WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 18, 2019)—The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), released its annual March report to Congress on March 15, 2019. MedPAC is required to produce this report; however, Congress is not required to act upon all the recommendations contained in the report and historically has not done so. Chapters 9 and 12 of the Report, Home Health Recommendations and Hospice Recommendations respectively, will be of most interest to NAHC members.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 16, 2019)—The Kentucky State Legislature finished work on HB224, with the Kentucky Senate approving the bill on Thursday, with an amendment, by a 36 to 0 vote. The Kentucky House followed with unanimous concurrence for the amended legislation on Thursday night, 89 to 0.

The legislation streamlines durable medical equipment (DME) regulations and reimbursement policy for Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) supporting the state’s Medicaid program in several ways: