimbursement. In HMA’s blog next week we will offer greater detail on the COP and reimbursement policies.

REH policies proposed in the CY 2023 OPPS Proposed Rule:

  • REHs will receive a monthly facility payment of approximately $268,000 (or more than $3 million per year) beginning in CY 2023. 
  • REHs will receive a 5 percent payment increase for all services covered under the Medicare OPPS.  
  • REHs may provide outpatient services that are not otherwise paid under the OPPS (e.g., the Clinical Lab Fee Schedule) as well as post-hospital extended care services furnished in a unit of the facility that is a distinct part of the facility licensed as a skilled nursing facility (SNF).
  • Beneficiaries served at REHs will not be charged a copayment on the additional 5 percent OPPS payments, but standard OPPS cost-sharing requirements would still apply.
  • REHs must comply with all applicable provider enrollment provisions in order to enroll in Medicare.
  • REHs will have a unique quality reporting program distinct to REHs, in order to reduce reporting burden on these smaller facilities. CMS seeks feedback from stakeholders on the measures used for the REH quality reporting program.
  • REHs will be provided an exception from the Physician Self-Referral Law (commonly known as the “Stark Law”).

Takeaway: The creation of REHs is both a significant change for the Medicare program and potentially a unique opportunity for small rural hospitals and health systems which own/operate rural hospitals. The Congress and CMS believe this model will address access to care concerns and health disparities present in rural communities. Many assert that under the REH approach, hospitals and health system providers serving rural communities may have greater flexibility to support the rural communities they serve.

Look for our additional analysis of the set of proposed REH policies next week.

Mental Health Services Furnished Remotely by Hospital Staff

For CY 2023, CMS proposes several updates to its remote services policy to plan for a transition from temporary policies enacted during the PHE to when the PHE is declared over. CMS proposes to:

  • Allow clinical staff of a hospital to conduct remote mental health and substance abuse services and to designate these services as hospital outpatient department services for purposes of reimbursement. Patients will be permitted to be in the homes and hospital clinical staff must conduct the service from inside the hospital facility. Further, CMS proposes new hospital outpatient codes for these services, and CMS will not permit these outpatient services to be conducted (and billed) in tandem with physician fee schedule services.
  • The agency will require an in-person service within 6 months prior to the initiation of the remote service and then every 12 months thereafter. CMS will allow exceptions to the in-person visit requirement based on beneficiary circumstances.
  • The agency is also proposing that audio-only interactive telecommunications systems may be used to furnish these services when the beneficiary is not capable of, or does not consent to, the use of two-way, audio/video technology.

Takeaway: As CMS wrote in the proposed rule, many beneficiaries may be receiving mental health services in their homes from hospital or critical access hospital staff during the COVID-19 PHE. The policy update could help minimize disruptions in continuity of care that might otherwise occur following the end of the PHE. The proposals also reflect CMS’ desire to adapt to changing beneficiary preferences and new methods of providing services that have evolved during the COVID-19 PHE.

Hospitals and health systems may benefit from these proposals because it will maintain and expand patient-provider access points and care coordination after the patient has left the hospital. Stakeholders will need to continue to assess beneficiary utilization of services furnished remotely, potential staffing changes to support these services, and community-specific access needs for remote mental health services. Stakeholders may have important perspectives to offer CMS through the regulatory comment proceed as the agency determines whether to finalize a requirement that hospital clinical staff be physically located in the hospital when furnishing services remotely using communications technology.

Payment Policies  

CMS is proposing to update OPPS payment rates for hospitals and ASCs that meet their respective applicable quality reporting requirements by 2.7 percent. This update reflects the following factors:

  • Projected hospital market basket percentage increase of 3.1 percent; and  
  • A 0.4 percentage point reduction for projected multifactor productivity.

In the context of the OPPS, CMS proposes to increase the OPPS conversation factor by 2.7 percent from CY 2022 to CY 2023, from $84.18 to $86.79. CMS estimates this will increase OPPS payments to providers from CY 2022 to CY 2023 by $1.8 billion.

