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It is Washington in April and the last year of the Obama administration and so – not unexpectedly – it has been a major week for health care policy proposals and rule changes; over 2,400 pages worth of proposals and rules that consumer advocates will be wading through for days. Stay tuned for our more in-depth analysis in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, here’s a quick rundown of some long-anticipated policies that rained down this week:

Medicaid Managed Care Regulations:  After months of review of proposed rules and comments submitted from 879 stakeholders, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that covers a range of issues including network adequacy and care coordination, disenrollment and appeals, managed long-term services and supports (LTSS), quality improvement and quality rating requirements, medical loss ratios and supplemental hospital payments. This 1,462-page rule is focused on four goals: 1) supporting state efforts on payment and delivery system reforms; 2) strengthening consumer experience of care; 3) strengthening program integrity and 4) aligning rules across coverage programs. The regulations are effective 60 days after the date of publication, with many key provisions going into effect on July 1, 2017 and more provisions phased in over 3 years.

MACRA: The new physician payment system was unveiled this week – a year after Congress approved what was referred to as the “doc fix” bill. CMS announced proposed rules for the “Quality Payment Program,” which gives doctors a choice of two paths, both of which seek to pay them in part based on how well they treat patients. The first path, called the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), would increase or decrease payments in the first year based on how well doctors meet benchmarks on quality, use of electronic health records and costs. The second path, known as advanced alternative payment models, would go even further in shifting towards rewarding quality. In our April 13 post on why consumers should care about MACRA, we emphasized the importance of measures that reflect patient experience and the importance of payment models that make sure providers who care for patients with complex social and medical needs will not be disadvantaged.  CMS will accept comments on the proposed rules until June 27, 2016.

Medicaid Services:  CMS issued guidance on facilitating access to covered Medicaid services for eligible individuals prior to and after a stay in a correctional institution. Medicaid coverage is important for a successful transition to the community, particularly since many have long-untreated, chronic health conditions, as well as a high incidence of substance use and mental health disorders. 

April showers, the old saying goes, bring May flowers. May a thousand Health System Transformation flowers bloom!