From the CMS Fact Sheet: Created by the Affordable Care Act, the new Federal Coordinated Health Care Office (the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office) works to improve coordination between the Federal government and States for Medicare-Medicaid enrollees in order to ensure full access to covered services in both programs and high quality care.  The Office is moving […]

From the CMS Press Release: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched a new initiative which will reward hospitals for the quality of care they provide to people with Medicare and help reduce health care costs.  Authorized by the Affordable Care Act, the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program marks the beginning of an historic […]

From the CMS Fact Sheet: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012.   The rule proposes to increase payment rates under the IRF Prospective Payment System (PPS) by a projected 1.5 percent […]

From the CMS Press Release: Attestation for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program began earlier this week. This means that eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs) can attest through the CMS web-based attestation system and be on their way to receiving Medicare EHR incentive payments. Several new CMS resources can help you […]

From the CMS Fact Sheet: Fifteen states across the country have been selected to design new ways to meet the often complex and costly medical needs of the nation’s lowest-income and chronically ill citizens, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced. To address some of these issues, CMS is looking to these […]

New Partnership Between Administration, The Private Sector, Hospitals And Doctors To Make Care Safer, Potentially Save Up To $50 Billion This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, joined by leaders of major hospitals, employers, health plans, physicians, nurses, and patient advocates, announced the Partnership for Patients, a new national partnership that will help […]

From the CMS Fact Sheet: This final rule implements provisions of the Affordable Care Act that are related to the Medicare Advantage (MA, or Part C) and Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) Programs. This final rule also sets forth programmatic and operational changes to the Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Benefit programs for contract year […]

From the CMS Fact Sheet: On Apr. 19, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would revise policies and payment rates for general acute care hospitals that are paid for inpatient services under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS), effective for discharges in fiscal (FY) 2012 – that […]

CMS Launches Site for New Approach to Healthcare This week, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (“Innovation Center”) re-launched Innovations.cms.gov. Along with providing information about the Innovation Center’s mission and values, the website provides ways for the Innovation Center to gather new ideas to improve our health care system. The Innovations website also encourages […]