There will be no digest next week, Monday July 8th. We will return on Monday, July 15th.
Coming up in just two weeks is the annual Zimmet Conference, hosted by ECap Intel Co-Founder Marc Zimmet. The theme of this year’s conference is “Bon Voyage Reimbursement”. It’s a great opportunity to hear from some of the smartest minds in the sector. Owing to some calendar quirks, this year's conference is being held earlier than usual. For more information and to register, please visit the conference site. We’d love to see you there!
CHEVRON DEFERENCE:
On Friday, the Supreme Court overturned the “Chevron Deference”. The ruling represents a monumental shift in federal regulatory authority. We’ve mentioned the case before, but in layman’s terms, the doctrine underpinned federal agency power to regulate in areas not expressly defined by Congress. Besides the immediate short-term benefit as it relates to the minimum staffing rule (which is now even more likely to be overturned by the courts), in the bigger picture the Court’s ruling opens the door to a wide range of challenges, including many that are specifically relevant to SNF’s. For a more thorough breakdown of the ruling, see here. The Congressional Research Service issued a report (PDF) late Friday on the ruling. For those so inclined, the full text of the ruling can be found here (PDF).
WHITE HOUSE:
The White House focused this week on the establishment of a new “Economic Diplomacy Action Group”, identifying new pathways to expand access to free community college, and highlighted another 100,000 pensions that have been protected by funding through the American Rescue Plan. One item of note:
- They announced, via HUD, an award of more than $85 million for the “Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing” (PRO) grant program. The goal of the program is to make it easier to develop and build affordable housing by streamlining the permitting process and revamping zoning rules. If you’re located in communities that received an award, there may be opportunities to identify affordable housing for staff. A full list of grantees with more detailed information is available here.
CONGRESS:
Even as Congress heads out of town for the July 4th recess, the challenges of getting any legislation passed in an election year remain apparent. Despite the challenges, Congress plans on beginning their work on tax legislation after they return from the recess. One reason for optimism? House Speaker Johnson appears to finally be gaining traction in getting the GOP on the same page when it comes to spending, something that simply hasn’t been the case over the last few years. Still, with the prospect of many 2017 tax breaks coming to an end in 2025, and the GOP continuing to load up must-pass legislation with messaging items that stand no chance of getting through the Senate, the stage is set for a protracted fight over funding. Elsewhere in the political world:
- Obviously, the major news out of DC was the President’s poor showing in the debate, which is a major concern for Democrats. As reporting highlights worries about the President, Democrats are thinking about what comes next, and the public calls for the President to step down are growing. From a practical perspective, the Washington Post explored both the messy process of how replacing the President as presumptive nominee for the party would work, as well as potential options. Ultimately, any real scenario would require the President himself to choose to drop out, which remains unlikely.
- Earlier in the week, the primaries showed weakness on the part of both the GOP and for progressive Democrats. The makeup of Congress post November is an important consideration to consider as polls, even before the debate, were starting to skew in favor of the former President.
- Despite all the politics and campaigning, there’s still legislating to be done! A bipartisan group of more than 50 lawmakers sent a letter to CMS calling for more oversight over the use of AI in Medicare Advantage plans. You can access a copy here (PDF).
- The American Hospital Association sent a letter to support the CRA Resolutions in Congress that would overturn the staffing mandate rule. It’s yet another prominent voice highlighting what a poor policy the rule is.
AGENCIES:
HHS announced the names of 64 drugs that Medicare Part B beneficiaries will pay less from July 1st through September 30th. The fact sheet with the full list of drugs is available here (PDF).
HHS released their final rule related to the sharing of data by providers under the Cures Act. Here are the links to PDF versions of the fact sheet and FAQ. The full final rule is available at the Federal Register.
CMS released the 2025 End Stage Renal Disease proposed payment rule. The rule is scheduled to be published to the Federal Register on July 5th, at which point a 60-day comment period will kick off. In the meantime, should you feel the need to do so, you can find a copy of the relatively svelte 229-page rule here (PDF).
CMS also released the 2025 Home Health prospective payment rule. The rule is scheduled to be published to the Federal Register on July 3rd, at which point a 60-day comment period will kick off. In the meantime, if you’re in the mood for some light reading, the 250-page rule can be found here (PDF).
ARPA-H opened another round of funding opportunities for small businesses involved with innovative technology. If you’ve got something new and exciting you’re working on, please visit their site for more information.
While not strictly relevant to SNF’s, the Treasury announced a new set of actions designed to increase affordable housing, including the availability of more than $100 million over the next three years for the CDFI fund with a specific goal of increasing housing in distressed areas.
FROM THE NOTEBOOK:
- Following up on a story we’ve been monitoring regarding NYC’s plan to move some retirees to a MA plan, the United Federation of Teachers did an about face and told the city that they no longer support the switch.
- Kaiser Health News explored what happens when healthcare facilities, primarily hospitals, shut down in rural communities and how that affects the entire community.
- Canada continues to think outside the box in tackling their healthcare shortage as they embrace hiring foreign nurses. Meanwhile, here in the US, the state department put in a freeze on bringing in nurses.
- Change healthcare finally let folks know what information may have been accessed during the cyberattack earlier this year.
- Maryland is looking for a new heard for their survey office as the head of the agency announced her resignation.
- Politico hosted a debate watch party at an assisted living facility. It went about as well as you’d expect…
z-INTEL WhatsApp info:
- Group Invite Link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EoNiPi8ezrOBV6SW1Gf7nD
- Status Link: https://wa.me/message/WMSWZATTB5D6E1
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