Medicaid

The Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness called on CMS to continue to allow telehealth flexibilities for behavioral health services beyond the pandemic, but to also closely study the efficiency of such services, in a letter sent to CMS Administrator Seema Verma on Monday (July 6).

A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday (July 2) introduced legislation to waive eligibility requirements next year for any previously eligible hospital in the 340B program, citing challenges faced by these hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic that might make them ineligible moving forward.

Health care advocates are celebrating Oklahoma voters’ move to defy state leadership and expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which is expected to provide health care to about 200,000 Sooners.

The House on Monday (June 29) passed 234-179 legislation to expand the Affordable Care Act’s ACA’s tax credits, incentivize Medicaid expansion and reverse Trump administration policies that chipped away at the law, and Democrats fully paid for the package using legislation to reduce prescription drug prices via government negotiation.

The Trump administration has secured 500,000 treatment courses of Gilead’s experimental COVID-19 drug remdesivir, and hospitals will pay no more than $3,200 per average treatment course, HHS and Gilead announced Monday morning (June 29).

Beneficiary advocates, family and nursing home staff told lawmakers at a heated House Ways & Means Committee hearing Thursday (June 25) that an increased focus on testing and oversight in nursing homes is needed after CMS said more than 29,000 residents died of COVID-19.

Democrats will vote Monday (June 29) on House Democrats’ bill to enhance the Affordable Care Act by boosting the law’s tax credits, reverse Trump administration rules seen as undermining the law and encourage states to take up the Medicaid expansion.

Safety net hospital organizations said many of their members will not receive HHS' latest $10 billion in provider relief meant specifically for them.

Senate health committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) recommended that Congress permanently eliminate the Medicare telehealth originating site requirement and allow Medicare and Medicaid to expand upon the types of providers that can be reimbursed for telehealth as the Senate health committee considered which relaxed requirements should be continued after the pandemic on Wednesday (June 17).