In the context of ASCs, CMS estimates a proposed increase to the ASC conversation factor by 2.7 percent from CY 2022 to CY 2023, from $49.91 to $51.31. CMS estimates this change will increase industry-wide payments from CY 2022 to CY 2023 by $130 million. In addition, CY 2023 is the final year in which CMS will apply the productivity-adjusted hospital market basket update to ASC payment system rates for an interim period of 5 years (CY 2019 through CY 2023).

Consistent with CMS’s methods for updating other Medicare prospective payment systems during the 2023 regulatory cycle, the agency proposes to use claims data from CY 2021 and hospital cost report data from the June 2020 Healthcare Cost Report Information System (HCRIS) to update payment rates for CY 2023. Some stakeholders have expressed concern during this regulatory cycle that claims data continue to include anomalous trends influenced by covid cases and the cost data do not accurately reflect covid-related costs because the data primarily are associated with pre-COVID time period. 

340B Payment Policy

CMS’s proposed rule acknowledges the recent Supreme Court decision in American Hospital Association v. Becerra (No. 20-1114, 2022 WL 2135490), which will have a significant impact on the 340B program. However, given the recency of this decision the agency formally proposed to maintain the current payment rate of Average Sale Price (ASP) minus 22.5 percent for drugs and biologics acquired through the 340B program.

In response to the decision, CMS stated that the agency will adjust 340B payment rates within the CY 2023 final rule. In its recent ruling, the Supreme Court held that HHS may not vary payment rates for drugs and biologicals among groups of hospitals without having surveyed hospitals’ acquisition costs. The decision relates to payment rates for CYs 2018 and 2019 but has implications for the CY 2023 rates.

CMS also stated that it anticipates applying a 340B payment rate of ASP plus 6 percent for specified drugs and biologics in the CY 2023 final rule. This would likely result in a budget neutrality reduction approaching 5% in the OPPS conversion factor.

Takeaway: Hospitals and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) receiving 340B reimbursements will view the court ruling and potential increase to 340B payment rates as positive. However, it remains unclear at what exact level 340B payments will be set. Therefore, stakeholders may want to comment on the CY2023 policy options CMS is considering. Additionally, stakeholders should plan for CMS to conduct a survey of acquisition costs as it considers newly proposing changes to the payment rates. It remains possible that CMS will continue to apply the 340B cut for 2023 in light of a 2020 survey of hospital acquisition cost that it conducted. Future budget neutrality adjustments may also be necessary for any payments that are returned to hospitals due to the overturning of the 340B cut for 2018 and 2019.

Additional Issues for Stakeholder Consideration

In addition to the financing and policy issues discussed above, the wide-ranging rule contains numerous other policy proposals with direct and indirect implications on Medicare providers, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders. Table 1 provides a snapshot of some of the issues that warrant further consideration.

 Table 1. Other Notable Proposed Changes Impacting Health Care Providers and Stakeholders

TopicSummary
Provider TransparencyCMS issues a request for information linked to the President’s July 2021 Executive Order (E.O.) on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. CMS currently manages a database of nursing homeowners and operators, and the agency has begun to leverage that data to support hospital and nursing home patients and their families. The agency solicits feedback on whether it should release additional data that is already being collected “to help identify the impact of provider mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, and changes in ownership on the affordability and availability of medical care.” CMS also invites comments on whether the agency should release similar data for other types of providers. The solicitation represents the next phase in CMS’ expansive portfolio of work to address the impact of market consolidation on health care prices, consumer costs, and quality in the healthcare industry writ large. Medicare providers and stakeholders should be tracking how federal health care regulators, including CMS, are working to respond to the E.O. There is a strong likelihood that CMS will begin to include data on other types of providers and stakeholders will need to understand this shifting landscape and how it could impact their current and potential future business decisions.
SaaSCMS discusses its desire to address the novel and evolving nature of Software as a medical Service (Saas) procedures. The agency is seeking comments on the specific payment approach we might use for these services under the OPPS as SaaS-type technology becomes more widespread. We are also concerned about the potential for bias in algorithms and predictive modeling, and are seeking comments on how we could encourage software developers to prevent or mitigate the possibility of bias in new applications of this technology.
Inpatient Only ListRemoves ten services from the Inpatient Only (IPO) list.While the IPO list has previously been targeted for major reforms, this year’s narrower set of proposed changes signal CMS’ is deprioritizing IPO list reform.  
Payment for surgical N95 RespiratorsCMS recognizes that hospitals may incur additional costs when purchasing domestic NIOSH-approved surgical N95 respirators. CMS is proposing payment adjustments under the IPPS and OPPS that would reflect, and offset, the additional marginal resource costs that hospitals face in procuring domestically made NIOSH-approved surgical N95 respirators. Under this proposal, these payments would be provided biweekly as interim lump-sum payments to the hospital and would be reconciled at cost report settlement. The rule outlines the information providers need to include on the cost report to determine payments for cost reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2023.
Ambulatory Surgery CentersCMS requests stakeholder feedback on methods that could be implemented to collect cost data from ASCs that minimize reporting burden.This could be the beginning of a process to implement cost reports for ASCs.

The HMA Medicare team will continue to analyze these proposed changes. We have the depth and breadth of expertise to assist with tailored analysis, to model policy impacts, and to support the drafting of comment letters to this rule.

Blog

CMS proposes regulation for rural emergency hospitals

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On June 30, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed regulation establishing the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for a new hospital provider type, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs). The REH concept was first developed by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and subsequently mandated by Congress through the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 to address the growing concern over closures of rural hospitals.

REHs provide an opportunity for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and rural hospitals to improve the way care is delivered in their communities, maintain access, and avert potential closure by choosing to focus on the service offerings that are most essential to their communities, such as emergency services, observation care, and additional medical, behavioral, and maternal outpatient services. Importantly, the REH concept enables facilities to maintain a hospital designation absent inpatient capacity thereby ensuring that rural communities retain access to services. This proposed regulation is a significant milestone in CMS’ work to implement the REH designation and their novel payment methodology by their mandated start date of January 1, 2023.

The REH concept is expected to help address the observed health inequities that arise when rural communities lack access to hospitals and other providers. Obtaining an REH designation could be an opportunity for many independent hospitals and delivery systems to strategically reshape themselves in line with their community’s needs while receiving payments from Medicare for doing so.

Within CMS’ proposed regulation, the agency proposes to establish a novel set of REH CoPs which will define the parameters of the REH designation. The REH CoPs closely align with the current CAH CoPs in most cases, while considering the uniqueness of REHs and the statutory requirements. In some instances, the proposed REH policies closely align to the current hospital and ambulatory surgical center standards, such as the polices for outpatient services’ requirements and life safety code, respectively.

As a part of this proposed regulation, CMS seeks input from the rural community on a few key aspects of the REH designation, including:

  • The specific proposed REH standards, including the ability of an REH to provide low-risk childbirth-related labor and delivery services and whether the agency should require REHs to provide outpatient surgical services in the event that surgical labor and delivery intervention is necessary.
  • Whether it is appropriate for an REH to allow a physician, physician associate, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse specialist, with training or experience in emergency medicine, to be on call and immediately available by telephone or radio contact and available on site within specified timeframes.

Updates to CoPs for Critical Access Hospitals

Also within this draft regulation CMS proposes to update the CoPs for CAHs by: (1) adding a definition of primary roads to the location and distance requirements; (2) establishing a patient’s rights CoP; and (3) allowing CAHs that are a part of a larger health system (containing other hospitals and/or CAHs) to unify and integrate their infection control and prevention and antibiotic stewardship programs, medical staff, and quality assessment and performance improvement programs (known as QAPI) to ensure consistent and safe care.

What’s Next

CMS is accepting comments on this rule until August 29, 2022. CMS intends to propose additional policies related to Medicare enrollment, payment, and quality reporting in the upcoming Calendar Year 2023 Outpatient Prospective Payment System/Ambulatory Surgery Center proposed rule. CMS will develop final policies for this program later this year.

For more information about this proposed regulation including how to submit comments and how the REH concept may impact the hospital industry and patients in rural communities please contact our Medicare team who have knowledge in Congressional, MedPAC and CMS policy and operations featured below.

