Yesterday, April 24, 2012, CMS issued the much anticipated annual proposed payment changes for inpatient stays in acute care and long-term care hospitals (LTCH) for fiscal year (FY) 2013. The rule projects that total Medicare spending on inpatient hospital services will increase by approximately $175 million and LTCH’s will increase by $100 million in FY2013.

On April 10, 2012, Janssen Healthcare Innovation, a team within Janssen Research & Development, LLC., (Janssen), announced the three finalists of the crowdsourcing-inspired Janssen Connected Care Challenge. The three finalists are being awarded $50,000 each to further develop their technology-enabled, scalable solutions to improve care for patients as they are discharged from the hospital. The challenge finalists each receive the prize money and mentorship while retaining independence and ownership of their business concept.

On Tuesday, April 10, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the selection of the first 27 accountable care organizations (ACOs) to participate in the Medicare Shared Saving Program. The selected ACOs will aim to create financial incentives for physicians, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to better coordinate care and improve the health for nearly 375,000 Medicare beneficiaries, all while lowering the participating organizations’ costs and eventually sharing in the collective savings.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a request for information about causes and potential solutions associated with medication non-adherence in adults with chronic conditions. The request aims to gather comments from stakeholders "on both barriers to medication adherence and strategies for overcoming those barriers to improve public health."

On Tuesday April 3rd, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office and Innovation Center invite you to participate in a webinar to discuss the Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations Among Nursing Facility Residents. The webinar will provide an overview of the new Initiative and describe the application process for prospective participants.