Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
States, Feds Not Adequately Monitoring Medicaid MLTSS
With more states delegating their programs of Medicaid managed long-term services and supports to managed care entities, state Medicaid programs and the federal government are not adequately overseeing the work of those managed care plans. As a result, they sometimes fail to notice quality and access problems for beneficiaries, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. When states delegate to managed care plans decisions about the amount and types of services that adults and children with physical, cognitive, and mental disabilities will receive, federal guidelines require states to monitor those [...]
Coronavirus Update for Thursday, December 17
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 17. CDC Webinar on Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Vaccines The CDC will hold a clinical outreach and communication activity webinar on Friday, December 18 at 2:00 (eastern) to give clinicians an overview of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Clinicians will learn about vaccine characteristics and administration, vaccinating special populations, and contraindications. They will also get answers to a number of clinical questions CDC has received about these new vaccines. Go here for further [...]
Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, December 16
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16. Provider Relief Fund HHS announced that it has completed its review of Phase 3 applications from the Provider Relief Fund program and will distribute $24.5 billion to more than 70,000 providers. HHS said this distribution will satisfy up to 88 percent of each applicant’s reported net lost revenues and net change in expenses caused by COVID-19 in the first half of 2020. See HHS’s announcement here. Phase 3 was originally announced as [...]
Financial Outlook Weak as Non-Profit Hospitals Face Challenging 2021
Non-profit hospitals face numerous challenges to their financial health in 2021, according to a recent analysis by Moody’s, the bond-rating company. Among those challenges are weak cash flow caused by reduced non-urgent procedures; weak demand; a shift of patients to lower-cost, lower-revenue outpatient settings; changes in payer mix as Medicaid enrollment continues to rise and more patients lose their health insurance; and COVID-19-related expenses that continue to drive up costs. Learn more about Moody’s outlook for non-profit hospitals in 2021 in the Fierce Healthcare article “Moody’s: Not-for-profit hospitals face major [...]
Coronavirus Update for Monday, December 14
The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 2:30 p.m. on Monday, December 14. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its payment and HCPCS Level I CPT code structure with specific COVID-19 vaccine information. Among other things, it notes that providers should only bill the vaccine administration codes when they submit claims to Medicare and should not include vaccine product codes when the vaccines are free. CMS has updated its data on Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Program payments to providers. The data [...]