Medicare & Medicaid

<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">This week's top stories include Physician Partners of America agreeing to pay $24.5M to settle a number of alleged violations, including unnecessary testing, and CMS estimates that payments to acute care hospitals will increase in 2023 by $1.6B. </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">This week's top stories include the Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center reporting that <span style="color:black">Protected Health Information in EHRs is prized by bad actors, and 60 U.S. senators sent a letter urging CMS to protect MA. </span></span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><span style="color:black">This week's top stories include the Mayo Clinic halting the </span></span></span><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif">scheduling of appointments for patients in most Medicare Advantage plans, <span style="color:black">and </span>an Oklahoma City hospital tightening security after COVID-19-related social media posts accused providers of murder. </span></span></span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"><span style="color:black">This week's top stories include Black, Hispanic, Asian American and other minority Medicaid enrollees reporting significantly worse experiences around care access compared to their white counterparts, and Amazon Care expanding in-person services to 20 new cities. </span></span></span></span></span></p>

COVID-19 continued to affect the industry, which has plowed forward with expanded offerings, digital transformation and other bold moves.

The rule establishes DMEPOS fee schedule amounts and procedures for making benefit categories and payment determinations for new items and services.

The public health emergency needs to be extended past its current mid-January deadline for millions to keep their Medicaid coverage.

OIG found gaps between the number of providers authorized to treat patients with medication and the number of those who need care.

Priority will be given to hospitals with training programs in areas demonstrating the greatest need for providers.

The rule requires all healthcare workers in facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid program to get vaccinated.