View CMS’s proposed Rural Emergency Hospital and Critical Access Hospital Conditions of Participation.

Case Study

Helping life science manufacturers navigate Medicare payment systems

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The HMA Medicare team was asked to apply our subject matter expertise—and access to Medicare
claims information—to provide a fully formed picture of the reimbursement process for this new
drug formulation. Our work involved researching other precedents and the implications of those
precedents for the reimbursement of this new formulation, as well as the existing product.

Download the results and approach below.

Case Study

Patient journey analysis for a new oncology drug

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Bundled payment can serve as a disincentive to provide high-cost drugs, so the client was interested
in pursuing reimbursement policy options that would ensure appropriate reimbursement to these
facilities, thus ensuring patient access to the drug during the treatment regimen.

Download the results and approach below.

Case Study

Ensuring appropriate payment for transformative therapies to secure patient access to CAR Ts

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CAR T therapies first entered the market in late 2018. These transformative treatments for certain
types of cancer involve modifying a patient’s own cells to fight the cancer—producing a long term,
potentially curative response. Initially, CAR T therapy was administered to patients in the inpatient
hospital, where Medicare payments are bundled so that the hospital gets a single payment for the
entire hospital stay. The cost of the CAR T therapy greatly exceeded the payment rate the hospital
would receive, leading to concerns that hospitals would be reluctant to provide CAR T.

Download and read the approach and results.

Brief & Report

HMA report evaluates needs of Nevada’s Medical Assistance for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled program

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The Nevada Division of Health Care Financing and Policy (DHCFP) engaged HMA to evaluate Nevada’s Medical Assistance for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled (MAABD) program and the needs of its participants. A targeted focus of the evaluation was on home and community-based services (HCBS) within the Nevada MAABD population, including Nevada’s Frail Elderly (FE) and Physically Disabled (PD) waiver.

The project included:

  • Data analyses of Nevada’s population and long term services and supports (LTSS) landscape, the state’s ongoing efforts to rebalance LTSS dollars from institutional to HCBS services and demographic and other information about the MAABD population
  • Stakeholder engagement, including three focus groups that engaged 55 stakeholders and individual interviews, to provide stakeholders a greater voice in the MAABD improvement process
  • Evaluation of the MAABD structure and administration
  • Program recommendations to help inform and guide DHCFP’s considerations for better serving the FE and PD MAABD populations throughout the state

The report made recommendations to enroll the MAABD population aged 65 and older into a combination MLTSS/FIDE-SNP (managed long-term services and supports/fully integrated dual eligible special needs plan) program, implement Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) as a targeted nursing home diversion strategy and strengthen Nevada’s Medicaid quality framework to better deliver and ensure improved quality of care for the MAABD population.

Webinar

Webinar Replay: Supporting Family Caregivers: The Changing Policy and Practice Landscape

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This webinar was held on June 27, 2024.

Over the past decade, the U.S. has seen significant federal and state policy initiatives to improve and expand assistance for the millions of family members who help care for older adults, and those who support people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) across the lifespan. The pandemic, combined with workforce shortages, accelerated these efforts. In this webinar with national family caregiving experts, we discussed policy and practice advances and their potential impact on enabling more Americans to live at home and in the community.

Learning Objectives:

  • Review evidence that supporting family members improves outcomes for older adults and people with I/DD.
  • An overview of current federal and state implementation of the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers and the 2022 National Agenda for Supporting Families with a Member with I/DD.
  • Share evolving opportunities for improving policy and practice in family caregiving initiatives.

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Featured Speakers:

Blog

Ohio releases next generation MyCare Ohio program RFA

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This week’s In Focus section delves into the Next Generation MyCare Ohio managed care program, spotlighting the request for applications (RFA) that the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) released on May 31, 2024. The MyCare Ohio Program, which serves people who are dually eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, is undergoing a substantial transformation. Transitioning from the financial alignment initiative (FAI) demonstration model used in 29 counties, it is evolving into a statewide, fully integrated dual eligible special needs plan (FIDE-SNP) model. This shift is more than procedural; it signifies a pivotal moment of transition to new federal D-SNP requirements.  

