- The federal government will pay eligible hospitals in the 340B program $9 billion to offset payment cuts the Supreme Court ruled unlawful last year. In 2018, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cut prescription drug payments for 340B-covered entity hospitals by nearly 30 percent. The American Hospital Association and other hospital groups sued to halt the cuts, and an appellate court sided with HHS that it has the power to make the cuts. In June 2022, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected the massive payment cuts to hospitals under the contentious 340B drug discount program and ruled the pay cuts to be unlawful. (Articles here, here, and here)
- According to a recent analysis, Medicare’s value-based programs penalize inpatient hospitals for community-level health equity factors that impact outcomes but are largely out of hospitals’ control. Patient populations with more complex needs, greater uncompensated care, and who frequently live alone translate to reimbursement cuts for hospitals under current CMS quality performance programs. “CMS’ hospital value-based programs serve an important role in incentivizing value and improvement in care delivery,” researchers said, “however, refinements are needed to ensure that these programs work as intended and that they support the reduction of health disparities and improve outcomes.” The research was conducted by the Federation of American Hospitals (FAH) and a contracted health consultant. (Article here)
July 13, 2023
Providers | Tea Leaves