Medicare

House Ways & Means Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) urged CMS to keep in mind the Government Accountability Office’s findings that the Medicare Plan Finder has incomplete information in certain areas and is difficult for beneficiaries to use as the agency works on a webpage redesign expected to be unveiled this month.

CMS on Wednesday (July 31) finalized a $210 million pay bump for inpatient rehabilitation facilities in fiscal 2020, a slight increase from the agency’s proposal earlier this year.

Democrats vying for the 2020 nomination spent the first 45 minutes of the second debate hashing out policy disagreements on Medicare for All versus a public option, with progressives arguing that a single-payer system would provide the most benefit to the most people and more moderate candidates saying it would eliminate choice and raise taxes on the middle class.

Inpatient psychiatric facilities will see a 1.5% pay bump in fiscal 2020 and will be subject to a new quality measure intended to assess whether patients fill their prescriptions soon after being discharged.

The leaders of the Senate Finance and health committees met Tuesday (July 30) to begin cross-committee talks on drug pricing, the chairmen said.

Hospitals would have to publicly post pay-specific negotiated prices of their “shoppable services,” including x-rays or caesarean deliveries, under CMS’ proposed 2020 outpatient rule, as the agency also doubles down on its site-neutral and 340B pay cut policies that hospitals have slammed.

CMS proposed a payment rule Monday (July 29) meant to encourage dialysis facilities to adopt new equipment and supplies while also increasing pay for those facilities and updating the pricing system for medical devices.

Freshman Democratic Rep. Katie Porter (CA) last week dived straight into an ongoing controversary over industry-funded premium assistance programs by asking HHS’ Office of Inspector General to investigate the American Kidney Fund and suspend the advisory opinion that lets AKF take contributions from dialysis firms without facing anti-kickback penalties.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) released a rural health plan Friday (July 26) that includes proposed improvements to Medicare and Medicaid, particularly for seniors and new mothers, following on the heels of other presidential hopefuls who have released health plans to address rural populations, seniors, and mothers.