Background 

The MyCare Ohio Program launched in May 2014 as a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) FAI demonstration. MyCare Ohio integrates Medicare and Medicaid benefits for dually eligible members enrolled in competitively selected MyCare Ohio managed care plans, providing one care coordinator and streamlined communication and services. It serves 150,000 individuals in 29 counties.  

CMS is sunsetting all FAI demonstration programs on December 31, 2025, prompting ODM to convert to the FIDE-SNP model.  

Next Generation RFA 

The MyCare Ohio Program will convert to the Next Generation MyCare Ohio Program in January 2026. ODM is modeling portions of the program after the state’s Next Generation Medicaid managed care program. The Next Generation MyCare Ohio Program initially will be implemented in the 29 currently participating counties and then expand statewide, covering a total of 250,000 eligible individuals. Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) that serve the program will need to become CMS-approved FIDE-SNPs. MCOs awarded a Next Generation MyCare Ohio contract will need to notify CMS of their intent to establish a statewide FIDE-SNP in Ohio by fall 2024 to begin operations in January 2026. 

ODM anticipates selecting up to four Next Generation MyCare Ohio MCOs to serve enrollees statewide, though a decision on the number of plans will be finalized as awards are made and based on what is most advantageous to the state.   

MCOs will need to develop a member-focused strategy with care coordination as a priority. MCOs will also increase focus on behavioral health coordination. According to ODM, goals for the Next Generation program include: 

  • Focusing on the individual 
  • Improving individual and population wellness and health outcomes 
  • Creating a personalized care experience 
  • Supporting providers in continuously improving care 
  • Improving care for people with complex needs to promote independence in the community 
  • Increasing program transparency and accountability 

Next Generation MyCare will advance these goals through a population health approach, designed to address inequities and disparities in care.  

The program will enroll dually eligible individuals ages 21 and older. This is a change from the current program, which enrolls dual eligibles who are 18 years old and older. The eligible age increase is being made to align with the Medicaid early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) benefit.  

The new program also will continue to offer all the same services available through Ohio’s home care, PASSPORT (long-term services and supports), and assisted living waivers. 

Evaluation 

Applications initially will be reviewed to confirm the applicant meets the mandatory requirements. Applicants who meet the mandatory requirements will proceed to review and evaluation of responses to application questions that fall into seven topic areas, with a total of 1,000 available points (see Table 1).  Of note, if an applicant is not currently serving as either a Next Generation MCO or a MyCare Ohio MCO, the applicant will receive zero points for qualifications and experience. Organizations that have yet to participate in at least one of these programs should consider the effect on their total score.  

Table 1 

Current Market 

Five MCOs—CVS/Aetna, CareSource, Centene/Buckeye, Molina, and United—participate in the current MCOP, with two or three of them participating in each of the seven regions. 

Timeline 

MCOs should submit a notice of intent to apply by June 21. Proposals are due August 2, and awards will be issued October 8. Implementation is scheduled for January 1, 2026.  

Link to RFP 

Connect With Us  

Ohio is one of several states transitioning from a FAI demonstration at the end of December 2025. Additionally, the 2025 Medicare Advantage Final Rule includes new policies affecting D-SNPs that could reshape the integrated care plan landscape in many states.  

Health Management Associates (HMA) will host a webinar on June 20, 2024 titled “D-SNP growth and integration: key implications of the 2025 CMS final rule” to review the current landscape and federal changes that will affect D-SNPs in 2025 and beyond. The session will feature an analysis of the new regulations and a discussion of the critical strategic and product impacts on Medicare organizations that offer D-SNPs or are considering offering D-SNPs. Attendees also will have the opportunity to engage with the panelists during a Q&A session. Watch the replay now.

Contact our experts below for details about the nationwide D-SNP rules and landscape.  

Webinar

Webinar Replay: D-SNP Growth and Integration: Key Implications of the 2025 CMS Final Rule

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This webinar was held on June 20, 2024.

