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February 09, 2018 12:00 AM

Healthcare looms large in budget deal

Modern Healthcare
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    Congress gave the healthcare industry some surprising and widespread relief in its two-year budget deal. Here are some highlights:

    Appropriations

    • $1 billion in both fiscal 2018 and 2019 to the National Institutes of Health for "additional scientific research"

    • $3 billion in both fiscal 2018 and 2019 to combat the opioid epidemic, including state grants, prevention programs and law enforcement activities

    • $2 billion in both fiscal 2018 and 2019 to the Veterans Affairs Department to rebuild health clinics

    Children's Health Insurance Program

    • Extends funding through fiscal 2024, tacking on four years to the reauthorization that was enacted in January

    Chronic Care Act

    • Increases from 10,000 to 15,000 the number of seniors who can participate in the Independence at Home Demonstration Program, which tests delivering primary-care services at home. The program will also be extended by two years.

    • Creates greater opportunities for Medicare Advantage plans to participate in a CMS pilot testing new payment models for chronically ill patients.

    • Broadens opportunities for Medicare Advantage plans to offer telehealth services to beneficiaries

    • Creates more flexibility for accountable care organizations to use telehealth services

    • Expands telehealth services for stroke patients

    • Allows ACOs to decide if a beneficiary should be assigned prospectively at the beginning of a performance year

    • Aims to make it easier for two-sided risk ACOs to coordinate care

    Meaningful use

    • Eliminates a requirement that the CMS make health IT standards more stringent over time

    Medicare

    • Kills the Independent Payment Advisory Board

    • Accelerates closure of the so-called donut hole for Part D drug costs

    • Further slows the rollout of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System

    Medicare extenders

    • Permanently repeals the cap for outpatient therapy services

    • Extends for five years low-volume hospital payments

    • Extends the existing formula for Medicare-dependent hospitals by five years

    • Extends the 2018 rate for the rural home health add-one by one year, then phases it down

    Providers

    • Broadens ability of physicians assistants, nurse practitioners and others to participate in such things as hospice care and certain rehabilitation services

    Public health

    • Funds community health centers—$3.8 billion in fiscal 2018 and $4 billion in fiscal 2019

    • Funds the National Health Services Corps through 2019

    • Lawmakers took a number of steps to offset the increased healthcare spending, including reducing the update for the physician fee schedule in 2019, reducing payments for outpatient physical therapy and cutting $1.35 billion over 10 years from the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

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    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
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      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Opinion
      • Bold Moves
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • Vital Signs Blog
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Excellence in Governance
        • Health Care Hall of Fame
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Top 25 Emerging Leaders
        • Top Innovators
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Women Leaders
          • - Women to Watch
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • ESG: The Implementation Imperative Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Hospital at Home
        • - Workplace of the Future
        • - Digital Health
        • - Future of Staffing
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Video Series - The Check Up
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Data Center
      • Data Center Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
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