September 2020

Coronavirus Update for Friday, September 11

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government and others as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, September 11. Provider Relief Fund Reminder: Applications are currently open for Phase 2 general distribution funding for Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), dental providers, certain Medicare providers, hospitals that have changes in ownership, and assisted living facilities.  All groups have until September 13, 2020 to submit their tax identification number for validation and apply for funding from the phase 2 general distribution.  Go here for more information. HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with one modified question [...]

2020-09-14T06:00:48-04:00September 14, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|
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MedPAC Talks Telehealth

Expanded telehealth is here to stay, members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission agreed at their September public meeting. What they do not yet know is in what form. Among the issues that need to be addressed in any post-COVID-19 expansion of Medicare-covered telehealth services are: Whether affording access to telehealth services would exacerbate the digital divide and leave some Medicare beneficiaries with less access to care than others. Whether audio-only coverage, temporarily permitted during the pandemic, should be continued. Whether greater use of telehealth might foster greater use of low-value services. Whether use of non-HIPAA-compliant video technology should continue [...]

2020-09-11T06:00:46-04:00September 11, 2020|Medicare, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
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MedPAC Meets

Last week the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission met in Washington, D.C. to discuss a number of Medicare payment issues. The issues on MedPAC’s September agenda were: the coronavirus pandemic and Medicare context for Medicare payment policy report on the skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program report on the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014’s changes to the Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule congressional request on private equity and Medicare expansion of telehealth in Medicare Medicare coverage for vaccines MedPAC is an independent congressional agency that advises Congress on issues involving the Medicare program.  While its recommendations are not binding on [...]

2020-09-10T06:00:04-04:00September 10, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicare regulations, Medicare reimbursement policy, MedPAC|
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CMS Finalizes FY 2021 Payments to Hospitals

Medicare has announced how it will pay hospitals for inpatient care in FY 2021 with publication of its annual inpatient prospective payment system regulation last week. Among the changes announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: A 2.9 percent increase in fee-for-service inpatient rates. A compromise on its proposal to require hospitals to report their payer-specific negotiated rates with Medicare Advantage plans. Changes in how Medicare will calculate Medicare disproportionate share (Medicare DSH) uncompensated care payments. A much smaller cut than originally proposed in the pool of funds for Medicare DSH uncompensated care payments. Minor adjustments in the [...]

2020-09-09T06:00:15-04:00September 9, 2020|hospitals, Medicaid regulations, Medicare disproportionate share, Medicare DSH, Medicare reimbursement policy|
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Coronavirus Update for Friday, September 4

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 12:15 p.m. on Friday, September 4. Provider Relief Fund Reminder: Applications are currently open for Phase 2 general distribution funding for Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), dental providers, certain Medicare providers, and assisted living facilities.  All groups have until September 13, 2020 to submit their tax identification number for validation and apply for funding from the phase 2 general distribution.  Go here for more information. HHS announced that assisted living facilities may apply for funding under the Provider Relief Fund phase 2 general distribution allocation. [...]

2020-09-08T06:00:57-04:00September 8, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|
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How Medicaid Managed Care Cuts Costs

Low-cost Medicaid managed care plans mostly cut their costs by reducing how much care, and how much high-quality care, their members receive. That is the conclusion of a new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. According to the study, Medicaid managed care plans succeed in reducing costs less by cost-sharing, negotiating lower provider rates, employing narrow networks, and doing a better job of managing their members’ high-cost chronic medical conditions than they do by leading their members to use fewer high-value, low-cost services such as cancer and diabetes screenings and fewer high-value drugs. The researchers note that [...]

2020-09-02T06:00:59-04:00September 2, 2020|Medicaid|
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Coronavirus Update for Monday, August 31

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, August 31. Provider Relief Fund The Department of Health and Human Services has updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. Six questions on pages 30 and 31, marked “Modified 8/25/2020,” primarily address submitting requests for phase 2 distributions. Five questions on pages 9, 22-23, 23, 32-33, and 33 are marked “Modified 8/27/2020” or “Added 8/27/2020” and address applying for phase 2 distributions. Five questions, on pages 44 and 45, address the upcoming nursing home infection control distribution and are marked “Added 8/27/2020.” [...]

2020-09-01T06:00:27-04:00September 1, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|
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