Payer Policy Updates

The California Assembly is poised to vote on a bill Jan. 31 that aims to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state — the bill's first major battle since a funding proposal for the program was introduced Jan. 6…

A panel of three judges ruled against HHS in a move that will allow Medicare beneficiaries to appeal nursing home coverage decisions if they transitioned from inpatient care to outpatient observation, according to Kaiser Health News. 

The state of Georgia is suing HHS after the agency implemented changes that removed a requirement for Medicaid beneficiaries to work in order to be eligible for coverage, Bloomberg reported Jan. 21. 

Health insurers are covering between 61 percent and 74 percent of the costs of ivermectin, a treatment for parasites in humans and animals, despite guidance from the FDA that it should not be used to treat COVID-19.

Health New England is expanding federally mandated coverage of at-home COVID-19 tests to include its Medicare Advantage members.