Data Net Clinical Resources, Inc

Here are the top 20 healthcare organizations that lobby Congress and federal agencies, ranked in order of greatest to least in 2021 spending from January through June.

Top 20 healthcare lobbyists by 2021 spending through June Healthcare organizations spend vast sums each year on lobbying to advocate for policies that will benefit their members or businesses. In fact, no other sector of the U.S. economy spends more on lobbying than the healthcare sector does, according to OpenSecrets. In 2020, the healthcare sector spent....

House lawmakers are restructuring their bipartisan task forces dedicated to combating the drug epidemic and expect the chamber to consider behavioral health legislation this year, members told CQ Roll Call.

The push is spearheaded by four lawmakers in an effort to broaden the scope of legislative efforts beyond opioids to include all forms of addiction and mental health.

House reshapes approach to mental health and addiction - Roll Call House lawmakers are restructuring their task forces on the drug epidemic with a renewed focus on behavioral health.

On December 10, 2020 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) both released proposed rules to better enable a patient’s ability to control access to and movement of their health data.
HIPAA Proposed Rule
The first rule, from OCR, reopens the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy and security requirements. HIPAA privacy and security policies have not changed significantly since the breach notification final rule was published in 2013. Key provisions within the proposed rule include, but are not limited to:
• Shortening the time providers have to respond to patient records requests from 30 days to 15 days;
• A proposed fee structure based on the type of access request;
• Proposals to create a set of provisions for the right to direct copies of protected health information (PHI) to a third party, better aligning the Privacy Rule with the HITECH Act;
• Easing restrictions of data sharing in times of crisis; and
• Provisions allowing patients to view and capture PHI in their record.
CMS Proposed Rule
The second rule from CMS further implements application programming interface (API) requirements for payers and providers as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to encourage interoperability and price transparency. Key provisions include:
• Requirements for CMS-regulated payers to implement the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR)-based Patient Access APIs by Jan. 1, 2023;
• Requirements for payers to build and maintain a Provider Access API for payer-to-provider data sharing of claims and encounter data, a subset of the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI) and pending and active prior authorization decisions by Jan. 1, 2023;
• Requirements for payers to implement documentation and prior authorization APIs;
• Payer-to-payer data exchange requirements; and
• A proposal for HHS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to adopt an API implementation specification.
The rule is 356 pages and the CMS rule is 347 pages.

www.hhs.gov

A University of South Florida Health-led study is one of the first to assess barriers resident physicians face in prescribing , the -approved medication for use disorder, and their attitudes toward opioid

Limited access to buprenorphine restricts resident physicians treating opioid abusers A University of South Florida Health-led survey of resident physicians in Florida indicates they are interested in treating opioid addiction but face barriers to offering patients treatment using buprenorphine, an FDA-approved medication shown to successfully decrease opioid use, overdose events, an...

REMINDER:
Starting January 1, 2020, under the Calendar Year (CY) 2020 Physician Fee Schedule final rule the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will pay Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs) through bundled payments for opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services in an episode of care provided to people with Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance).

Under the new OTP benefit, Medicare covers:

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved opioid agonist and antagonist medication-assisted treatment (MAT) medications
Dispensing and administration of MAT medications (if applicable)
Substance use counseling
Individual and group therapy
Toxicology testing
Intake activities
Periodic assessments
We encourage OTPs to begin the enrollment process as soon as possible.

Read our Letter to OTP Program Sponsors and State Opioid Treatment Authorities (SOTAs) (PDF).
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/Opioid-Treatment-Program

Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) | CMS Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) Please Note: COVID-19: CMS Allowing Audio-Only Calls for OTP Therapy, Counseling, and Periodic Assessments Overview

Mayhew will be precluded legally from lobbying her former agency for the next two years, but she will be allowed to lobby the Legislature, which is responsible for setting aside money for hospitals in the state’s annual budget.

Mayhew is one of several officials who have announced plans recently to depart AHCA, which administers the Medicaid program but also regulates hospitals, nursing homes, and scores of other health care facilities across the state.

Stefan Grow, the agency’s former general counsel, submitted a resignation letter Aug. 20 saying he had accepted a position in the private sector. Assistant Deputy Secretary for Medicaid Operations Abbie Riddle announced in a July 17 resignation letter that she was leaving effective Aug. 14.

Mary Mayhew Stepping Down As AHCA Secretary Florida Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew, who has been one of the state’s key people handling the coronavirus pandemic, is