UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER for UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH MEDICAL CENTER

Health Issues HCR

Issues related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 around health care reform including coverage expansion, medicaid expansion, medicaid/medicare disproportionate share payments, hopsital payment updates, health insurance reforms, payment bundling, readmissions, accountable care organizations, value-based purchasing, hospital-acquired conditions, medicare physician payments, physician self-referral, independent payment advisory board, 340B drug program, and liability reform.

Contacted: SENATE; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)

Medicare/Medicaid MMM

Hospital wage index reclassification and resolution of regional disparities. Issues related to the reduction of the coding offset cut. Expanding Medicare payment rules for stroke related telehealth services to include urban areas and clinical trials. Permanently eliminate the scheduled reductions of Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) cut to physician payments. Clarifying the Medicare and Medicaid health information technology (HIT) incentive payments. Proposed changes to Direct Graduate Medical Education (DGME and Indirect Medical Education (IME) payments. Secured clarification on meaningful use attestation requirements for clinical quality measures. Secured favorable revisions to the value-based purchasing and Medicare shared savings program rules. Worked to improve the Medicare payment methodology for unique teaching and research-centered inpatient rehabilitation facilities and creating a new pool of graduate medical education (GME) funding for womens hospitals

Contacted: SENATE; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)

Labor Issues/Antitrust/Workplace LBR

Issues related to the Employee Free Choice Act (HR 1409/S 560) including the right to a secret ballot and binding arbitration.

Contacted: Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); SENATE

Bills named: H.R. 1409 (112th)

Taxation/Internal Revenue Code TAX

Issues related to the tax-exempt status of not-for-profit health care entities.

Contacted: Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; SENATE

Budget/Appropriations BUD

Urge support for maintaining Medicare payments to physicians, increasing Medicaid aid to the states, extending the moratorium on Medicaid and Medicare regulations, expanding health information technology grants.

Contacted: Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; SENATE; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS)

Insurance INS

Issues related to the commercial health insurance market in western Pennsylvania and promotion of greater access to health care for all Americans.

Contacted: SENATE; HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; Health & Human Services, Dept of (HHS); Centers For Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)