CMS rebutted the hospital lobby argument against a 2.9 percent cut to the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) that the agency says is needed to offset the so-called “coding creep” caused by the Medicare Severity Diagnosis Related Group (MS DRG) policy.

The American Hospital Association said that it was getting the runaround from CMS about concerns it has with a productivity adjustment to ambulatory surgical center payments called for in the health reform law and that the dearth of information in a proposed rule makes it hard to comment intelligently about the proposal.

Community and chain drug store pharmacists are praising CMS' recent proposal to withdrawal regulations affecting reimbursement to pharmacies for generic Medicaid prescriptions, including the definition of average manufacturer prices (AMPs) for use in calculating federal upper limit (FUL) reimbursements and the definition of a “multiple source drug.”

Key stakeholders are questioning why HHS' planning shop has moved to build an inventory of comparative effective research (CER) prior to the establishment of independent CER that was created under the health reform law.

CMS informed states that the National Correct Coding Initiative is the only system it will allow Medicaid programs to use to curb inappropriate payments to providers, according to an agency letter sent to state Medicaid directors Wednesday (Sept. 1).

CMS refused to give lawmakers the list of winning bidders for the first round of the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) program and took a swipe at the industry by reminding suppliers that the suppliers had originally asked that the names of the winners be kept secret, even though the industry now wants the list released.

Denied access to the stimulus law's health IT bonus payments for each campus of their hospital systems, some hospitals are applying for additional CMS Certification Numbers (CCNs) to create separate hospitals so they can receive more than one incentive payment for installing electronic health records, an industry source says.

As HHS steps up its efforts to ferret out fraud with the passage of health reform, health care providers may need to worry more about Zone Program Integrity Contractors than Recovery Audit Contractors, sources say, even though RACs have received most of the attention for being “bounty hunters” paid on a contingency basis to identify improper payments made by Medicare.

CMS is soliciting hospitals in 20 states to participate in an extension of the rural community hospital demonstration program, which was included in the health reform law.

HHS' Office of Inspector General is urging CMS to create a list of “less-than-effective” drugs and regularly send that list to health insurance companies, after finding that CMS spent $43 million on less-than-effective drugs over a two-year period.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) on Thursday assailed CMS Administrator Don Berwick's response to his request for information on donations to Berwick's Institute for Healthcare Improvement.

An ongoing dispute between Watson Pharmaceuticals and the Federal Trade Commission on the extent of the agency's efforts to oppose drug patent settlements was partially resolved this week when a U.S. District Court judge found that the drug maker could not prove that the government disclosed confidential information or pressured the product developer to waive its exclusivity, ordering the firm's CEO to testify before an agency investigative panel.

An independent, five-member board would oversee a health insurance exchange with the power to be a selective purchaser of insurance plans under legislation that passed the California legislature Wednesday.

The Senate's HHS appropriations bill includes an unrequested $40 million to expand medical home demonstration programs called for in the health overhaul law and gives the agency just 90 days to get those demonstrations underway.

A new report by AARP's Public Policy Institute, which concluded that prices for Medicare's most commonly used brand-named drugs dramatically increased in 2009, has prompted debate among several players in the health care sector.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius defended the cable TV advertisement featuring Andy Griffith that HHS is running prior to Medicare open enrollment, but Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who tried to get HHS to yank the ad, isn't happy with the administration's response and sent another letter to the department with more demands.

A bipartisan group of 136 House lawmakers requested this month that CMS disclose the medical equipment providers whose bids were used to calculate home medical equipment reimbursement rates under Medicare's competitive bidding program.

There will be 20 percent fewer Part D plans offered next year, due to measures in the health overhaul law that set minimum enrollment levels and require plans to have “meaningful differences,” according to CMS.

The Senate is using its HHS appropriations bill to urge CMS to consider a mix of large and small, urban and rural training programs as the agency implements a provision of health reform law that is expected to increase the number of advanced practice registered nurses (APRN).

CMS is using the financial incentives of the electronic health records program to boost participation in other voluntary state programs, including the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, an agency official said.