April 17, 2020
CMS has implemented increased payment rates established by the CARES Act. Significantly, as they relate to Medicare IPPS Hospitals reimbursed under the Diagnostic Related Group (DRG) consolidated billing methodology, CMS is increasing the weighting factor of the assigned DRG by 20 percent for an individual diagnosed with ...
April 17, 2020
On April 15, 2020, CMS issued Ruling No. CMS-2020-01-R stating that Medicare will pay $100 for COVID-19 clinical diagnostic lab tests that use high-throughput technologies for rapid diagnosis of large numbers of COVID-19 cases. High-throughput lab tests can process more than 200 specimens a day and are expected to be instrumental ...
April 24, 2020
On April 21, 2020, CMS issued blanket waivers for Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IIDs). The ICF/IID waivers include staffing flexibilities for Direct Support Staff (DSS) and Direct Care Staff (DCS), suspension of community outing requirements and mandatory staffing ...
April 10, 2020
As announced on April 9th in a CMS News Alert, in order to increase cash flow to health care providers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded its Accelerated and Advance Payment Program to a broader group of providers. CMS has published a fact sheet with guidance on the ...
April 24, 2020
On April 21, 2020, CMS also modified the locum tenens requirements to allow a physician or physical therapist to use the same substitute for the entire time he or she is unavailable to provide services during the COVID-19 emergency plus an additional period of no more than 60 continuous days after the public health emergency expires ...
April 24, 2020
On April 21, 2020, CMS released blanket waivers related to care for patients at Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs). These waivers include a waiver of the otherwise required payment adjustment and the application of the site neutral payment rate for admissions made in response to the PHE. These waivers can be found in the updated version ...
April 24, 2020
On April 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will be developing new requirements for nursing homes to inform residents and their families of confirmed COVID-19 cases in their facilities. Nursing homes will also be required to report COVID-19 cases directly to the Centers for Disease ...
April 10, 2020
As we reported last week, the CDC updated its COVID-19 Infection Control Guidance. This week, on April 8, 2020, CMS announced that it was likewise updating its infection control guidelines for these providers: dialysis facilities, hospitals, Critical Access Hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers ...
April 10, 2020
CMS issued updated recommendations on April 7th for postponing non-essential surgeries and other procedures to conserve critical healthcare resources and limit exposure of patients and staff to COVID-19. Similar to the Kentucky CHFS Order issued on March 23, 2020, CMS recommends limiting medical services that can be deferred ...