“Legislative ideas spread like infections, from one statehouse to another,” says Martie Ross, Consulting Principal, in a recent issue of the Report on Medicare Compliance. The national publication is produced by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) to provide updates on compliance strategies specifically pertaining to Medicare.
Ross and Senior Manager Kathy Reep are the featured experts in the article that scrutinizes the current actions of state legislatures to “leverage licensure statutes to make health policy changes without burdensome regulatory and enforcement addition,” according to the article written by Nina Youngstrom.
Ross was referring to the decision by the Florida state legislature to refer frequent visitors to emergency departments to primary care physicians and how this decision spurs other states to enact similar requirements. Overall, the current state-level activities are affecting Medicaid, price transparency, “no surprises” laws, and more, and as Ross says, when states pass healthcare laws, federal action often follows.
State governments also are examining hospital price transparency, says Reep. She explains some states are adding additional penalties for noncompliance with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ regulations. “It’s unclear who is the arbiter of compliance…,” she says.
Ross and Reep also comment on many other state actions, including those related to surprise billing, quality standards and staffing, hospital tax exemptions, payer regulations, telehealth, licensure, and prescription drug affordability.
Read the full article about state legislation that ran on Jan. 29, 2024, on HCCA’s online platform, COSMOS, or access a PDF of the article.
Learn more:
Check out the PYA on-demand webinar presented by Ross and Reep, “Healthcare Regulatory Roundup: Coming to a Statehouse Near You,” for first-hand information about actions at the state level.
If you have questions about regulatory impacts or any other matter related to compliance or strategy and transactions, our executives are happy to help. Contact them by email or at (800) 270-9629.
