On February 26, 2009, President Barack Obama unveiled the proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, which begins on October 1, 2009. An overview of the $3.55 trillion budget is available here.
von Briesen Health Law Blog
February 27, 2009
Latest Senate Markup of H.R.1 regarding HIT
Click here to view the entire document.
February 23, 2009
Hospital Assessment Becomes Law
On February 19, 2009, Governor Doyle signed the Budget Adjustment Bill (2009 Senate Bill 62), creating an assessment on hospital gross patient revenues. The assessment is expected to bring into Wisconsin hospitals a net gain of approximately $200 million in higher Medicaid payments for fiscal year 2009, which payments are expected to begin flowing in next month as implementation plans are already underway. The assessment was first proposed over two years ago, but the enacted version increases the reimbursement amount to hospitals by over $50 million annually. The assessment will take effect retroactively back to July 1, 2008, with the first full year of implementation beginning July 1, 2009.
For more information, click on http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/Misc/2009_02_16WI%20Leg.pdf, which contains the Legislative Fiscal Bureau’s summary of the entire Budget Adjustment legislation.
February 16, 2009
On February 12, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (”IRS”) released the final report on the tax-exempt hospital project that began in 2006.
The main goal of the project was for the IRS and the public to better understand how tax-exempt hospitals benefit their communities. In July 2007, the IRS released an interim report summarizing the reported community benefit data from questionnaires sent to a sample of more than 500 tax-exempt hospitals. The final report summarizes the community benefit data and executive compensation across various demographics, including the type of community in which the hospital is located and the hospital’s revenue size. Read the executive summary of the final report here.
February 12, 2009
The Economy’s Impact on National Health Expenditures
CMS recently released its National Health Expenditure (NHE) projections for 2008-2018. The projections reveal that over the next ten years average annual health spending growth is anticipated to outpace average annual growth in the overall economy by 2.1 percentage points per year, and to significantly outpace gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2008 and 2009. NHE growth rates between 2008 and 2009 are projected to be the largest single-year growth rates in GDP history. Historical data shows that rapid increases in the health share of GDP coincide with periods of economic recessions. You can find the NHE Projections report here.
February 6, 2009
CMS is moving forward with a two-stage implementation of the RAC program nationwide, following the withdrawal of bids by two companies to become RAC contractors.
For more information, visit the CMS web site.
Wisconsin Hospital Association Information Center (WHAIC) announces two new reports on its PricePoint web site.
The web site lists various inpatient and outpatient charges around the state.
February 4, 2009
On Wednesday, February 4, President Barack Obama signed a bill extending health coverage to 4 million uninsured children, a move he called a first step toward fulfilling a campaign pledge to provide insurance for all Americans.
The children’s health bill calls for spending an additional $32.8 billion on SCHIP, which now enrolls an estimated 7 million children. Lawmakers generated that revenue by raising the federal tobacco tax. Health officials project that there are about 8 million to 9 million uninsured children in the United States.
February 2, 2009
AHA Comments on CMS’s Proposed DFRR Rulemaking
The American Hospital Association (“AHA”) sent a letter in January to the Office of Budget Management (“OBM”) in response to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (“CMS”) proposed rulemaking for a Disclosure of Financial Relationships Report (“DFRR”). In the letter, the AHA urges the OBM to deny CMS authorization to proceed with the DFRR information collection plan. CMS would otherwise require hospitals that receive the DFRR audit survey to complete the report and disclose information on their financial relationships with physicians. Read the letter here: 09116-cl-cms10236.pdf.