Minnesota Hospital Association

Policy & Advocacy

rules, regulations and comments

The Minnesota Hospital Association continually monitors state and federal rules and regulations to keep members informed and advocates on behalf of members regarding the impact of regulations on the state’s hospitals and health systems. MHA submits comment letters to share recommendations and feedback with the appropriate government organizations and health care stakeholders. Examples of rules and regulations that MHA addresses include those implementing federal or state health care reform efforts, changing payment methodologies, establishing community benefit or other standards for tax-exempt organizations, or modifying government oversight of health care activities.

Entries for June 2016

MHA comments on Proposed Rule CMS-5517-P

June 2016
On behalf of our members, which include 137 hospitals and health systems serving communities throughout our state, the Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) is grateful for the opportunity to provide comments and feedback regarding the proposed rule implementing the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Model (APM) incentive methodologies called for in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).

MHA Comments on Proposed Rules for Inpatient Medicare Payments

June 2016
MHA submitted comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) FY2017 proposed rule for hospital inpatient prospective payment systems and quality reporting.  Some of the issues specifically addressed by the MHA letter were concerns about the unusually high documentation and coding negative adjustment, Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payment methodology changes and proposed procedures for notifying outpatient observation patients of their status. One item that is a positive for hospitals is the reversal and payback by CMS of the two-midnight adjustment (0.2%) that has been in place for the last 3 years.