REGULATORY

Key healthcare provisions extended to September 30, 2025

Key healthcare provisions in the bill include:

• Elimination of Medicaid DSH cuts through Sept. 30
• Extension of telehealth waivers and the hospital-at-home program through Sept. 30
• Expansion of the enhanced low-volume adjustment program through Sept. 30 and the Medicare-dependent hospital program through Oct. 1
• Continuation of add-on payments for rural ambulance services through Oct. 1

However, the bill does not address the 2.83% Medicare physician pay cut, a major setback for physicians and medical groups. A temporary 2.5% Medicare physician pay bump that took effect Jan. 1 is absent from the funding package. The legislation does, however, renew a boost to the Medicare work geographic practice cost index, which benefits rural physicians.

“The passage of the CR without a Medicare physician payment fix represents a massive congressional failure,” Anders Gilberg, senior vice president of government affairs for the Medical Group Management Association, said in a March 14 statement shared with Becker’s. “To avoid this annual chaos, which increasingly threatens beneficiary access to care, Congress must realize permanent, sustainable solutions, such as implementing an annual, inflation-based physician payment update tied to the full Medicare Economic Index and modernizing Medicare’s antiquated budget neutrality policies.”

These changes focus on areas such as admission agreements, medication management, infection control, and health equity considerations. Enhanced oversight on admissions, transfers, and discharges, with new regulations F627 and F628, transform how facilities handle these processes with stricter requirements for discharge planning and documentation.

CMS has introduced tougher enforcement rules, including additional financial penalties for facilities with health and safety violations. The agency now has more authority and flexibility in imposing Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs).

Excelas can quickly provide detailed, user-friendly documentation to demonstrate compliance with the new guidelines. Our medical chronology produces an efficient, unbiased summary of a patient’s care over a specific period of time, and highlights only the most pertinent information from a patient’s medical record

MEDICAID

How hospitals are fighting to protect Medicaid

As the healthcare landscape faces seismic policy shifts under the new administration, hospitals stand at a critical crossroads. Nicole Stallings, President and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, joined the Becker’s Healthcare Podcast to shed light on the challenges ahead — chief among them, the battle to protect Medicaid. Here are few excerpts.

These Medicaid proposals could have devastating consequences for healthcare delivery. Cuts to Medicaid wouldn’t just reduce access to care; they could financially cripple hospitals, forcing service reductions or even closures. That impact would then ripple across communities, affecting jobs and economic stability.

Very few people outside the industry truly understand the complexities and financial pressures hospitals face. It’s crucial to connect the dots between adequate reimbursement and the ability to sustain the care that communities rely on. Communicating that message is critical, and it must be framed as a shared issue. Hospital stability isn’t just a hospital issue — it’s a community issue. You can’t have a healthy, vibrant community without a financially viable hospital.

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