Posts Tagged ‘CMS’
Medicare Enrolled will see Lower Costs on Select Drugs in 2026 – Herb Weiss
CMS Continues Efforts to Negotiate Lower Drug Costs By Herb Weiss, contributing writer, aging issues With Medicare Open Enrollment ending next week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that last year’s Medicare negotiations produced a net savings of 44%—about $12 billion—on 15 widely used prescription drugs that treat cancer and other…
Read MoreSpecial Election Open for RI Medicare Advantage Members Impacted by Brown University Health Action
Governor Dan McKee and the Office of Healthy Aging announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have approved a two-month, special election period for Rhode Island Medicare Advantage subscribers whose insurance coverage was impacted when Brown University Health terminated its contract with UnitedHealthcare. The State has been advocating for this special election…
Read MoreAdvocates, providers on new Nursing Home mandates – Herb Weiss
Advocates, Providers Talk Turkey About CMS’s New Nursing Home Mandate – Herb Weiss by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues In the shadow of Rhode Island’s ongoing staffing shortage, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its 329-page final rule on Nursing Home Minimum Staffing Standards (CMS 3442-F) on April 22 in…
Read MoreFederal Court denies attempt to stop Medicare drug negotiation program – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Over two months ago, as supporters of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) celebrated the one-year anniversary of the passage of the historic legislation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), along with drugmakers filed multiple lawsuits to block the IRA’s drug…
Read MorePutting the brakes on CMS proposed minimum staffing for nursing facilities – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issue In response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recent release of proposed rule to establish minimum federal staffing requirements, last week 97 members of Congress, mostly Republican, called on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra to put the breaks on CMS’s proposed…
Read MoreOrder your 4 FREE COVID tests from US Govt. TODAY
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Read MoreIncreased funding must be tied to nursing home mandated minimum staffing – Herb Weiss
Increased funding must be tied to mandated minimum staffing – Herb Weiss By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to establish comprehensive staffing requirements for nursing homes—including, for the first time, national minimum nurse staffing standards. The proposed rule seeks to would ratchet up…
Read MoreMedicare to negotiate select drug prices with Big Pharma, lists first 10 drugs. – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues While critics are attempting to go through the courts to put the brakes on allowing Medicare to negotiate and set drug prices, last week, the Biden administration announced its list of 10 drugs that will be subject to price negotiations mandated by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). …
Read MoreWake up call on spiraling brand-name drug prices – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues A new pharmaceutical drug price report that is both timely and overdue has been released by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, following on the heels of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) releasing in June, which revised guidance for the historic Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. …
Read MoreNursing home workforce crisis deepens with minimum staffing standards – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on senior issues “The long-term care industry is enduring the worst workforce crisis in its history, in Rhode Island, and across the country. Although providers are committed to recruiting and retaining staff to provide quality care for residents, despite our best efforts, many nursing homes have fallen short of the…
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