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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

Oct 8, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on the reinstatement of an information collection titled "Medicare Program: Conditions for Payment of Power Mobility Devices, including Power Wheelchairs and Power-Operated Vehicles." This information collection is related to requirements for a face-to-face examination of the beneficiary by the physician or treating practitioner, a written prescription, and receipt of pertinent parts of the medical record by the supplier within 45 days after the face-to-face examination that the durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers maintain in their records and make available to CMS and its agents upon request. Comments are due by November 7, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 7, 2024 - Pre-publication notice of proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposing payment parameters and provisions related to the risk adjustment and risk adjustment data validation programs and user fee rates for federally-facilitated exchanges and state-based exchanges on the federal platform, among other things. Comments are due within 30 days of the publication of this notice, which is scheduled for October 10, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Oct 2, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical and typographical corrections to the August 28, 2024, final rule. This correction is effective October 1, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 30, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical and typographical corrections to the April 23, 2024, final rule. This correcting amendment is effective September 30, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 26, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implementing policies in the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP) related to the new legislative requirements in the Medicaid Services Investment and Accountability Act of 2019 (MSIAA). Among other things, this rule finalizes several other proposed program integrity and program administration provisions or modifications. This rule also rescinds revisions made by the December 31, 2020, final rule consistent with a May 2022 court order. These regulations are effective November 19, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 17, 2024 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Notice of Denial of Medical Coverage (or Payment)—NDMCP; 2) Notice of Denial of Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage; 3) Subpart D-Private Contracts and Supporting Regulations; and 4) Rural Health Clinic Cost Report. Comments are due by October 17, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 10, 2024 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on the following information collections: 1) Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program; 2) Medicare Part C Utilization Management Annual Data Submission and Audit Protocol Data Request; 3) Medicare Program: Procedures for Making National Coverage Decisions; and 4) Transcatheter Valve Therapy (TVT) Registry. Comments are due by November 12, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 9, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) making technical and typographical corrections to the June 17, 2024, final rule titled "Medicare Program; Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program; Health Information Technology Standards and Implementation Specifications." These corrections are effective September 9, 2024, and applicable to the start of the transition period for the use of the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) SCRIPT standard and NCPDP Formulary and Benefit (F&B) standard versions beginning July 17, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Sep 6, 2024 - Offers overview of challenges for rural pharmacies in North Carolina and across the country, highlighting a recent increase in rural pharmacy closures. Discusses reimbursement, workforce recruitment, and volume purchasing as contributors to closures.
Source: North Carolina Health News
Aug 28, 2024 - Notice of final rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revising the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) for operating and capital-related costs of acute care hospitals for fiscal year 2025. This rule also makes changes to Medicare graduate medical education (GME) for teaching hospitals and updates payment policies and the annual payment rates for the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for inpatient hospital services provided by long-term care hospitals. Among other things, this rule also finalizes the proposal of a separate IPPS payment for establishing and maintaining access to essential medicines; finalizes a new mandatory alternative payment model called the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM), which will test whether financial accountability for selected episode categories reduces Medicare expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries; and finalizes the proposal requiring respiratory illness reporting for hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) as a condition of participation following the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency requirements. With three exceptions, this final rule is effective October 1, 2024. Instruction 2 (§ 405.1845) is effective January 1, 2025. Instructions 29 and 31 (§ 482.42(e) and § 485.640(d)) are effective November 1, 2024.
Source: Federal Register