Health Care Advocate: Sept. 14, 2023

Table of Contents THA Opposes Budget Neutrality Move in 340B Proposal In a letter submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week, THA echoed the sentiments of the American Hospital Association in support of proposed 340B lump-sum payment remedies – but staunchly opposed the “budget neutrality adjustment” included in the rulemaking, which would generate estimated losses…

Health Care Advocate: Sept. 7, 2023

Table of Contents CMS Approves THA-Recommended State Waiver to Improve Medicaid Unwinding As the unwinding of Medicaid continuous coverage continues following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has submitted a waiver to delay procedural terminations for one month while the state conducts targeted renewal, and the Centers for Medicare and…

Health Care Advocate: Aug. 31, 2023

Table of Contents THA Updates Itemized Billing FAQ Following State Guidance Ahead of tomorrow’s effective date for the new state law requiring itemized bills to accompany certain requests for payment from a patient, THA has updated its FAQ on Senate Bill 490 following further direction on the law from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) earlier this week.…

Health Care Advocate: Aug. 17, 2023

Table of Contents Texas Secures Nearly $1 Billion Annually for Private GME and HARP Payments After federal authorities approved state plans for payments to private hospitals to support graduate medical education (GME) and the Hospital Augmented Reimbursement Program (HARP), Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced today that the state had secured $984 million in annual funds for those two programs. In…

Health Care Advocate: Aug. 10, 2023

Table of Contents New Ransomware Threat Prompts AHA Warning The American Hospital Association is telling hospitals and health systems to prioritize defending themselves against the activities of a ransomware group that first emerged less than three months ago. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released an alert Friday on Rhysida, a “ransomware-as-a-service group” that “threatens to publicly…

Health Care Advocate: Aug. 3, 2023

Table of Contents THA Calls for Additional Action by HHSC After Mass Medicaid Denials After more than half a million enrollees have already been removed from Texas Medicaid early in the unwinding of COVID-19-era continuous coverage, THA has signed on to a letter urging the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to consider “additional strategies to reduce the number…

Health Care Advocate: July 27, 2023

Table of Contents U.S. House Committee Advances Site-Neutral Payment Cut Over strong objections from THA and the American Hospital Association, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee advanced a health care package Wednesday that includes site-neutral payment cuts to hospitals and new reporting requirements. The Health Care Price Transparency Act (HR 4822) was passed along party lines and includes site-neutral…

Health Care Advocate: July 20, 2023

Table of Contents Medicaid Procedural Denials in Early Unwinding Data Raise Concerns THA is concerned about a large number of Medicaid renewal denials on procedural grounds after the state released its first set of data related to the unwinding of COVID-19-era continuous Medicaid coverage. The continuous coverage was in place throughout the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), which was…

Health Care Advocate: July 13, 2023

Table of Contents D.C. Update: Site-Neutral Payment Debate Continues THA is closely involved in Washington, D.C., as Congress continues to review legislation to expand site-neutral payments policies that could result in billions of cuts to Medicare payments for services delivered in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) in Texas. Hospitals argue that the higher payment is justified for services in these settings…

Health Care Advocate: July 6, 2023

Table of Contents Federal Judge’s Order Stops CMS From Enforcing Medicaid Bulletin In the midst of a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas, a federal court last Friday barred the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing or enforcing its Feb. 17 informational bulletin regarding health care-related taxes and hold harmless arrangements involving the redistribution of Medicaid…