Watch our informative webinar where HMA experts reviewed the upcoming changes from the 2025 Final Rule that will impact Dual Special Needs Plans (D-SNPs) in 2025 and beyond. The session featured an analysis of the new regulations and a discussion of the critical strategic and product impacts on Medicare organizations offering D-SNPs or considering offering D-SNPs. Attendees also had the opportunity to engage with the panelists during a Q&A session.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the impact of the 2025 Final Rule on D-SNPs as CMS promotes the integration of Medicare and Medicaid for dually eligible individuals.
  • Gain a high-level understanding of the federal changes, the timelines for implementation, and the impact on your D-SNP strategy and growth opportunities.
Webinar

Webinar replay: Medicare physician fee schedule reform – structural topics and recommendations

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This webinar was held on June 13, 2024.

HMA recently released a report on the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) with background on the structure of the program, and recommendations for reforms that could be considered. This webinar provided background and context about the PFS for interested parties who may be less familiar with the payment system and why the stakeholder community got to the point of needing to “fix” the fee schedule. We discussed pressing policy and payment concerns, provided an overview of key structural issues within the PFS that should be considered and balanced when making policy changes to the payment system, highlighted different stakeholder perspectives, and offered recommendations within CMS authority.

Learning Objectives:

  • Understand the background, context and function of the PFS including its relationship to other payment systems.
  • Highlight key policy developments over time leading to the current focus on “fixing” the payment system.
Blog

Federal healthcare quality initiatives: recent developments shaping the landscape

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This week, our In Focus section considers the increasing emphasis on quality at all levels of our healthcare system, especially for work that affects federally funded health insurance programs.  

The Universal Foundation Measure Set  

The 2024 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Conference, April 8−10, in Baltimore, MD, continued to highlight the harmonizing of quality measures across CMS programs and promotion of CMS’s universal foundation measures. These metrics capture quality across six domains for adults and four domains for children. By promoting and integrating these well-established measures across all CMS programs, end users can align priorities across programs and help to reduce burden on providers and health plans being assessed.   

Medicaid has long been a leader in incorporating the universal foundation measures, having used many of them in managed care contracts, health homes, and other arrangements that include a quality assessment component for the past 20 years. Earlier this year, many universal foundation measures, including those pertaining to behavioral health, became part of the mandatory core measure set that all states must report to CMS as required in the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act—comprehensive federal legislation that addresses the opioid epidemic. Mandatory reporting will allow Congress, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), and other stakeholders to better understand the impact of federal investments on quality of care for Medicaid and CHIP enrollees. 

New Developments in Medicaid’s Approach to Quality  

Forward momentum is evident in other areas of healthcare quality as well. A significant federal milestone in quality of care was included in the Medicaid Managed Care Rule released in April 2024, which required states to design a quality rating system (QRS) and submit their methodology to CMS for approval. The QRS is intended to be user-friendly and help Medicaid members to pick a plan and monitor its quality performance. States will be able to use the QRS as a monitoring and oversight tool to compare plan performance. Not only will a QRS help improve Medicaid’s accountability to states, enrollees, and policymakers, but it also promotes transparency for all end users and the public. At present, Medicaid quality measures are reported by state rather than by plan. Plan performance in Medicaid is typically captured in a state’s external quality review organization (EQRO) annual report, which may impede the ability of most users to extract, compare, and digest information.   

Another federal initiative is the Medicaid Access Rule, also released in April 2024, to help state Medicaid programs move toward public reporting of quality and compliance measures in home and community-based services (HCBS). In 2022, CMS released more than 90 measures that could be used to assess quality of care in Medicaid HCBS waiver populations. Under the rule, CMS will identify a subset of HCBS quality measures in 2026 and the technical specifications for these measures will be made available publicly and updated as needed. Similar to the CMS Child and Adult Core Sets, states will have an opportunity to implement these measures and CMS can use those outcomes to create HCBS scorecards by state. 

