12 Nov 2018

HHS RELEASES PHYSICAL ACTIVITY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS, 2ND EDITION

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ second edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans was released at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions meeting Nov. 11. The second edition provides evidence-based recommendations for youth ages 3 through 17 and adults to safely get the physical activity they

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06 Nov 2018

CMS RELEASES FINAL 2019 PHYSICIAN FEE SCHEDULE NOV. 1

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final 2019 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and the Quality Payment Program (QPP) rule Nov. 1. According to CMS officials, the final rule modernizes Medicare payment policies to promote access to virtual care, saving Medicare beneficiaries time and money while improving

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02 Nov 2018

CMS DELAYS PROPOSED CHANGES TO E/M CODES IN FINAL RULE UNTIL 2021

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proven that “final rules” are not always final. In response to complaints from physicians, CMS has delayed major changes to E/M codes until 2021. While CMS moved ahead with parts of its plan to consolidate codes for Medicare patient visits, it made

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01 Nov 2018

WISCONSIN MEDICAID WORK PROGRAM GETS CMS OK OCT. 31

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)  approved a waiver to implement work requirements in Wisconsin’s Medicaid program Oct. 31, making it the fourth state to enact such an approach.   Under the waiver, beneficiaries in the state’s BadgerCare program would have to engage in 80 hours a month of “community

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01 Nov 2018

HHS ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE IPI DRUG PRICING MODEL

    By: Dan Best SEE RELATED ARTICLE: https://www.veintherapynews.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1557&action=edit   Last week, as part of fulfilling President Trump’s promise to lower drug prices and cut down on foreign governments’ freeriding, HHS put forth a new way of paying for physician-administered drugs within Medicare, the International Price Index (IPI) Model. The model aims to:

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31 Oct 2018

CMS SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED RULE TO USE IPI PAY MODEL BY DEC 31

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to test whether phasing down the Medicare payment amount for selected Part B drugs to more closely align with international prices will meet President Trump’s blueprint to lower drug costs and reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients. CMS is soliciting public comments by

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18 Oct 2018

HHS FINES ANTHEM $16 MILLION FOR LARGEST BREACH IN U.S. HISTORY

            Anthem has been hit with a $16 million fine from the federal government as part of a settlement from its massive January 2015 breach, according to HealthData Management. That incident was a result of a cyberattack that enabled hackers to access the electronic protected health information of nearly 79

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16 Oct 2018

DRUGMAKERS FUNNEL MILLIONS TO LAWMAKERS; A FEW DOZEN GET $100,000-PLUS

  By Emmarie Huetteman and Sydney Lupkin Before the midterm elections heated up, dozens of drugmakers had already poured about $12 million into the war chests of hundreds of members of Congress. Since the beginning of last year, 34 lawmakers have each received more than $100,000 from pharmaceutical companies. Two

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16 Oct 2018

TELEMEDICINE GIANT HEALTHRIGHT, 4 COMPOUNDING PHARMACIES CHARGED WITH $1 BILLION FRAUD

  HealthRight CEO Scott Roix of the telemedicine company HealthRight pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges brought by the Department of Justice. Roix and the company also pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud associated with a telemarketing scheme to sell dietary supplements, skin creams and testosterone to patients. Roix and the

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09 Oct 2018

CMS ANNOUNCES PARTICIPANTS IN NEW VALUE-BASED BUNDLED PAYMENT MODEL

  On Oct. 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that 1,299 entities have signed agreements with the agency to participate in the Administration’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement – Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model.  The participating entities will receive bundled payments for certain episodes of care as

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