Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
Feds Give States Direction for Addressing Social Determinants of Health
Federal laws, regulations, and programs offer numerous tools to states seeking to address social determinants of health through their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Now, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has written to state Medicaid directors outlining those tools. In the 51-page letter, CMS notes that Many Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries may face challenges related to SDOH [social determinants of health], including but not limited to access to nutritious food, affordable and accessible housing, convenient and efficient transportation, safe neighborhoods, strong social connections, quality education, and opportunities [...]
Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, January 13
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 13. Provider Relief Fund HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with nine new or modified questions on pages 12-13, 13, 15 (three questions), 40-41, 41, and 56. The new and modified questions address how changes of ownership affect providers’ ability to receive Provider Relief Fund grants and nursing home quality incentive payments; answer questions about audit deadlines and extensions; and describe the methodology for calculating Phase 3 distributions and the [...]
Coronavirus Update for Monday, January 11
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, January 11. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has formally extended its declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days, until April 21. HHS has announced the extension of its Community Based Testing Site program for COVID-19 testing. Through partnerships with national pharmacy and retail chains and service providers, this program has resulted in establishing more than 3,300 COVID-19 testing locations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, [...]
Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, January 6
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6. Provider Relief Fund The Office of Management and Budget has issued guidance on how funds received through the Provider Relief Fund should be audited. Entities that receive government grants of more than $750,000 are subject to a single audit requirement. Because of the Provider Relief Fund, many hospitals that have never been subject to this audit requirement now must comply with it. The deadline originally was October 1 but was postponed and [...]
Congress Approves New GME Slots
The year-end federal COVID-19 relief bill brought changes to Medicare’s graduate medical education program. Among those changes: 200 new GME slots over the next five years additional federal funding for residency training – the first new funding for the program in nearly a quarter of a century new opportunities for some hospitals to establish new (and higher) resident caps new flexibilities for rural hospitals to participate in physician training programs Learn more in the National Law Review article “COVID-19: Reimbursement Corner: Graduate Medical Education Gets Major Boost From Congressional Appropriations [...]