The agency proposes to limit the types of patient days associated with Section 1115 waivers that are included in the Medicaid fraction of the hospital’s disproportionate patient percentage.

The U.S. House and Senate Committees on Appropriations are accepting appropriations requests for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations process.

The proposed rule implements Section 203 of the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, altering the rules for considering the costs and payments associated with Medicare and commercial dually eligible patients when calculating a hospital’s Medicaid DSH uncompensated care limit.

Unless Congress acts, $32 billion in DSH cuts over the next four years will undermine essential hospitals and could push some to the brink. The scheduled DSH cuts include an $8 billion reduction on October 1, 2023 — more than two-thirds of all federal DSH spending annually.

Our proposal would codify a designation of essential hospitals in statute, allowing lawmakers to better target support to improve access to care and public health.

The 340B program continues to work as Congress intended. America’s Essential Hospitals urges Congress and the administration to protect the 340B program and ensure all stakeholders comply with the law.

The $1.66 trillion package would extend funding for government operations through Sept. 30, 2023, including $120.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, $9.9 billion more than the FY 2022 enacted level, and numerous provisions important to essential hospitals.

The proposed rule updates essential community provider requirements for qualified health plans and adds a special enrollment period for those disenrolled from Medicaid or CHIP.

Lawmakers and staff are currently negotiating the final text for a year-end spending package. Targeted, financial assistance for hospitals serving a safety net role is on the table.

Changes in the proposed rule seek to improve care coordination among providers and increase protections for substance use disorder patients to mitigate discrimination during treatment.

Citing policy and operational challenges with implementing the administrative dispute resolution process as created in a 2020 final rule, HRSA proposes a less formal ADR process that it believes will be less burdensome for parties submitting claims.

Hospitals that fill a safety net role need targeted funding to remain on the front lines of public health emergencies and serve the nation’s most underrepresented patients and marginalized communities.

The United States faces a significant and pervasive health care workforce shortage, especially in underserved communities. As policymakers discuss how to address current and future workforce shortages, we urge Congress to expand, protect and fund the health care workforce.

As Congress continues to consider legislation during and after the pandemic, it should make permanent policies that allow providers to expand access to care, including telehealth and hospital-at-home, to improve the health of their communities.

The final rule for calendar year 2023 continues certain flexible telehealth policies, overhauls the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and revises the Quality Payment Program.

The final rule reverses Medicare Part B drug payment cuts to hospitals in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, continues site-neutral payment policies, and revises the inpatient-only list, among other proposed changes.

The new final rule narrows the types of benefits considered in public charge determinations by excluding nonemergency Medicaid and other in-kind benefits that were in the 2019 final rule.

A federal district court ruled that HHS must pay hospitals in the 340B Drug Pricing Program the full Medicare Part B drug payment rate for the remainder of calendar year 2022.

A September continuing resolution provides a potential legislative vehicle for health policy provisions. We summarize key workforce priorities and actions from Congress, the administration, and the association.

Notable for essential hospitals, the bill contains an extension of Affordable Care Act advance premium tax credits, and historic drug pricing provisions that give the federal government power to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare beneficiaries.

America’s Essential Hospitals asks that you urge your U.S. House lawmakers to cosponsor the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 7961), legislation that would protect caregivers from workplace violence.

The Aug. 22 webinar will complement other federal resources on the annual 340B Drug Pricing Program recertification period for hospitals, open from Aug. 24 to Sept. 19.

A proposed rule for Medicare’s Outpatient Prospective Payment System for calendar year 2023 would reverse Medicare Part B drug payment cuts to hospitals in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, continue site-neutral payment policies, and revise the inpatient-only list, among other proposed changes.

A proposed rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2023 would extend telehealth regulatory flexibility, make changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and revise the Quality Payment Program.

The proposed rule includes numerous policy and payment changes for Medicare’s Inpatient Prospective Payment System for fiscal year 2023, including a 3.2 percent increase in inpatient payment rates.

Although cases are declining nationwide, safety net hospitals have not recuperated from the effects of the pandemic on their finances and still need additional resources.

Ensuring a reliable safety net, one ready to meet the moment in any crisis, means robustly protecting and bolstering the mechanisms and ideals that make the safety net function.