Another Delay in Implementation of the Medicare Part D Prescriber Enrollment Rule

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule in March 2014 that required healthcare providers prescribing medication, where the prescription is paid for by a Medicare Part D plan, to enroll in Medicare as a prescriber. The enforcement date has been delayed several times and was slated to take effect on February 1, 2017, but has recently been delayed again until January 1, 2019.

 

Under the final rule, if a provider is not enrolled in Medicare as a prescriber, the patient’s prescribed drugs will not be covered by the Part D plan. Part D plans will be required to notify patients that the prescriber is not enrolled and the plan will not cover prescriptions from that provider. The most recent delay is aimed at ensuring that prescribers are aware of the rule and reduce the immediate burden placed on the estimated 250,000 prescribers not enrolled in Medicare and the 5.25 million beneficiaries that would be impacted.  

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Delay Announced in CMS Star Rating System for Hospitals

Originally, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) intended to release a star rating system on hospitals, beginning April 21, 2016. However, CMS recently announced plans to delay the rating system until July, or potentially later. The exact timing will depend upon the development of the methodology for rating a hospital.

When the star rating system was designed, the purpose was to create a simple tool for consumers to evaluate hospitals. This system largely incorporated the previous, more complicated, performance measures that follows more than 100 quality measures. While the new star system will not replace the more complicated system, it will be in addition to the prior measures and make the review process simpler for consumers. The new star system incorporates factors such as readmission rates, mortality rates, timeliness of care, safety of care, and other patient driven statistics.

The delay is largely attributed to hospital and lawmaker complaints that the new rating system will impact consumer perceptions, when it may not have a direct bearing on the specific services sought. Moreover, a concern regarding the quality of the data, including the methodology for ensuring accuracy, remained a significant worry for the hospitals. It is unclear when the star rating system will be implemented, but hospitals and consumers should expect further information, if not the unveiling of the star rating system, this summer.

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Moratorium on Health Insurance Tax

As part of the omnibus budget bill passed by Congress and signed by the President in December of 2015, Congress implemented several delays for pending taxes under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). These delays impact the medical device tax, the “Cadillac” tax on high-cost employer health plans, and tax on health insurers.

The tax on health insurers has been delayed for one year and this moratorium is aimed at reducing the potential premium increases to consumers. This delay is for the tax due in 2017, but will have no impact on either the amount or the timing of the tax due in 2018, for calendar year 2017. The “Cadillac” tax and the medical device tax were both delayed for two years.

The health insurance industry reported that the insurer tax could have forced the health insurers to raise premiums by 3% to 4% every year. However, this delay should temporarily help keep premiums relatively stable for those receiving plans from the health exchanges, employer-based insurance, and Medicare advantage plans.  The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services issued a Frequently Asked Questions Memorandum on the delay, which can be found at the following link: https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/Downloads/FINAL_9010_FAQ_2-29-16.pdf

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Final rule on Medicaid Prescription Drug Programs

In January of 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule on covered outpatient drugs. The rule changes the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the overall Medicaid drug reimbursement program.  These changes have several goals, including reducing the cost to the federal and state governments and improving beneficiary access to covered outpatient drugs.

CMS claims the changes implemented will help the government save money in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, which had been subject to sustainability issues. One key change in the final rule is a definition of the Average Manufacture Price, which in turn gets used to determine rebates and pharmacy reimbursements subject to the federal upper limit. Similarly, the changes to the federal upper limit formula will incentivize pharmacies to use certain generic drugs. The final rules clarify many of the ambiguous sections of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program by the PPACA, including the manufacturer reporting requirements. The rule also aligns the pharmacy reimbursement system with the actual acquisition cost of the drug.

Overall, the new incentives and changes should improve the reimbursement system and help manage drug costs. This rule becomes effective April 1, 2016, although CMS is allowing comment for 60 days after publication on certain elements of the rule. The new rule can be found at the following link:

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title42-vol4/pdf/CFR-2014-title42-vol4-part447.pdf

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Final Rules Issued by CMS on Stage 3 Electronic Health Record Incentive Program

On October 6^th, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued two final rules regarding the incentive program for eligible professionals adopting electronic health records. One rule pertained to the requirements necessary to receive a stage 3 incentive payment and the second rule pertained to the electronic health record use requirements for stage 3 participants.

Of the many specifics in the final rules, eligible professionals should note a change to the meaningful use incentive payment reporting period. Previously, eligible professionals had to report meeting the requirements for a full year, but the new rule only requires reporting that the eligible professional met the specifications for 90 days, significantly shortening the reporting period. Another important change, CMS shifted hospitals to a calendar year from a fiscal year, meaning that the attestation period has been moved as well. For hospitals looking to attest to meeting the meaningful use requirements in 2015, the hospital will have to wait until the online attestation portal opens on January 4, 2016. For non-hospital eligible professionals, this will not change the attestation timing because CMS already required the use of a calendar year for these individuals.

The attestation requirements are important for Medicare providers because these 2016 incentive payments turn into Medicare penalties, a negative payment adjustment, in 2017. The final rules for stage 3 electronic health record incentive payments will be published on October 16, with comments open until December 15, 2015. The final rules can be found at the following links:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-25597.pdf

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2015-25595.pdf

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CMS announces equitable plan to improve care for under-served Medicare populations.

In an effort to reduce health-care disparities among specific Medicare populations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed the Medicare Equity Plan. Announced on September 8, 2015, the plan is designed to improve upon healthcare disparities, especially for minority populations, in four years. The equity plan, to be implemented in conjunction with other CMS priorities, focuses on improving health-care quality to under-served Medicare groups, especially those with traditionally higher percentages of disease, low quality of care, and high barriers to care.

 

The six priorities of the Medicare Equity Plan, as outlined by CMS, are as follows:

•  “Priority 1: Expand the Collection, Reporting, and Analysis of Standardized Data
• Priority 2: Evaluate Disparities Impacts and Integrate Equity Solutions Across CMS Programs
• Priority 3: Develop and Disseminate Promising Approaches to Reduce Health Disparities
• Priority 4: Increase the Ability of the Health Care Workforce to Meet the Needs of Vulnerable  Populations
• Priority 5: Improve Communication and Language Access for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency and Persons with Disabilities
• Priority 6: Increase Physical Accessibility of Health Care Facilities”

 

For those that participate in Medicare as recipients or providers, more information may be obtained from CMS at the following location:

https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/OMH/OMH_Dwnld-CMS_EquityPlanforMedicare_090615.pdf

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