The AHA Oct. 23 recommended changes to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Wasteful and Inappropriate Services Reduction model to address multiple concerns. The model is designed to use technology-enabled prior authorization to decrease services that CMS considers having little to no clinical benefit for some patients. The AHA expressed concerns about the WISeR model’s payment structure for participating vendors, appeal rights, oversight on the use of AI, oversight of vendors used by Medicare Advantage plans, expansion of the model’s scope and its implementation timeline, among other details. The model, scheduled to begin Jan. 1, will be conducted in six states: Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Washington. The AHA urged CMS to delay its implementation by at least six months.

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The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General June 11 released two reports on high rates of coverage denials by Medicare Advantage…
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Members of Congress and hospital and health system leaders today gathered for a briefing in Washington, D.C., to discuss how payment delays in Medicare…
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The White House issued an executive order June 2 on cybersecurity efforts regarding artificial intelligence. The order instructs federal…
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services May 28 issued a final rule making changes to the Increasing Organ Transplant Access Model beginning July 1.…
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Daniel Daly, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Theology and Ethics in Catholic Health at the Catholic Health Association, explores the ethical future…
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Approximately 35 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in 2026, and that number is expected to grow to about 45 million MA enrollees by…