Archived NASL Health Policy Briefings

Pilots and Demonstrations in the Health Reform Legislation
June 17, 2010
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act offer many opportunities for NASL members to participate directly in cutting edge program pilots and demonstration projects. Many of these will have a profound effect on the future landscape for providing services to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. As a result NASL will have the chance to affect and influence policy.
NASL Policy Counsel Polsinelli Shughart will review the key demonstration projects and pilot projects that were established by the new health care reform law. It will be critically important for providers to stay current as these programs are implemented by CMS. Join NASL to learn how to help shape these new payment and policy initiatives.

Health Reform - At The Finish Line
January 13, 2010

Now that the U.S. Senate has passed a health reform bill, we move into the next step in the legislative process, where negotiators from the Senate and House will be appointed to a conference committee to work out the differences between the Senate- and House-passed bills. Before the measure can be sent to the president, each chamber must pass a bill containing identical language.

Join NASL Policy Counsels at Bryan Cave, LLP to discuss their predictions for the passage of this historic legislation and give an update on the delayed cut in the fee schedule.

Long Term Care Health Policy Briefing #3: Health Reform Update
August 12, 2009
The debate over health care reform that has gripped Capitol Hill this summer will now stretch into the fall. President Obama had urged congressional leaders to vote on health care reform bills in the House of Representatives and Senate before the start of the August recess. While the House has reached an agreement, the Senate Finance Committee does not plan to have a proposal before the summer recess.

Join policy experts from NASL Policy Counsel, Bryan Cave, LLP and AHCA’s Senior Vice President, Policy & Government Relations, David Hebert, as they provide insight into the President’s timeline, the House and Senate version of healthcare reform legislation and what this means for Medicare services provided in long term care settings.

Speakers will also discuss the 2010 SNF PPS Final Rule, how the case-mix recalibration will cut more than $1 billion from SNF funding in FY 2010 and CMS' intention to require concurent therapy minutes be allocated beginning with the introduction of RUG-IV, beginning October 1, 2010.

Speakers:
David Hebert, Senior Vice President, Policy & Government Relations, American Health Care Association
Alan Parver, Esq., NASL Policy Counsel, Bryan Cave, LLP

Long Term Care Health Policy Briefing #2: SNF PPS Update
June 10, 2009
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed rule for the FY 2010 Skilled Nursing Facility PPS calling for an overall reduction of $390 million in SNF payments compared to the current fiscal year. While the rule provides for a 2.1 percent market basket increase, it would cut more than $1 billion by recalibrating the case-mix indexes (CMIs), which is something the agency first proposed doing last year. The rule also proposes to implement a revised case-mix classification methodology (RUG-IV) in FY 2011, which begins October 1, 2010, in conjunction with MDS 3.0 implementation. The RUG refinement reflects updated staff time measurement data derived from the recently-completed Staff Time and Resource Intensity Verification (STRIVE) project. NASL Policy Counsel will examine the proposed rule and NASL members Garry Pezzano and Donna Thiel will review actions to address provisions important to NASL members. 

Long Term Care Health Policy Briefing #1: How Health Care Reform is Changing Medicare 
May 7, 2009
President Obama has proposed sweeping changes that will transform the way health care delivered in the United States, and Congress is scrambling to meet the president’s goal by passing health reform legislation this summer. Congressional leaders have expressed their intent to include changes to the Medicare program in the massive reform effort, as they try to break the logjam that has stalled meaningful progress on addressing problems with the physician fee schedule, therapy caps and DMEPOS competitive bidding. What does the Obama health reform plan mean for Medicare services provided in long-term care settings? This webinar will offer Medicare providers and suppliers a glimpse of what to expect when it hosts the first in a series of health policy webinars.