A Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is expected to be handed down this month. Ahead of the ruling, agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as politicians and pundits, have been speculating on what impact the ruling will have on Medicaid.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule that would facilitate implementation of aspects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that direct the department to define essential health benefits.
On May 31, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new funding opportunity of $25 million authorized by the Affordable Care Act, which will help states expand their ability to help seniors and people with disabilities access home and community-based long-term services and supports (LTSS). The funding will support aging and disability resource centers in most states over the next one to three years.
The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) has released a report, “Devaluing People with Disabilities: Medical Procedures that Violate Civil Rights,” which discusses the medical decision-making process for people with disabilities.
On May 23, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $4.9 million in Affordable Care Act funding to support family-to-family health information centers, primarily nonprofit organizations run by and for families with children with special healthcare needs.
This funding will support 51 centers—one in each state and the District of Columbia. A list of awards can be found here.
On May 23, researchers at George Washington University’s Hirsh Health Law and Policy Program launched Health Information and the Law, a website designed to serve as a practical online resource regarding federal and state laws governing access, use, release and publication of health information.
On May 24, the Commonwealth Fund posted a blog by Tricia McGinnis offering takeaways from recently-released proposed regulations for implementing the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid primary care rate increase.
In a letter on May 10, the American Medical Association (AMA) asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to delay the implementation deadline for ICD-10 for an additional year—to Oct. 1, 2015.
The International Classifications of Diseases, 10th Revision, (ICD-10) is a system that physicians and other providers use to code all diagnoses, symptoms and procedures recorded in conjunction with hospital care in the United States.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will host several calls in May discussing the benefits and provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). All calls are open to the public and include a Q&A session with HHS staff.
On May 16, the topic will be "The Health Care Law and Access to Care." On May 30, the topic will be "The Health Care Law and Home and Community-Based Services," which will include a discussion of the new home and community-based services that are now available as a result of the ACA. The new Community First Choice Option will also be discussed.