On December 20, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the details for the Independence at Home Demonstration application process. The demonstration project was created under the Affordable Care Act and seeks to increase the scope of in-home primary care services for chronically ill Medicare patients.
Nurses may be interested to know about recent final rules which may directly impact the practice of nursing, patient care and access, and health care policy at the federal level. Executive agencies and departments are required to publish notices of all rules and decisions in the Federal Register, and accept public comments on proposed rules. Final rules are not open for comment, and become part of U.S. law in the Code of Federal Regulations.
On July 7, President Obama appointed Dr. Donald Berwick the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The president made this “recess” appointment while Congress is out of session, as Republican members threatened to derail the nomination and turn the confirmation hearings into a debate on healthcare reform.
