Advisories

New Lobbying Disclosure Forms Released Members Only

July 07, 2008 On May 29, congressional officials released revised guidance on how the congressional ethics law, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HLOGA), affects the requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). On
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Hospital Compare: New Pneumonia Mortality Data & Pediatric Asthma Measures; Updated Heart Attack...

July 01, 2008 Hospital Compare: New Pneumonia Mortality Data and Pediatric Asthma Measures; Updated Heart Attack and Heart Failure Mortality Data
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Long-term Care Hospitals: 2008 Final Rule and Two Interim Final Rules Members Only

June 25, 2008 CMS issued in May three regulations on long-term care hospitals (LTCH). Two of the regulations are interim final rules implementing the LTCH provisions authorized by Congress in the Medicare, Medicaid, and S-CHIP Extension Act (MMSEA), enacted December 2007.
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Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities: The Proposed Rule for FY 2009 Members Only

June 06, 2008 CMS on April 25 in the Federal Register published the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system proposed rule for fiscal year (FY) 2009. In addition to standard annual updates, the rule would implement the following IRF provisions authorized by Congress in the 2007 Medicare, Medicaid, and S-CHIP Extension Act (MMSEA).
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Skilled Nursing Facilities: The Proposed Rule for FY 2009 Members Only

June 05, 2008 CMS May 7 in the Federal Register published the skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system proposed rule for fiscal year (FY) 2009. In addition to standard annual updates, the rule would implement a significant cut to offset payment increases resulting from a 2006 policy change expanding the SNF classification system.
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Quality Advisory Members Only

May 13, 2008 Quality Advisory
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Media Advisory Members Only

April 30, 2008 AHA Media Advisory
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Medicare Inpatient PPS: The Proposed Rule for Fiscal Year 2009 Members Only

April 28, 2008 On April 14, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its fiscal year (FY) 2009 proposed rule for the hospital inpatient prospective payment system (PPS). The proposed rule is available on CMS' web site and will be published in the April 30 Federal Register. Comments are due June 13.
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IRS Releases Draft Instructions for Form 990, Related Schedules; Seeks Comments by June 1 Members Only

April 15, 2008 On April 7, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released draft instructions for the redesigned Form 990 released in December 2007. The final Form 990 contains a core form and 16 related schedules, including Schedule H-Hospitals, designated solely for taxexempt hospitals. Except for the required reporting of "facility" information, Schedule H is optional for tax year 2008, but the entire schedule is required for 2009.
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Information about Patients' Experience of Hospital Care to Become Public Members Only

March 14, 2008 On March 28, information about patients' experience of hospital care from the HCAHPS survey will be shared publicly for the first time on the Hospital Quality Alliance's (HQA) Web site, Hospital Compare. Health care consumers highly value information about patients' perceptions of their hospital care, and the new information may entice them to examine the other clinical and mortality data at Hospital Compare.
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