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On Wednesday, a federal court in Texas stayed provisions of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) contract year 2025 Final Rule that amended the longstanding Medicare Advantage (“MA”) and Part D agent and broker compensation methodology and prohibited certain terms in contracts with third party marketing organizations (“TPMOs”). This decision follows two lawsuits filed against CMS and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) arguing that the Final Rule exceeds CMS’s statutory authority, is arbitrary and capricious, and was promulgated without complying with procedural requirements.[1] The Texas federal judge stayed the effective date of the “Fixed Fee” and “Contract-Terms Restriction” (i.e., 42 C.F.R. § 422.2274(a), (c), (d), (e) and § 423.2274(a), (c), (d), (e)) of the Final Rule during the pendency of the lawsuits, and chose not to remand to the agency, instead promising an expeditious ruling on the merits at the parties’ request.Continue Reading Texas Court Stays CMS CY2025 Final Rule on Agent and Broker Compensation and Contract Term Restrictions

In a long-awaited and controversial Final Rule posted on April 22, 2024,[1] the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted new federal minimum staffing requirements that will require long-term care facilities to (1) ensure the presence of a registered nurse (RN) on-site 24 hours per day, seven days per week; and (2) provide a minimum of 3.48 total nurse staffing hours per resident day (HPRD), which includes at least 0.55 HPRD for RNs and 2.45 HPRD for nurse aides (NAs). Despite industry-wide opposition to federal minimum staffing standards and the lack of any new funding, CMS believes that these new standards will increase staffing in more than 79 percent of nursing facilities nationwide. Notably, the Final Rule establishes staffing requirements that exceed the current minimum staffing standards in all 50 states.Continue Reading CMS Finalizes Federal Minimum Staffing Standards for Nursing Homes

On April 4, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued the contract year 2025 (CY2025) Medicare Advantage and Part D final rule (the “Final Rule”). In addition to finalizing its CY2025 proposed rule, CMS also addressed several key provisions that remained from the CY2024 proposed rule. According to CMS’ Fact Sheet, the Final Rule builds on existing Biden-Harris Administration policies to strengthen protections and guardrails, promote healthy competition, and ensure Medicare Advantage and Part D plans best meet the needs of enrollees. The Final Rule also promotes access to behavioral health care providers, promote equity in coverage, and improve supplemental benefits.Continue Reading CMS Issues CY2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Final Rule

On March 28, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced that it is extending the temporary special enrollment period (the Unwinding SEP) for prior beneficiaries of Medicaid and Medicaid-expansion Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) to enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace). The Unwinding SEP was previously scheduled to terminate on July 31, 2024, but now the end date is extended to November 30, 2024. This 4-month extension will help millions maintain insurance coverage as they navigate their new post-pandemic eligibility statuses.Continue Reading Continuity in Coverage: CMS Extends the Unwinding SEP & Issues Final Rule for Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment

On November 6, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the contract year 2025 proposed rule for Medicare Advantage (“MA”) organizations and Part D sponsors (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule covers an array of regulatory topics including the Star Ratings program, marketing and communications, agent and broker compensation, health equity, dual eligible special needs plans (“D-SNPs”), utilization management, network adequacy, and access to biosimilars.Continue Reading CMS Promotes Competition, Transparency, Health Equity and More in the CY2025 Medicare Advantage and Part D Proposed Rule

As individuals continue to live longer beyond retirement and the U.S. population size of those 65 years and older continues to increase, the demand for long-term services and supports (“LTSS”) is also expected to increase.[1] LTSS represents the wide-ranging health and social services that individuals require over an extended period of time, including assistive services.[2] The increasing demand for these services will also likely proportionally increase health care expenditures of LTSS. According to the Congressional Research Service, which analyzed data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) National Health Expenditure Accounts (“NHEA”) on the personal health expenditures for LTSS by payer, in 2021, an estimated $467.4 billion was spent on LTSS. This represents 13.2% of the $3.6 trillion spent on personal health care.[3] Notably, the first and second largest payers of LTSS are Medicaid and Medicare, respectively, accounting for 64.1% of all LTSS spending nationwide in 2021.[4] Absent public LTSS funding, individuals must rely on private funding, and in 2021, private sources accounted for just 28.6% of LTSS spending.[5]Continue Reading The PACE Solution to Increasing Demands for Long-Term Services and Supports in the U.S.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the final rule on risk adjustment data validation (“RADV”) audits of Medicare Advantage (“MA”) organizations (the “Final Rule”) on January 30, 2023. Among other changes, this Final Rule will allow CMS to audit a sample of an MA organization’s (“MAO”) diagnoses reported for risk adjustment purposes (from 2018 and later) and then use the audit findings to calculate an extrapolated improper payment amount for the MAO’s contract. This extrapolation technique is controversial for a number of reasons, including whether CMS has the authority to use it in the manner proposed in the Final Rule, and whether it is an actuarially sound method of auditing. As we predicted in February, this Final Rule is now being challenged in court.Continue Reading Medicare Advantage RADV Audit Final Rule Challenged in Court

On July 13, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued its proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) for the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“PFS”). The Proposed Rule, which was issued in the Federal Register on August 7, 2023,  includes updated payment rates, changes to reimbursement for services related to health equity and social determinants of health, increases to payment for cancer care support, and changes to enrollment for mental health providers. CMS projects that the Proposed Rule will lead to growth in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (“MSSP”).Continue Reading CMS Announces Proposed Rule for 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

On Friday, August 26, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”), the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Department of Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service (the “Departments”) published a final rule updating key regulations pertaining to the No Surprises Act (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule changes requirements promulgated through prior interim final rules[i] to conform with two rulings by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.[ii] The Final Rule addresses specific disclosure requirements for group health plans and health insurance issuers related to the Qualified Payment Amount (“QPA”) for out-of-network (“OON”) services and sets forth the factors and information which certified Federal Independent Dispute Resolution (“IDR”) entities must consider in arbitrating disputes for OON services or items.Continue Reading Final Rule Changes No Surprises Act Requirements