CMS Announces Participants in Bundled Payment Initiative
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the health care organizations chosen to participate in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BCPI) Initiative. The...
View ArticleCMS Releases 2014 Advance Notice and Proposed MA and Part D Program MLR...
On February 15, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released for comment two key documents affecting the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Programs: (1) the Advance Notice of...
View ArticleCMS Announces CY 2014 MA and Part D Rates with Change to Growth Rate Estimates
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the announcement of CY 2014 payment rates on April 1, which included its change in position regarding the assumption of the "doc fix" in...
View ArticleHHS Clarifies that ACA Qualified Health Plans are Not Subject to Federal...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that Qualified Health Plans (sold on and off the Exchanges) are not “Federal health care programs” for purposes of the federal...
View ArticleCMS Proposed Rule Reflects Increased Sophistication in Administration of...
Addressing issues ranging from participation in Part D Plan pharmacy networks to compliance training for so-called first-tier, downstream and related entities, the Proposed Rule covers numerous topics...
View ArticleCMS Proposes Significant Changes to Medicare Part D Program’s Administration
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposes significant changes to several key Medicare Part D Program components, such as the “any willing pharmacy” contracting requirement, that will...
View ArticleCMS Indicates Select Controversial Part D Proposals Will Not Be Finalized
Acknowledging concerns regarding some proposals in the January 2014 proposed rule for the Medicare Advantage and Part D Programs, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services states it does “not...
View Article2015 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS or the agency) kicked off a flurry of springtime regulatory activity for health insurance issuers with publication of the final Notice of Benefit...
View ArticleMedicaid Managed Care Update: CMS Proposes a National Medicaid MLR Standard
States would have the option to create binding Medicaid MLR requirements modeled after existing commercial market MLR standards. This article is part of a series that takes an in-depth look at several...
View ArticleKing v. Burwell: When Would a Supreme Court Ruling Restricting Affordable...
The Supreme Court of the United States is poised to decide a critical question under the Affordable Care Act: whether the federal government can subsidize health insurance premiums for residents of...
View ArticleKing v. Burwell Decision Upholds Subsidies in Federal Exchanges
On June 25, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in King v. Burwell that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires premium tax credits to be made available in states that use a federal...
View ArticleCMS’s Final Medicaid Rule Creates a Medicaid MLR Framework but Leaves Room...
In Depth - The final Medicaid managed care rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 25, 2016, (the Final Rule) establishes a new federal medical loss ratio (MLR)...
View ArticleManaging the Transition to Transformation: Implementing a CJR Collaborator...
Summary - McDermott’s Managing the Transition to Transformation series is designed to help health systems and other health care industry leaders address the many challenges presented by the...
View ArticleHow Congress, President-Elect Trump Might Proceed on Promise to Repeal,...
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This campaign promise, which echoes a familiar refrain from Republicans since ACA’s passage, is more complex...
View Article21st Century Cures: Congress Enacts Medicare Advantage and Small Business...
The 21st Century Cures Act encourages biomedical research investment and facilitates innovation review and approval processes, but also serves as a vehicle for a wide variety of other health-related...
View Article21st Century Cures: A Closer Look
On December 7, 2016, the US Congress enacted the 21st Century Cures Act, substantial legislation intended to accelerate “discovery, development and delivery” of medical therapies by encouraging...
View ArticleTrump Administration Takes First Steps to Support Exchanges, but Key...
In an effort to stabilize the Exchanges and encourage issuer participation, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently extended the federal Exchange application and rate filing...
View ArticleCMS Aims to Stabilize Exchanges but Does Not Address Issuers’ Biggest Questions
CMS recently released a final rule with the goal of stabilizing Exchange markets for 2018. The agency also issued several significant guidance documents where CMS extended the deadlines for 2018 rate...
View ArticleCMS Announces Participants in Bundled Payment Initiative
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the health care organizations chosen to participate in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BCPI) Initiative. The...
View ArticleCMS Releases 2014 Advance Notice and Proposed MA and Part D Program MLR...
On February 15, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released for comment two key documents affecting the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Programs: (1) the Advance Notice of...
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