2020 September

Coronavirus Update for Tuesday, September 29

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 2:30 p.m. on Monday, September 29. Provider Relief Fund HHS has revised its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with updated information about the tax identification number (TIN) validation process for phase 2 general distribution payments. The update consists of six changes, all marked “modified 9/28/2020,” on pages 30 and 31 of that document. Department of Health and Human Services HHS announced that it will distribute 150 million units of a rapid point-of-care COVID-19 diagnostic test to states with the expectation that they will be used to facilitate the [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-30T06:00:21-04:00September 30, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Public Charge Rule Takes Effect

The “public charge rule” that the administration introduced in 2019, only to have it challenged in the courts, is now being enforced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services after a federal court lifted an injunction on its implementation. The rule authorizes USCIS to deny a green card to any immigrant who receives certain public benefits – such as food stamps, public housing vouchers, welfare, or Medicaid – for more than 12 months within any three-year period. The expressed purpose of the rule is to deny green cards to individuals who may become dependent on publicly funded services – a [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-29T06:00:27-04:00September 29, 2020|Medicaid|

Expand Use of Telehealth, Group Recommends

The federal government should encourage greater use of telehealth, a task force has recommended. Among the changes recommended by the task force, it called on the federal government to make permanent some of the temporary extensions of the use of telehealth authorized for Medicare in response to COVID-19, including: Lifting geographic restrictions and limitations on originating sites. Allowing telehealth for various types of clinicians and conditions. Acknowledging, as many states now do, that telehealth visits can meet requirements for establishing a clinician/patient relationship if the encounter meets appropriate care standards or unless careful analysis demonstrates that, in specific situations, a [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-28T06:00:26-04:00September 28, 2020|Medicare|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, September 23

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23. Continuing Resolution to Fund the Federal Government The House has passed, and the Senate is expected to take up and pass as soon as this week, a continuing resolution to fund the federal government from the beginning of the new fiscal year, on October 1, through December 11; the president is expected to sign the measure. Key health care provisions in this continuing resolution include: Changes in the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program that extend the period before repayment begins and [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-24T13:31:41-04:00September 24, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid, Medicaid disproportionate share, Medicaid DSH|

Private Insurer Payments Far Exceed Medicare Payments, Study Finds

“…employers and private insurers … paid 247 percent of what Medicare would have paid for the same services at the same facilities,” according to a new study by the Rand Corporation, which also notes that “This difference increased from 224 percent of Medicare in 2016 and 230 percent in 2017.” The study also found that: From 2016 to 2018, the overall relative price for hospitals (including inpatient and outpatient care) increased from 224 to 247 percent, a compounded annual rate of increase of 5.1 percent. Some states (Arkansas, Michigan, Rhode Island) had relative prices under 200 percent of Medicare; others [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-23T13:39:09-04:00September 23, 2020|Medicare, Medicare reimbursement policy|

Coronavirus Update for Monday, September 21

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, September 21. Provider Relief Fund Reporting Requirements HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund web page with the document “General and Targeted Distribution: Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements.” The purpose of this document is to inform recipients of Provider Relief Fund payments that received one or more payments exceeding $10,000 in the aggregate of the data elements they will be required to report as part of the post-payment reporting process. This is important because it identifies how HHS will calculate lost revenue and COVID-related [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-22T06:00:16-04:00September 22, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Friday, September 18

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, September 18. CMS/Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes In June, CMS established a Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes to “address safety and quality in nursing homes in relation to the public health emergency. The main purpose of the independent Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes… was to solicit lessons learned from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and recommendations for future actions to improve infection prevention and control measures, safety procedures, and [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-20T17:24:04-04:00September 20, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, September 16

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16. Department of Health and Human Services HHS and the Department of Defense released documents outlining their strategy for delivering COVID-19 vaccine doses. The documents provide a strategic distribution overview along with an interim playbook for state, tribal, territorial, and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19 within their respective jurisdictions. Learn more from the following documents: HHS’s news release The distribution strategy The vaccination program interim playbook HHS’s Office of the Assistant [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-17T08:50:19-04:00September 17, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

MFAR is Dead

At least for now. The controversial Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation, slated for implementation this fall over the objections of many health care stakeholders, will not move forward at this time. In a tweet earlier this week, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma wrote that We've listened closely to concerns that have been raised by our state and provider partners about potential unintended consequences of the proposed rule, which require further study. Therefore, CMS is withdrawing the rule from the regulatory agenda. If implemented, opponents maintained, the regulation would have: Deprived states of important, established policy-making prerogatives. Created [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-16T06:00:25-04:00September 16, 2020|Medicaid, Medicaid regulations|

Medicaid Enrollment on the Rise

More people are enrolling in Medicaid, and much of the increase is driven by the COVID-19 emergency. Or so reports the organization Families USA in a new study. According to the study, Over half of the 38 states reporting monthly enrollment through May or later have seen greater than 7% growth in enrollment since February. For the eight states reporting August enrollment, their average enrollment growth since February is approximately 11%. But the implications are even greater, according to the analysis, which found that in large part because of COVID-19 job loss, Medicaid enrollment among the 38 states reporting has [...]

iqtsupport2020-09-15T06:00:57-04:00September 15, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid|

September 2020