The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday issued a final rule updating Medicare and Medicaid requirements for the more than 100 Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly in 31 states, the first major update since 2006. CMS said the changes will provide greater operational flexibility, remove redundancies and outdated information, and codify existing practice. For example, the rule finalizes AHA-supported provisions in the 2016 proposed rule that expand the definition of primary care practitioner for the interdisciplinary care team to include non-physician caregivers, such as nurse practitioners or physician assistants; allow interdisciplinary team members to fulfill multiple clinical roles; enhance screening protocols for hiring employees; and require state Medicaid capitation payments to be linked to a general payment standard. PACE is a unique model of risk-based integrated care for frail elderly individuals. Enrollment in the programs has increased by 120 percent since 2011 to more than 45,000 older adults, most of whom are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.

Related News Articles

Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Sept. 18 released a final rule on policy and technical changes to Medicare Advantage, the Medicare…
Headline
The Senate Sept. 19 failed to adopt a continuing resolution by a 44-48 vote  that would have funded the government through Nov. 21. The CR was passed by…
Headline
The AHA submitted a statement Sept. 17 for a House Ways and Means Committee markup session on a series of health care and other bills. Specifically, the AHA…
Headline
A bipartisan House letter by Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., Gus M. Bilirakis, R-Fla., and Diana DeGette, D-Colo., urged House…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 expressed support for the Ensuring Access to Essential Providers Act, legislation that would require Medicare Advantage plans to cover…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 15 urged Aetna to rescind its recently announced “level of severity inpatient payment” policy, saying that it “could erode the transparency…