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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently introduced the Transitional Coverage for Emerging Technologies (TCET) pathway, a voluntary expedited Medicare coverage process for certain FDA-designated Breakthrough Devices. This new pathway aims to support innovation while ensuring faster and more consistent access to emerging medical technologies for Medicare beneficiaries. The TCET pathway offers manufacturers increased pre-market engagement with CMS and a high level of flexibility to address evidence gaps for coverage. This initiative seeks to develop reliable evidence for informed healthcare decision-making and to ensure high-quality care for Medicare beneficiaries.

On July 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicaid and CHIP Mental Health (MH) and Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Action Plan Overview and Guide, outlining the agency's strategies for enhancing treatment and support for enrollees with these conditions. Key areas of focus include enhancing coverage and integration to expand access to prevention and treatment services, promoting engagement in care through increased availability of home and community-based services, and extending coverage to non-traditional services and settings. Additionally, the plan aims to improve the quality of care for individuals with MH conditions and SUDs.

On July 25, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2021 data on Medicaid Managed Care enrollments, program characteristics, and data tables. This national data is broken down by program and population, as well as by individual state. The enrollment data provides an accurate snapshot of Medicaid managed care enrollment for a particular year as of July 1st of each year.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) July 21st report, “Use of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines in Older Adults: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — United States, 2023 (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2023;72:793–801)," describes the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation that adults aged 60 and older may receive a single dose of the RSV. Beginning in May 2022, the ACIP Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccines Adult Work Group met to review available evidence regarding the safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy of these vaccines among adults aged ≥60 years. On June 21, 2023, ACIP voted to recommend that adults aged ≥60 years may receive a single dose..

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is leading the way in a national effort during the week of September 18-22 to increase awareness of falls prevention and empower older adults to take action in reducing their falls risk, maintaining independence, and remaining falls free. As part of this initiative, the National Council on Aging has developed a collection of informative handouts offering older adults practical tips on finding suitable exercise programs, making home modifications, initiating conversations with family and friends about falls, and accessing additional valuable resources.

On July 20th, the Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing titled "Laying the Foundation: Housing Accessibility and Affordability for Older Adults and People with Disabilities." Led by Committee Chair Bob Casey (D-PA) and Ranking Member Mike Braun (R-IN), the committee was joined by four disability rights and housing experts to discuss the current state of affordable and accessible housing, regulatory and systemic barriers, and potential solutions, including: ...

The Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation at the University of Michigan recently published a study titled "Detecting Alzheimer’s Disease: Older Adults’ Experiences with Cognitive Screening & Blood Biomarker Testing." The article presents findings from a national survey conducted in January 2023, which explores the knowledge, utilization, and perceptions of cognitive screening and blood biomarker testing for Alzheimer's disease among adults aged 65-80. The study highlights the participants' views on the benefits, limitations, and potential risks associated with these screening methods and offers valuable insights for healthcare professionals and policymakers in the context of early detection and care planning for Alzheimer's disease

On July 13th, CMS published several proposed CY 2024 physician and hospital Medicare payment rules with comments due on September 11, 2023. The proposed rules are: CY 2024 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System Proposed Rule (CMS 1786-P). CMS proposes updating OPPS payment rates for hospitals that meet applicable quality reporting requirements by 2.8%....

The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released an updated version of their "Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker" on July 20th. This tracker provides state-level data on Medicaid/CHIP enrollment, unwinding, renewals, and other measures. Please note that while the tool includes national data reported by CMS, it has a lag of several months and may not reflect the most current Medicaid enrollment status.

The National Council on Aging is spending the week of September 18th to the 22nd spreading awareness for falls prevention, and empowering older adults to educate themselves on how to be independent and falls free. This is a national effort to raise awareness, educate people on falls risk factors, and how to prevent falls. They are looking for support to encourage the engagement of older adults by starting a conversation with friends and family about falls. The National Council on Aging is also providing educational tools to help spread a better understanding of how falls are preventable.