WASHINGTON—A recent report shows Medicare has continued to improperly pay millions for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) provided to enrollees during inpatient stays despite a major audit in 2018 and subsequent fix in 2020.
WASHINGTON—New legislation (S 2066) introduced in the House and Senate would create a pilot program for testing the use of a predictive risk-scoring algorithm to provide oversight of payments for durable medical equipment (DME) and clinical diagnostic laboratory tests under the Medicare program.
WASHINGTON—Top United States health insurance providers pledged to streamline and improve the prior authorization processes for Medicare Advantage, Medicaid Managed Care, Health Insurance Marketplace and commercial plans covering nearly eight out of 10 Americans, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced on Monday, June 23.
WASHINGTON—A newly introduced bill seeks to modernize Medicaid's approach to private duty nursing in order to improve the quality and accessibility of skilled nursing care. The Continuous Skilled Nursing Quality Improvement Act of 2025 (S 1920) was introduced by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released more details on the agency’s budget request for the 2026 fiscal year in its 51-page Budget in Brief, along with a 194-page Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
HOUSTON–Hospice providers and several state associations filed a lawsuit Thursday, Jan. 16, against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to block the implementation of the Special Focus Program (SFP).
WASHINGTON—On Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, President Joe Biden signed into law HR 670, also known as the Think Differently Database Act, which requires the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a website to provide information on resources available to individuals with a disability and their caregivers and families.
WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released their fall 2024 semiannual report to congress (SAR), which found more than $7 billion in expected recoveries and receivables from misspent Medicare, Medicaid and other health and human services funds.
BALTIMORE, Maryland—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced additional resources and flexibilities available in Florida and Georgia in response to Hurricane Helene. CMS is working closely with the states of Florida and Georgia to put these flexibilities in place, ensuring those affected by this natural disaster have access to the care they need.
WASHINGTON—The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recovered Medicare payments to providers under the COVID-19 Accelerated and Advance Payment (CAAP) programs in compliance with federal requirements, according to an audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
WASHINGTON—LeadingAge, an association of nonprofit providers of aging services, has partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) new national campaign—"Risk Less. Do More.”—to raise awareness of the latest vaccines for influenza (flu), COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), released a Request for Information (RFI) to solicit feedback from the public on how best to enhance Medicare Advantage (MA) data capabilities and increase public transparency.
WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), finalized a rule to streamline enrollment in the Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs), making coverage more affordable for an estimated 860,000 people. CMS estimates the improvements will save older adults and people with disabilities nearly 19 million hours in paperwork each year and reduce state administrative burden by more than 2 million hours annually.
WASHINGTON—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have responded to a May 2023 data breach in Progress Software’s MOVEit Transfer software on the corporate network of Maximus Federal Services, Inc. (Maximus), a contractor to the Medicare program, that involved Medicare beneficiaries’ personally identifiable information (PII) and/or protected health information (PHI). No HHS or CMS systems were impacted.
FRISCO, Texas—Addus HomeCare Corporation, a provider of home care services, commented on the proposed new rule announced last week by the Biden Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) known as “Assuring Access to Medicaid Services.” The proposed rule is in addition to those adopted under the Obama Administration in 2016 and incorporates new requirements covering additional Medicaid Services, including home- and community-based services (HCBS).
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is releasing ownership data for all Medicare-certified hospice and homecare agencies. For the first time, anyone can now review detailed information on the ownership of more than 6,000 hospices and 11,000 home health agencies certified to participate in the Medicare program on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) website.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), released the Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Rate Announcement that finalized payment policies for these programs. According to HHS, the final policies in the Rate Announcement aim to improve payment accuracy and ensure taxpayer dollars are well spent.
WASHINGTON (December 20, 2022)—U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced the annual release of the Department's National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease: 2022 Update - PDF.
WASHINGTON (December 6, 2022)—The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a bulletin focused on how to avoid HIPAA violations when using online tracking technologies. These online tracking technologies, like Google Analytics or Meta Pixel, collect and analyze information about how internet users are interacting with a regulated entity’s website or mobile application.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 14, 2022)—Recognizing the complex issues involved in developing regulations to implement the advanced explanation of benefits (AEOB), the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is requesting information from the public on a range of issues to better inform future rulemaking.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 11, 2022)—Three individuals, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and Team Gleason filed a suit against Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra last week over Medicare home health benefits. The plaintiffs claim Becerra is violating their rights under the Medicare Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by impeding and restricting the availability, accessibility and coverage of home health services.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 27, 2022)—The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) has alerted the health care industry to a monkeypox-themed phishing campaign targeting health care providers, including home health agencies.
