Waiver Update
Following last month’s Newsletter reported waiver trifecta: UC report release; disallowance; and request for Texas to resubmit its 1115 waiver; this past month has been relatively calm. We do have some answers to some of the [...]
Hearings Update
Senate Committee on Health and Human Services On September 13th, under Chair Charles Schwertner, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee held a lengthy hearing on its interim 1115 waiver charge[1], taking testimony from HHSC agency [...]
Texas Budget Update
Key HHS Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) Update: the Budget The Department of State Health Services (DSHS)’s LAR contained a trauma funding surprise. The Legislative Budget Board and Governor’s Office of Budget Planning held an LAR Hearing for Health and [...]
What’s Going On: Waiver Hat Trick
The month of August ended and September began with two wild and unexpected 1115 Waiver Weeks including three key waiver events. Following CMS & Office of Management and Budget visits to Texas’ Statewide Learning Collaborative (SLC), [...]
What’s UP: NAIP, MPAP, QIPP
What’s UP: NAIP, MPAP, QIPP Several THOT providers have invested in new Medicaid Supplemental programs – NAIP; MPAP/QIPP — to fund improved care and support their ability to continue providing services within Medicaid’s underfunded program. However, [...]
August Updates
Finance Dr. Fred Cerise of Parkland and THOT provides testimony on hospital finance and the 1115 Waiver to the Texas House Appropriations Committee on behalf of THOT. July 13, 2016 Pass-Through Payments One option for new [...]
MAWWG UPDATE
Bottom Line: The Independent Study on Texas UC compares Texas’ UC/DSH Data with Medicare S10 data and Texas Department of State Health Services Hospital Data: S10 shows lower UC. Providers argue S10 data is not as [...]
July Updates
Waiver THOT is working on a Waiver II concept to help retain Texas waiver funding. Texas Community Reform and Access Engagement (T-CARE) proposes to ask CMS to allocate waiver funding from amounts CMS would otherwise take [...]
Recent Wins for THOT’s 340B providers
What is it? 340B is a program allowing certain providers (like most THOT members) to obtain discounted prices on outpatient drugs. Named after the section of federal law authorizing it, these discounts are intended to help [...]
THOT June Board Meeting Overview
On June 24, THOT held its quarterly Board meeting. The meeting, chaired by Dr. Fred Cerise, was packed with attendees and a fast paced agenda. Invited guests included Executive Commissioner of Health and Human Services Charles Smith, Selvadas [...]