CMS Pauses Payment Determinations, Senators Introduce SAFER Health Act
CMS is telling IDR entities to pause payment determinations until they can respond to a new court ruling, and two senators introduced a new act that would allow HIPAA to protect reproductive rights.
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By - This week CMS decided to pause all payment determinations from certified independent dispute resolution (IDR) entities following a Texas district court decision. Meanwhile, a bill recently debuted in the Senate could change HIPAA protections regarding reproductive health.
VA Postpones Ann Arbor EHR
VA officials decided last week to delay the implementation of the Oracle Cerner EHR system at the Agency’s Ann Arbor Health System to avoid complications that might arise as facilities switch platforms.
"In consultation with Ann Arbor's executive and EHRM leadership, VA Central Office and EHR Management Integration Office have made the difficult but necessary decision to push Ann Arbor's rollout of EHR to late 2023 or early 2024," wrote Laura E Ruzick, director of the VA medical network for Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. READ MORE.
USPSTF New Recommendations for Pregnancy
The United States Preventive Task Force (USPSTF) is recommending that physicians more closely monitor for hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. The draft recommendation issued last week advises that patients receive blood pressure measurements during every prenatal visit regardless of preexisting conditions.
The announcement also advised against routine urine tests for preeclampsia.
“Evidence does not support routine point-of-care urine tests to screen for preeclampsia, as studies suggest that proteinuria alone may not be a good predictor of preeclampsia health outcomes,” USPSTF recommended. “Proteinuria measurement is used in the diagnostic criteria for preeclampsia.” READ MORE.
CMS Tells IDR Entities to Pause
CMS has instructed certified independent dispute resolution (IDR) entities to pause payment determinations after the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ruled against parts of the IDR process earlier this month. In an email, CMS said it was reevaluating IDR rules and looking for ways to update its procedures to comply with the court ruling. Until the department can comply with the court order, it has asked certified IDR entities to pause payment determinations. READ MORE.
CDC Reveals Trends in Sleep Medication Use
New research from the CDC discovered that medical sleep aids were most common among White adults and those who make less than 100% of the federal poverty level. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) that contributed to the report also found that 18.4% of US adults took sleep medications in the past 30 days, and 6.3% used sleep meds every night. Currently, most physicians recommend that people don’t take sleep medications on a long-term basis. READ MORE.
Senators Introduce SAFER Health Act
The Secure Access for Essential Reproductive (SAFER) Health Act introduced by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) would strengthen HIPAA and prohibit disclosure of patient information regarding abortion or pregnancy loss.
“While the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) limits what personal health information can be shared, the current privacy rule allows reproductive health information to be used for legal investigations and court cases without a patient’s consent,” an accompanying bill summary stated. “The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken important steps to clarify the current rule in the wake of Dobbs, but federal legislation is needed to address this specific risk to patients.” READ MORE.
