Tag:Health Insurance
An Overview of Illinois Public Act 100-0538 Compliance with the Hyde Amendment
Illinois Public Act 100-0538, commonly referred to as House Bill 40, was signed into law on September 28, 2017. The Act repeals provisions in existing Illinois laws that aim to make abortion illegal should there be any change to the federal standard. Additionally, the Act lifts a ban on insurance coverage for abortions for low-income individuals enrolled in Medicaid. While enacting House Bill 40 was a win for advocates of reproductive rights in Illinois, the state will still need to comply with federal anti-abortion laws, such as the Hyde Amendment.
Current Trends in Medicaid 1115 Waiver Requests: Are They Schemes to Avoid Compliance with Disfavored Requirements?
States looking for flexibility or creativity in implementing Medicaid programs can apply for waivers from the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). According to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment Access Commission (MACPAC), waiver use is quite extensive—resulting in “wide variations in program design, covered services, and eligible populations among states and even within states.” As of September 2017, 33 states account for 41 approved waivers, and 18 states have 21 total pending waivers. The scope of these waivers traditionally broadens eligibility and creates new programs in states where Medicaid needs are not expressly recognized by federal law. Current pending applications suggest, however, that states seeking waivers now do so as a means to circumvent Medicaid program requirements they disagree with.
Insurance Plans and Opioids: Releasing and Raising the Barriers to Prescribe
With the opioid addiction epidemic continuing to rise in the United States, several insurance companies loosened the existing barriers to addiction treatment. Aetna Insurance Company joined Cigna and Anthem in removing key provisions in its insurance plans that require additional authorization prior to providing addiction treatment. At the same time, Cigna proposed to strengthen barriers to physician prescribing of opioids in an attempt to further address the opioid epidemic.
MACRA 101: Noteworthy Changes in the Final Rule
Alanna Kroeker Executive Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2017 As our MACRA 101 series comes to an end, this article is intended to point out key differences between the proposed rule released earlier this year and the final rule which was released October 14th. The lengthy final rule, reaching almost 2,400 …
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MACRA 101: Advanced Alternative Payment Models
Bherti Patel Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2018 The Quality Payment Program (QPP) will reward delivery of quality patient care through the following two programs: the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and the Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). These two programs will allow clinicians and physicians to provide care in a …
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MACRA 101: MIPS and the Clinical Practice Improvement Reporting Category
Christine Bulgozdi Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2018 The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (“MIPS”) is one of the two different payment methods that MACRA will use for eligible clinicians. Clinicians will be evaluated based on a single Composite Performance Score from four reporting categories: Quality, Resource Use, Advancing Care Information and …
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MACRA 101: MIPS and the Advancing Care Information Category
Alanna Kroeker Executive Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2017 This article will spell out the details for the Advancing Care Information (ACI) category of the Merit Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). This category accounts for 25% of a clinician’s overall composite score and is intended to replace the current Meaningful Use …
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MACRA 101: MIPS and the Resource Use Category
Bherti Patel Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2018 As previously discussed, MIPS will streamline Medicare’s current quality measures into one composite score from four reporting categories: Quality, Resource Use, Advancing Care Information, and Clinical Practice Improvement. This score will then be used to determine the reimbursement to a clinician based …
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MACRA 101: MIPS and the Quality Reporting Category
Christine Bulgozdi Associate Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2018 The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (“MIPS”) is one of the two different payment methods that MACRA will use for eligible clinicians. MIPS replaces the existing fee-for-service model and is expected to be the payment track that most clinicians take. Clinicians will be evaluated …
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Understanding Medicare Documentation Requirements
Brittany Tomkies Executive Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2017 With more than one billion claims processed annually by the Medicare Fee-For Service (FFS) Program for more than one million health care professionals, understanding and identifying common errors encountered by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and other contractors such as Recovery Auditors (RACs) …
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