CEO Update 269
MACPAC Calls for CMS to Develop Transparent Plan for Community Engagement Requirements
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment Advisory Commission (MACPAC) on Thursday released Implementing Community Engagement Requirements in Medicaid, a draft chapter and recommendation that identifies policy and operational considerations for states and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as they implement Community Engagement (CE) in requirements in Medicaid.
In the draft chapter, MACPAC recommends “The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services should direct the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop a transparent plan for monitoring and evaluating community engagement requirements in Medicaid that provides insight into how such policies affect eligibility and enrollment, health status, employment, state and federal administrative spending, and the attainment of other identified policy goals.”
The recommendation also said CMS should identify new metrics for state reporting (as needed) and build upon existing data collection activities to minimize administrative burden. MACPAC said CMS also should ensure timely publication of monitoring and evaluation results to inform policy and operational decision making.
MACPAC will vote on this recommendation next month.
ICYMI: CMS Releases Fiscal Year 2027 Medicare Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 2 issued the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Medicare Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) proposed rule that includes updates to both the IPF PPS for FY 2027 and the IPF Quality Reporting (IPFQR) Program.
CMS proposes to increase the IPF PPS per diem base rate by 2.3% to $912.58, up from $892.87 in FY 2026. The proposed rule does not include changes to the methodology for determining the per diem base rate or patient-level adjustments and only minor technical changes to facility-level adjustments. CMS proposes one major change to payment methodology, establishing a 20% cap on outlier payments under the IPF PPS.
CMS also proposed two updates to the IPFQR Program related to quality reporting. The proposed rule outlines the IPF patient assessment instrument (IPF-PAI), which was statutorily mandated in 2023 for adoption in FY 2028. The NABH Quality Committee previously provided feedback to CMS about the components of the proposed IPF-PAI, and we are concerned about the feasibility and appropriateness of the proposal. In addition to the IPF-PAI, CMS proposes to remove two quality measures beginning with the CY 2026 reporting period, the Alcohol Use Brief Intervention (SUB-2 and SUB-2a) and the Tobacco Use Treatment (TOB-3 and TOB-3a) measures.
CMS published the proposed rule on Tuesday, April 7 in the Federal Register. NABH is developing comments and welcomes feedback from NABH members. NABH must submit comments by June 1.
Now Available: Joint Commission Webinar on Sentinel Event Transition
The Joint Commission (TJC) has released the “Alignment Overview” segment of its Sentinel Event Transition webinar series, which is available on demand.
The webinar series focuses on the changes related to sentinel events that will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and TJC is preparing to launch the remainder of the webinar series.
Click here to watch the first segment.
ICYMI: Recording Available for Webinar About Leveraging Regulatory Flexibility for Methadone Take-Home
The Center for Prevention Implementation Methodology for Drug Abuse and HIV recently hosted a webinar about leveraging regulatory flexibility for methadone take-home dosing to improve retention in opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment.
Recent federal regulatory changes have relaxed criteria for methadone take-home dosing, offering an opportunity to improve the OUD experience for patients.
Click here for more information and a recording of the late-March webinar.
Fact of the Week
Rep. Troy Carter, Sr. (D-La.) has introduced H.R.7787, the Mental Health Workforce Act, which addresses the mental health workforce shortage and urgent need for diversity among mental health providers in the United States. The bill would help raise the number of mental health providers, diversify the mental health workforce pipeline, and get care to communities who need these services the most.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond