Category: CMS

To ‘Keep The Lights On,’ Doctors And Hospitals Ask For Advance Medicare Payments

As part of the federal response to the coronavirus crisis, Medicare is offering to give hospitals and doctors accelerated payments.

Pandemic Delays Federal Probe Into Medicare Advantage Health Plans

Government officials want to focus on fighting COVID-19 instead of recouping overcharges that run into the millions.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.

More Than 5,000 Surgery Centers Can Now Serve As Makeshift Hospitals During COVID-19 Crisis

Under pressure, the federal government announced it will let surgery centers, hotels and even college dorms serve as hospitals to treat an overflow of patients.

The Nation’s 5,000 Outpatient Surgery Centers Could Help With The COVID-19 Overflow

A coalition of anesthesiologists wants to repurpose the country’s more than 5,000 surgery centers to serve as emergency overflow amid the coronavirus pandemic. The centers have trained medical staff largely sitting idle, anesthesia machines that could be turned into ventilators, and empty medical space. But obstacles such as federal payment rules, logistics and some skepticism are getting in the way.

New Federal Rules Will Let Patients Put Medical Records On Smartphones

Patients would have far more control over their health care with complete medical histories stored on their phones, proponents say.

As Coronavirus Cases Grow, So Does Scrutiny Of Nursing Home Infection Plans

Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, calls on state and federal health inspectors to focus on how facilities keep infections from spreading, especially in areas that have reported coronavirus cases.

Trump’s Medicaid Chief Labels Medicaid ‘Mediocre.’ Is It?

This claim ‘wouldn’t pass muster’ in a first-year statistics class.

Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes

Happy Friday! In news that is technically really good and exciting but is also kind of icky: yarn made from human skin could eventually be used to stitch up surgical wounds as a way to cut down on detrimental reactions from patients. As CNN reports, “The researchers say their ‘human textile,’ which they developed from […]

Feds Slow Down But Don’t Stop Georgia’s Contentious Effort To Ditch ACA Marketplace

The state proposes to jettison the federal insurance exchange and instead send people buying individual coverage to private companies to choose coverage. It would also cap how much money is spent on premium subsidies, which could mean some consumers would be put on a wait list if they needed financial help buying a plan.