Becker's Hospital Review

13 CFO / FINANCE Dana-Farber Cancer Institute gets $16.5M gift By Alia Paavola B oston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute received a $16.5 million gift to support multiple myeloma research and care. The gift, from Paula and Rodger Riney of St. Louis, will establish the Riney Family Multiple Myeloma Initiative. Mr. Riney was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and treated in St. Louis at the Washington University School of Medicine and Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. In 2018, Ken Anderson, MD, a program director at Dana-Farber's Jerome Lip- per Multiple Myeloma Center, joined as an adviser on Mr. Riney's care team. "We are deeply grateful to the Riney family for this inspired gift that will quickly advance our knowledge of multiple myeloma. While we have made significant strides in treating multiple myeloma, this initiative provides an opportunity to accelerate the most promising strategies and meaningfully extend remissions," said Laurie Glimcher, MD, president and CEO of Da- na-Farber Cancer Institute. n Next Gen ACOs aren't lowering hospital spending: 5 things to know By Morgan Haefner I n its first two years, the Next Generation ACO model was not linked with reduced net Medicare spending, and had no effect on use or spending for hospitalizations, according to a new evaluation of the government program. Five things to know: 1. In its second evaluation report of the Next Generation ACO model, research- ers from the University of Chicago focused on the full sample of 46 Next Gen ACOs that participated in the model during its first and second program years, 2016-17. Nearly 2 million beneficiaries were included in the analysis. 2. Not including shared savings payouts, the model resulted in a $123.2 mil- lion reduction in gross Medicare spending in the two program years, much of which was recorded in the 2017 program year. 3. However, the shared savings in the first two years exceeded the model's estimated reduction in gross Medicare spending, resulting in a net spend- ing increase for the model of $93 million. 4. The model was not linked to a reduction in acute care hospital facility spending or acute care stays. For the most part, no significant improve- ments in quality measures were recorded. 5. However, some changes were identified. The Next Gen ACO model was likely associated with gross reductions in post-acute care spending for inpa- tient rehabilitation facilities and long-term care hospitals, according to the re- port. The model also increased annual wellness visits among beneficiaries. n Hospital groups sue HHS, seek to block site- neutral pay cuts By Ayla Ellison T wo organizations representing hospi- tals and health systems across the na- tion and several individual hospitals sued HHS Jan. 13 over site-neutral payment cuts for 2020. Under the 2019 Medicare Outpatient Pro- spective Payment System final rule, CMS made payments for clinic visits site-neutral by reducing the payment rate for evaluation and management services provided at off-campus provider-based departments by 60 percent. In an attempt to overturn the rule, the Amer- ican Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges and dozens of hospitals across the nation sued HHS in Jan- uary 2019. ey argued CMS exceeded its au- thority when it finalized the payment cut in the OPPS rule. HHS argued that under the Bi- partisan Budget Act of 2015 it has authority to develop a method for controlling unnecessary increases in outpatient department services. In September, U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer concluded that CMS failed to fol- low the statutory process for setting Medi- care payment rates when it finalized the 2019 OPPS rule. However, CMS moved forward with site-neutral payment cuts in its 2020 out- patient payment rule. Hospitals tried to block the 2020 payment cuts from taking effect Jan. 1 by asking the judge to enforce her order. However, the judge ruled in December that the order was limited to the 2019 final rule. She asked the hospitals and the groups representing them to file a claim this year to show the effects of the 2020 final rule. e hospitals made their new claim in a law- suit filed Jan. 13, arguing the 2020 final rule is unlawful. "e 2020 final rule is no less an impermissi- ble flex of regulatory authority than the 2019 final rule, and should meet the same fate," reads the complaint. e hospitals seek injunctive relief and a dec- laration that the 2020 final rule exceeds CMS' statutory authority and is unenforceable. n

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