Can you believe we’ve almost made it to the end of the year?
I’m sure I don’t have to tell you about all that’s been going on at the Hill the past few months because it’s taken over the news cycle, but I did want to mention a few things that I myself am keeping an eye on.
For those of you that aren’t aware, CMS posted the final notice awarding URAC deemed authority for Medicare Advantage in May. The renewal is effective May 31, 2019 – June 2, 2025 which is the standard 6-year period.
By now you all have probably heard that the partial federal government shutdown has ended. It lasted a whopping 35 days and is the longest shutdown in modern history. Roughly a quarter of the government was affected with federal government employees and contractors either being furloughed (not working and not getting paid) or operating as essential personnel (having to work without getting paid). While there is a deal in place for federal workers to receive the compensation they lost over this period, contractors are unfortunately not a part of it.
I’m sure most of you heard about a recent ruling by a federal judge in Texas declaring the ACA is unconstitutional. As part of his decision, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor ruled that the individual mandate is unconstitutional because it is no longer a tax following its repeal roughly a year ago as part of the GOP’s tax legislation.
CMS recently issued a mandated report to Congress entitled Information on Medicare Telehealth that in part, provides information on the utilization of telehealth services and discusses barriers to expand its use in Medicare. CMS notes that telehealth use has increased, is rather beneficial for patients with behavioral health and/or chronic conditions and has the potential to “improve access to care, reduce costs, and enhance patient satisfaction.” But, and unfortunately with telehealth, there always seems to be some sort of ‘but’; our good ol’ government is impeding use, which is why adoption remains relatively low.
Time to queue up Kid Rock’s “Born Free” – its election season folks! AKA my favorite time of year. Okay – not really, but, I must admit that I do enjoy watching the debates and seeing which witticisms go viral.
