Safety Net Hospitals

HAC Reduction Program Penalizes Safety-Net Hospitals At Higher Rates

February 21, 2024 - Despite recent methodology changes, teaching and safety-net hospitals continue to be more frequently penalized in the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP), a study published in JAMA Network Open found. All acute care hospitals participating in the CMS inpatient prospective payment systems, except those in Maryland, must participate...

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Hospital Groups Rally Against HHS’ Interpretation of DSH Payments Formula

by Victoria Bailey

The American Hospital Association (AHA) and five other hospital groups are calling on the Supreme Court to challenge the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) interpretation of...

Over 230 House Reps Join Fight Against Medicaid DSH Cuts

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Enacting scheduled cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments would leave the most vulnerable patients and providers open to more access to care problems, a bipartisan group of...

MedPAC Recognizes Impact of Inflation on Docs, Suggests Higher Rates

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) recommended increasing physician payment rates based on an inflation-based index for Medicare. The independent advisory group suggested in its March...

As Medicaid Unwinds, Hospitals Seek Relief from DSH Payment Cut

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Hospital and health system advocates are calling on lawmakers to stop an $8 billion cut to Medicaid Disproportionate Share (DSH) payments to safety-net hospitals. A letter sent to Congressional...

CMS Proposes to Implement Changes to Medicaid DSH Calculations

by Jacqueline LaPointe

CMS has proposed a rule to update the regulatory requirements of the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program in response to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, including implementing...

Judge Wants HHS to Remedy 340B Underpayments to Hospitals

by Jacqueline LaPointe

A federal court has decided to let HHS determine how to repay hospitals for years of 340B underpayments. The decision issued Tuesday by the US District Court for the District of Columbia comes as a...

Study: Safety-Net Hospitals Miss Out on Some Medicaid DSH Payments

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Over a third of Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments may have been misallocated, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine and University of Pennsylvania investigators. The...

CJR Model Policy Changes Boosted Penalties for Safety-Net Hospitals

by Victoria Bailey

Safety-net hospitals and hospitals with high Black and Hispanic populations received disproportionate penalties under the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) bundled payment model between...

AHA: Metropolitan Anchor Hospitals Serve More Vulnerable Populations

by Victoria Bailey

Metropolitan Anchor Hospitals (MAHs), which serve low-income and marginalized urban populations, offer a disproportionately high share of uncompensated care and have lower operating margins compared to...

AHA Asks Federal Court to Immediately Stop 340B Payment Cuts

by Jacqueline LaPointe

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has asked the US District Court for the District of Columbia to order HHS to immediately halt underpayments to hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Pricing...

Safety-Net Hospitals Lose Challenge of Medicare DSH Payment Rule

by Jacqueline LaPointe

In a narrow ruling, the Supreme Court recently sided with HHS in a case challenging a multi-billion dollar cut to Medicare payments to safety-net hospitals. The Court ruled 5 to 4 that HHS did have...

Hospital Groups Urge Courts to Enforce 340B Drug Pricing Requirement

by Victoria Bailey

Five hospital organizations, including the American Hospital Association (AHA) and 340B Health, have urged two US Courts of Appeals to uphold the 340B drug pricing requirement for pharmaceutical...

Safety-Net Hospitals Lose $2.2M from 340B Drug Discount Limits

by Victoria Bailey

Safety-net hospitals have faced around $2.2 million in annualized losses due to pharmaceutical companies limiting 340B drug discounts at community and specialty pharmacies, a report from 340B Health...

Safety-Net Hospitals See Losses from 340B Drug Discount Limits

by Victoria Bailey

Safety-net hospitals have faced losses of up to $9 million due to a handful of drug companies limiting 340B discounts on prescription drugs dispensed through community pharmacies, according to a report...

More Pharma Companies Limit 340B Discounts to Safety-Net Hospitals

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Bristol Myers Squibb has notified safety-net hospitals participating in the 340B Drug Discount Program that it will only recognize two designated contract pharmacy locations per hospitals. The company...

Senate Scraps Medicaid DSH Cuts in Latest Build Back Better Act

by Jacqueline LaPointe

An updated Build Back Better Act from the Senate Finance Committee does not include provisions that would reduce Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. A previous version of the bill...

Safety-Net Hospital Profitability Sinks as Demand Rises

by Jill McKeon

The COVID-19 pandemic has put significant strain on safety-net hospital profitability, as explored in The Healthcare Divide, a new documentary from FRONTLINE, NPR, and American University’s...

Value-Based Incentives Didn’t Reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Two of Medicare’s value-based incentive programs did not improve the levels or trends of certain hospital-acquired infections, potentially widening the gap between safety-net and non-safety-net...

HHS Releases $15B in Coronavirus Relief to Medicaid Providers

by Jacqueline LaPointe

Medicaid providers and safety-net hospitals are getting a larger slice of coronavirus relief funds after several calls from industry leaders for HHS to allocate more emergency payments to the...

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