In honor New Year’s there will be no digest next week, January 1^st, 2024. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! The digest will return Monday, January 8^th.

WHITE HOUSE:

The White House focused this week on the launch of a "Novel Space Activities" framework for private space activities, new executive action on Russia, and the initial rollout of the new “American Climate Corp” that was announced in September. One item of indirect interest for us:

• Following up on the earlier launch of their new “VSAFE” campaign designed to protect veterans against fraud, they held the first meeting of the task force covering multiple agencies. For those of our readers who employ veterans, this is a very useful resource that they may appreciate hearing about from you.

CONGRESS:

The Senate headed home this week after passing their final bill of the year, a 3-month funding extension for the FAA, leaving unresolved a laundry list of items, including border security, funding for Israel & Ukraine, and, of course, an actual government funding bill. One major complication in the path forward is that automatic spending cuts are in the works, should Congress not be able to come to an agreement. For now, border security talks will continue off-the-record over the end of year holidays in the hope of getting a head-start on January. With only 10 legislative days till the first round of government funding expires on January 19^th, it’s shaping up to be a very tough January. Elsewhere in the political world:

• House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D – CT) issued a handy explainer on the automatic spending cuts that are coming, if Congress can’t come to an agreement, and the dates that each comes into effect. You can download a copy here (PDF).

• A preview of the federal landscape for 2024 through the eyes of the two Senate Leaders.

• With the bombshell court ruling in Colorado keeping former President Trump off the ballot, for now, Politico explored the political implications for other states and the GOP.

• A good read on the wake up call facing “crisis communication” following the recent debacle at the college antisemitism hearing. It’s a worthwhile look at anyone who thinks about public perception and PR.

• We tracked PBM legislation discussed in Congress this past year. Fierce Healthcare looked at where the efforts stand and what 2024 may hold.

• One CRS report from this week: A look at the federal policy as it relates to Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS). You can download a copy here (PDF).

AGENCIES:

The IRS announced a new voluntary disclosure program related to the ERC. The program allows those who participated in the ERC to return 80% of the funding (and keep the remaining 20%), while providing the IRS more information related to their ERC filings. They also published a FAQ on the program. You can also find a summary on the program from Kuno Bell right here at the ECap Intel community.

CMS issued a new proposed rule outlining an appeals process for Medicare beneficiaries who believe that hospitals inappropriately classified their stays as an observation instead of an admission. The rule will be published to the Federal Register on Wednesday, December 27^th, at which point a comment campaign will kick off. You can download a copy of the unpublished rule here (PDF). Bloomberg has a summary of the rule.

With the effects of the Medicaid unwinding becoming clearer, HHS released new data showing the impact that it’s had on Medicaid unenrollment. The primary focus is on children with HHS Secretary Becerra sent letters to the governors for the states most impacted by the unwinding. Accompanying the data release, CMS released a guide for how states can do more to ensure beneficiaries are able to maintain their coverage. You can download a copy here (PDF).

The OIG at HHS released an audit of HRSA’s guidance for the Provider Relief Fund, finding that while the fund was helpful, the guidance was confusing and difficult to utilize. You can download a copy of the report here (PDF).

FROM THE NOTEBOOK:

• The Kaiser Family Foundation is a terrific resource for information related to health policy. They released their 2023 year in review for trending health policy issues.

• A long read from PEW Research on how states utilized their pandemic funding. It’s a good insight into state budgets, something that is especially important as we approach 2024 legislative sessions.

• Pennsylvania is asking the federal government for flexibility in their Medicaid program to tackle social problems. One interesting item: making it easier for parolees to access Medicaid.

• Following on the heels of the recent snafu related to the MDS form, Zimmet Healthcare held a webinar on how provider can protect themselves moving forward. McKnight’s has a summary and the webinar itself can be found here.

ECAP INTEL TOOL OF THE MONTH: Medicare Part B Reimbursements

z-INTEL has released detailed Medicare Part B therapy reimbursement for every SNF in the country. As Intel draws directly from distinct CMS datasets, SNFs can measure Part B reimbursement against rehab department expenses. This analysis is critical for therapy contract pricing, long-term Quality Measures, and ISNP financial performance. The information can be found under the Part B billing tab for each facility.

Questions? Email us at support@myzpax.com.

z-INTEL WhatsApp info:

• Group Invite Link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EoNiPi8ezrOBV6SW1Gf7nD
• Status Link: https://wa.me/message/WMSWZATTB5D6E1