April 3, 2020
Under the Section 1135 waiver authority, CMS has waived the 3-day hospital stay requirement that must immediately precede a covered Part A qualified stay at a skilled nursing facility (“SNF”). During the CMS National Stakeholder Call on March 31, 2020, CMS Administrator Seema Verma confirmed that this waiver is not ...
April 02, 2020
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) became law on March 27, 2020 to address many issues in our country caused by the coronavirus. This article addresses issues that employers who sponsor retirement plans must address quickly. Click here to read the article.
April 24, 2020
Despite the promise from CMS Administrator Seema Verma that grants provided as part of the first $30 billion distribution of funds allocated to providers under the CARES Act was “no strings attached,” there are terms and conditions attached to those payments which providers must be aware of and act in accordance with to limit ...
April 10, 2020
CMS posted a letter on April 7th to clinicians outlining a summary of actions CMS has taken to ensure clinicians have maximum flexibility to reduce unnecessary barriers to providing patient care during the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19. The summary includes information about telehealth and virtual visits, accelerated ...
April 10, 2020
On April 9th the CMS announced a further expansion of the healthcare workforce flexibilities it had previously announced on March 30 in order to boost frontline medical staffs to fight to save lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional flexibilities include:
- Doctors directly caring for patients at rural hospitals via ...
April 24, 2020
On April 20, 2020, in response to COVID-19, CMS announced a new high-weighted COVID-19 Clinical Trials improvement activity for eligible clinicians who participate in the Quality Payment Program (QPP) under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Eligible clinicians (which includes physicians, physician ...
April 17, 2020
CMS, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Treasury issued joint guidance this week that is intended to ensure that Americans with private health insurance have coverage for COVID-19 diagnostic testing and related services at no cost. Specifically, coverage is required for both diagnostic testing and antibody testing ...
April 24, 2020
In a previous version of the Interoperability and Patient Access final rule displayed on the CMS website on March 9, 2020, hospitals would have had to implement the new Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) provisions requiring admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) notifications to post-acute care providers within ...
April 10, 2020
CMS hosted an “Office Hours” call on April 9th for healthcare providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The two topics receiving the most questions by callers concerned: (a) services provided through telehealth by Rural Health Centers ...