The Office of Personnel Management, along with the departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury July 1 released “Part 1” of regulations implementing the No Surprises Act. The interim final rule addresses several provisions in the law, including the ban on balance billing for certain out-of-network services (referred to as “surprise medical bills”); the notice and consent process that some providers may use to bill patients for out-of-network services; how patient cost-sharing must be calculated; and a complaint process for any potential violations of the provisions in the law. Notably, the regulations contain a strong rebuke of health plan actions to deny coverage of emergency services. Read the AHA Special Bulletin.
February 20, 2024
Children's Nebraska president and CEO, Chandra Chacon, elected to Children's Hospital Association 2024 board of trustees
Chanda Chacón, MPH, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Nebraska, has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) Board of Trustees. As the national voice of more than 220 children's hospitals, CHA brings children's hospitals and health systems together to champion policies, practices and performance improvements that enable children's hospitals to better serve children and families. To read more, click here.February 20, 2024
Bio-Electronics and Mazree Spring Cleaning
Mazree, in collaboration with Bio-Electronics, is thrilled to bring you an incredible opportunity with our Spring Cleaning initiative in Nebraska. This isn't just about decluttering your facility of surplus and unused medical equipment – it's a chance to effortlessly boost your facility's budget. You simply identify the surplus equipment in your facility, and that's almost all you have to do. Mazree takes over from there – we'll pick up the equipment and handle the sale. The best part? You receive a check for these assets. It’s like getting paid for something you no longer need or use!February 19, 2024
Plan to get $1 billion boost in federal support for Nebraska hospitals advances
LINCOLN — Nebraska could get more than $1 billion of federal money to boost Medicaid rates for hospitals and other health care providers under a bill that won easy first-round approval in the Legislature Thursday. The only controversy about Legislative Bill 1087, the Hospital Quality Assurance and Access Assessment Act, was whether to put a sunset date on the program. State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, who introduced the bill, said Gov. Jim Pillen had insisted that the program expire on Dec. 31, 2026. Such expiration dates are often used to force lawmakers to review programs and decide whether they are worth keeping.