Medicare Advantage Star Ratings Program 

Finally, CMS is incorporating the health equity index (HEI) into the Medicare Advantage Star Rating system. The HEI contributes to a plan’s potential bonus and helps level the playing field for plans that enroll and provide services to underrepresented or at-risk populations. The HEI will account for enrollees who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, individuals with disabilities, or members with a low-income subsidy (LIS). The HEI also assesses plan-level performance for these specialized populations. Allowing plans to earn a better bonus for delivering high-quality services to these populations helps to mitigate adverse selection and reward plans for care that may be resource intensive. 

What’s Next 

Accountability for quality is beginning to emerge in the form of value-based contracting, incentive payments, and other forms of reimbursement focused on reducing disparities and improving outcomes. Health plans, providers, state agencies, vendors and other interested stakeholders need to have a strategy for quality improvement that reflects evolving federal and state quality priorities, reporting systems, and improvement processes.  

HMA’s quality and accreditation team includes experts in the quality space from a variety of backgrounds, including National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) surveyors, former HEDIS auditors, health plan and provider senior quality staff (vice presidents and chief quality officers), and former Medicare/Medicaid leaders. To learn more about implementing quality programs or to explore options for leveraging quality measures to maximize your organization’s value-based contracts, win requests for proposals, increase membership, and optimize member experience, contact our featured expert below.

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Election-driven shifts in healthcare innovation 

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Innovation is the source of progress, driving advancements across industries and shaping the way we live, work, and interact. However, the landscape of innovation is not static—it ebbs and flows, influenced by various factors including political leadership. This year’s presidential election may bring forth significant shifts in priorities, policies, and funding that directly impact innovation efforts like Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI), state waivers and the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). 

CMMI serves as a catalyst for testing innovative payment and service delivery models within Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). With a new administration comes the potential for shifts in CMMI’s focus and funding priorities. For instance, a president (or his/her appointees) can direct CMMI to design payment models, reimbursement structures that can lead to higher quality outcomes and more cost-effective healthcare delivery. The policy priorities and values that undergird a president’s healthcare agenda can shape the kinds of innovation that CMMI drives. Current CMMI initiatives have prioritized value-based care approaches linking payment to outcomes, improving equity of care across race, gender, and geography, and patient-centered care models designed to support particularly high cost, complex conditions; the priorities of the previous administration included focus on substance abuse disorders, kidney disease, and diabetes.  

CMS also grants waivers to states, such as Section 1115 waivers for Medicaid or 1332 waivers for insurance marketplaces, that offer flexibility to experiment with innovative healthcare solutions. The values and policy approaches of a new president will influence the degree of regulatory flexibility and the types of experimentation that will be approved. For example, several states have recently received approval on Medicaid waivers that encourage community-based approaches to whole person care, wrapping together healthcare coverage, benefits, delivery, with new support services that address upstream barriers to health. 

ARPA-H, a new unit within the National Institutes of Health focuses on investments in “break-through technologies and broadly applicable platforms, capabilities, resources, and solutions that have the potential to transform important areas of medicine and health for the benefit of all patients,” holds immense potential for driving breakthroughs in healthcare by funding innovation that “cannot readily be accomplished through traditional research or commercial activity.” The types of projects funded by ARPA-H could be directly impacted by the policy and budget priorities of whomever is president in 2025 and their interest in promoting collaboration between government, academia, and industry to address complex health challenges. A prime example of a potentially impacted area is the emphasis on cancer research by the Biden Administration. This focus may shift drastically with a change in leadership.  

For healthcare innovators looking to stay informed and adaptable amidst these potential policy changes, HMA has two opportunities of interest: The HMA Fall conference, and a DC Direct subscription.  On October 7-9, healthcare leaders and HMA experts will gather for the 2024 Fall Conference: Unlocking Solutions in Medicaid, Medicare and Marketplace, focused on innovation in public programs. Our keynote speaker Darshak Sanghavi, MD is, a foundational leader at ARPA-H tasked with developing health programs that challenge how we think about healthcare innovation inside and outside government. Conference registration is now open – register today.

Leavitt Partners (LP), an HMA Company, guides clients who need to more closely track federal policy and regulatory activity and know when and how to influence the process. DC Direct, an exclusive offering from LP, provides timely information and insights to elevate your knowledge from simply scratching the surface of understanding to becoming part of the fabric of change. 

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