Developing Story: Opposition Grows as Hospital Groups Push Back on 340B Cuts

Opposition is growing to a number of proposals in the 2018 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule, according to comments by hospital organizations released Wednesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and reported by RACmonitor on Thursday.

Notably among those proposals is the plan to slash hospital 340B drug payments. And notable among those hospital organizations, which includes the American hospital Association (AHA), is America’s Essential Hospitals (AEH).

Speaking on behalf of AEH during the next edition of Monitor Mondays will be the Association’s policy director, Erin O’Malley. O’Malley directs federal regulatory policy initiatives for America’s Essential Hospitals, focusing on safety-net financing and healthcare access. She holds a master of legislative affairs from George Washington University.

The broadcast rundown also will include:

• Monday Rounds: Ronald Hirsch, MD, vice president of R1 Physician Advisory Services, will be making his Monday Rounds with another installment of his popular segment.

• Hot Topics: Monitor Mondays senior correspondent Nancy Beckley, president and CEO for Nancy Beckley and Associates, will have all the latest news and Monitor Monday Listener Survey.

• Hurricane Update: The twin impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Harvey continue to impact hospitals, patients, and physicians. Even the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals (OMHA) was forced to close its Miami field office this week. But there is support for providers. Reporting on Medicare waivers for disaster-related claims will be Angela Phillips, nationally renowned inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) authority and president of Images & Associates.

• America’s Rural Health Report: Topic authority Janelle Ali-Dinar, vice president of rural health for MyGenetx, will report on saving healthcare for rural populations.

• Risky Business: Healthcare attorney David Glaser with Fredrikson & Byron will have another example of a potentially troublesome issue that could pose a risk to your facility.

Register now for this special news broadcast coming your way on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 at 10 a.m. ET.

Monitor with us.™

PROGRAM NOTE: Dedicated physicians need their evaluation and management (E/M) services accurately coded and documented in order to ward off investigations by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS OIG) and audits from third-party auditors. Coming soon will be an exclusive RACmonitor four-part, on-demand series on E&M that can help you protect your facility and physicians. Register now on the RAC University bookstore.