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Rural Healthcare Quality – News

News stories from the past 60 days.

Oct 3, 2024 - Notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announcing that the charter for the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) has been renewed. he PACCARB advises and provides information and recommendations to the Secretary of HHS regarding programs and policies intended to reduce or combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may present a public health threat. The charter renewal is effective through August 29, 2026.
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 3, 2024 - The Consensus-Based Entity (CBE) Report on 2023 Activities to Congress and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary's comments on the report, are published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Federal Register in accordance with the Social Security Act. The report includes a summary of the CBE's consideration of the unique challenges related to quality measure reporting and thresholds for rural providers.
Source: Federal Register
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
Aug 14, 2024 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will hold a virtual public meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) on August 29, 2024. The PACCARB advises and provides information and recommendations to the Secretary of HHS regarding programs and policies intended to reduce or combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria that may present a public health threat. The confirmed times, agenda, and information on how to register and provide public comment during the meeting will be published on the PACCARB website.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 7, 2024 - Notice from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeking comments on an information collection titled "Quality Payment Program/Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Surveys and Feedback Collections." This generic clearance will cover a program of surveys and feedback collections designed to strategically obtain data and feedback from MIPS-eligible clinicians, third-party intermediaries, Medicare beneficiaries, and any other audiences that would support the Agency in improving MIPS or the Quality Payment Program. Comments are due by September 6, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Last Updated: 10/3/2024