Source: PMHC for The Alliance, June 23, 2025

 

As you know, the Senate Finance Committee’s draft reconciliation bill language was released on Monday. The language, surprisingly, was more aggressive than the House-passed version in generating Medicaid savings and has touched off a serious debate over Medicaid funding, creating major hurdles for Republicans aiming to pass the package by July 4. The proposed changes would hit Medicaid expansion states hardest by phasing down provider taxes (with an exception for nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities – hospitals are notably absent from the exceptions list) and capping state-directed payments (SDPs), a move critics say punishes states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. These Medicaid provisions are shaping up to be one of the most contentious elements in the broader reconciliation package, which also includes tax cut extensions and immigration enforcement funding. While GOP leadership wants to move quickly, they are bypassing the usual committee hearings and markup process and plan to bring the bill directly to the Senate floor next week—a strategy that accelerates the timeline but limits opportunities for negotiation or public scrutiny.

---

Source: The Alliance, June 20, 2025

 

(Alexandria, VA, and Washington, DC) – The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) is pleased to support the introduction of the Continuous Skilled Nursing Quality Improvement Act of 2025. This bipartisan legislation, Senate Bill 1920, introduced by Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) aims to improve the quality and accessibility of skilled nursing care by modernizing Medicaid’s approach to private duty nursing.  

 

This legislation addresses critical gaps in care that leave thousands of medically complex patients and their families struggling to access consistent, quality skilled nursing services in their homes—a situation that has reached crisis levels in many communities across the nation. 

Source: Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC); May 29, 2025

 

CAPC has synthesized the NCP Guidelines into an operational summary for payers and policymakers to use in credentialing palliative care providers or informing minimum program requirements. These recommendations call for: an interdisciplinary team with 3 or more essential clinical disciplines: physician, advance practice provider, nurse, social worker, spiritual care professional and a child life specialist for programs serving children. One or more prescribers must have specialty certification in palliative care with others documenting some specialty training. PC services must include Comprehensive patient assessments, Pain and symptom management, Documented conversations about condition, treatment options, and goals of care, Psychological, social and spiritual support, Patient and family/caregiver education, and Coordination with behavior health and community health resources, and Development of a crisis intervention plan. The recommendations also specify 24/7 access to a prescribing clinician, clear discharge criteria, and routine evaluations of program quality.

Guest Editor's Note, Ira Byock: These new recommendations from CAPC are timely and important. Building from the NCP Guidelines, CAPC is providing a framework for developing formal standards. That task is urgent given the pressures programs are under to reduce staffing, limit hours of service, and scope of services. I appreciate inclusion of crisis intervention planning, which should be a critical part of every palliative plan of care. The recommendations are strong, yet the statement’s wording is hesitant in tone. CAPC has the organizational stature to issue explicit minimum specifications for programs that purport to deliver palliative care. Health plans, payers, referring providers, and patients deserve assurance that such minimums are met or exceeded. CAPC has taken a significant step in the right direction.  

Source: Solutions Review; June 17, 2025

 

There is no one-size-fits-all blueprint for artificial intelligence. Every organization has its own legacy systems, workforce culture, regulatory pressures, and innovation appetite. But one thing is universally true: AI success depends on readiness. Not just technical readiness, but ethical, emotional, and operational readiness across the entire enterprise. But as the pressure to “implement AI now” mounts, many organizations rush in without a clear framework for what it means to be ready. They focus on models, tools, and talent—but overlook the critical dimensions of ethics, empathy, and impact. That’s where this guide comes in. ...