Our colleagues at ML Strategies have provided a Health Care Weekly Preview. This week’s preview describes the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), the User Fee Acts (UFAs), the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and the health care Minibus.
Stay tuned for additional updates and analysis from ML Strategies.
In March, I posted about the Uncertain Future of the 340B Drug Discount Program. When opining about What Could Happen Next I speculated about possible changes to government reimbursement for 340B drugs “so that government safety net programs share in 340B savings.”
I reasoned that CMS already knew that “Medicare pays more for 340B drugs than the covered entities’ acquisitions cost.” Continue Reading Six Questions and Answers About CMS’ Recommended Changes to 340B Medicare Reimbursement
Our colleagues at ML Strategies have provided a Health Care Weekly Preview. This week’s preview describes the ongoing wrangling in the Senate over health care reform as well as highlighting the upcoming need to address FDA User Fees and the health care minibus.
Stay tuned for additional updates and analysis from ML Strategies.
Our colleagues at ML Strategies have provided a Health Care Weekly Preview. This week’s preview describes health insurers’ marketplace applications as well as the American Health Care Act (AHCA). Stay tuned for additional updates and analysis from ML Strategies.
As we gear up for a busy week in Washington, D.C., our colleagues at ML Strategies have provided a Health Care Weekly Preview. This week’s preview describes upcoming hearing on safety net health programs and prescription drug costs along with the progress of the American Health Care Act. Stay tuned for additional updates and analysis from ML Strategies.
In addition to yesterday’s post on the June session of Congress, our colleagues at ML Strategies have provided another weekly preview of Congressional activity for the week of June 5, 2017. The preview includes the upcoming schedule of the House and Senate, along with the looming issues of the American Health Care Act, the health care minibus, and tax reform. Stayed tuned for more upcoming previews and blog posts from the ML Strategies team!
Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess to four full weeks of legislative activity. The drama of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) now hangs over the Senate. The House will return to its regular work once they advance the FDA User Fee Reauthorization, with the Senate also having to schedule floor time for the package. Also on our radar this month will be the date June 21st– the date in which insurers decide if they will participate in the Obamacare Marketplace for 2018. This could play a role in the Administration’s ongoing discussions regarding cost-sharing reductions, as well as how the Senate approaches its version of the AHCA. Continue Reading Congress Returns for June Session to Face AHCA, User Fees and More
In a recent post, we provided additional details on the structure, funding, and evaluation of the Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood, Home Visiting (MIECHV) program. In this post we will go into detail on the background and outlook for outpatient therapy caps. This is part of our ongoing series on the potential riders on a health care minibus. The “minibus” refers to a handful of policy provisions tied together in one piece of legislation. This minibus will carry a number of provisions into law, although the number of riders onboard the minibus and when the minibus leaves the station remain to be seen.
Future posts will review additional details of other potential riders on the minibus. Continue Reading Therapy Caps: A Minibus Rider
A bipartisan congressional effort is underway to convince CMS to reverse its biosimilar reimbursement policy implemented under the Obama administration. We discussed the current reimbursement policy in a March 2016 blog post when CMS initially released the guidance. CMS implemented the controversial guidance as a final rule in October 2016.
The current policy requires all biosimilars that are related to a reference product to be given a shared Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code. For Medicare Part B, reimbursement is then calculated based on the average sales price (ASP) of all of the biosimilars with that HCPCS code plus 6% of their reference product’s ASP. Continue Reading CMS Urged To Reverse Obama-Era Biosimilar Reimbursement Policy
In a recent post we noted that the Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood, Home Visiting (MIECHV) program is one of the many potential riders on the health care minibus. In contrast to an omnibus bill, the “minibus” refers to a handful of policy provisions tied together in one piece of legislation. This minibus will carry a number of provisions into law. How many riders will be onboard the minibus and when the minibus leaves the station remain to be seen.
In this post we provide additional details on the structure, funding, and evaluation of the MIECHV program. Future posts will review additional details of other potential riders on the minibus. Continue Reading MIECHV: A Minibus Rider