The House Committee on Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations today held a hearing on potential changes to the annual inflation factor that the Census Bureau uses to measure poverty, which would have eligibility implications for a number of federal programs, including Medicaid and premium and cost-sharing subsidies for health insurance exchange enrollees. The White House Office of Management and Budget last year sought input on certain alternative inflation measures, such as the Chained CPI for All Urban Consumers and the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. The AHA believes the Official Poverty Measure does not accurately reflect how many people in the country live in poverty, but in its comments to OMB, also said the proposed alternatives “are critically flawed in that they do not accurately represent low-income and poverty-level households.” 

Related News Articles

Headline
A JAMA internal medicine study published Sept. 8 found that since the COVID-19 pandemic, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries have been experiencing longer…
Headline
A Health Affairs study published Sept. 2 found that less than 40% of Medicare beneficiaries with opioid use disorder received standard care in alignment with…
Headline
The AHA Sept. 3 released a study conducted by KNG Health Consulting that found Medicare patients who receive care in a hospital outpatient department are more…
Headline
The AHA Aug. 28 expressed support for the Preserving Patient Access to Accountable Care Act in comments to House and Senate sponsors of the bill. The…
Headline
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Aug. 21 announced the creation of a Healthcare Advisory…
Headline
A JAMA study published Aug. 18 found that plan design changes by Medicare Part D insurers, particularly for Medicare Advantage plans, following passage of the…