On May 8, the House Committee on Ways and Means (W&M) held a markup to consider six health-related bills. All of the bills were reported favorably out of the committee.
The Low-Volume Hospital Medicare and Medicare Dependent Hospital programs will continue into December under a stopgap spending bill Congress sent to President Joe Biden on Friday.
The Low-Volume Hospital Medicare and Medicare Dependent Hospital programs will continue into December under a stopgap spending bill Congress sent to President Joe Biden on Friday.
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The American Hospital Association is asking Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to ensure that hospitals participating in the 340B drug pricing program continue to have access to the program despite changes in their payer mix as a result of COVID-19.
The AHA specifically requests a Section 1135 waiver of the Social Security Act for certain 340B program eligibility criteria for 340B hospitals enrolled during the public health emergency that may have experienced a temporary change in payer mix due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The public health emergency resulted in hospitals suspending nonurgent services and shifting resources to treat COVID-19 patients. These actions, combined with a slow resurgence of patient volumes, lowered the proportion of hospital patients paying through Medicaid or Medicare.