The Reed Smith Health Industry Washington Watch blog has been updated to report on recent health policy developments, including the following:

• Regulatory Developments. CMS has issued regulations regarding emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare and Medicaid providers, Medicare Advantage/Part D policies, Medicare Secondary Payer rules, the ACA Basic Health Program, and 2014 Exchange enrollment deadlines. Other recent HHS rules have addressed electronic health records (EHR), solicitation of anti-kickback safe harbor and fraud-alert proposals, health plan certification of compliance requirements, HIPAA amendments pertaining to gun background checks, and CMS/FDA parallel reviews of medical products.
• Other HHS Developments. New CMS policy announcements address “recalcitrant” Medicare providers and suppliers, hospice enrollees’ drug expenses, hospital equipment maintenance requirements, Medicare DMEPOS payments, and accountable care organizations. Other HHS policies have addressed health insurance policy cancellations and drug development tools.
• Fraud & Abuse Developments. The Department of Justice has released updated False Claims Act recovery statistics. The OIG has issued reports on HHS management challenges, clinicians with high cumulative Medicare payments, and hospital EHR technology, and it released its Fall 2013 Semiannual Report. A GAO report examined ZPIC program integrity efforts.
• Legislative Developments. The President has signed into law a budget bill with Medicare provisions, and an upcoming House hearing will review Medicare “extenders” policies.
• Health Industry Events. Upcoming CMS events will focus on Medicare inpatient hospital admission and medical review criteria, the Medicare ESRD Quality Incentive Program, new medical services and technologies under the Medicare hospital inpatient prospective payment system, and hospital outpatient services, and the HHS Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals is hosting a Medicare Appellant Forum.