Coronavirus update for Thursday, April 30 as of 4:00 p.m. Major New Regulation From CMS CMS this afternoon published a 279-page interim final rule with comment period covering Medicare and Medicaid, the Basic Health Program, and additional policy and regulatory revisions in response to the COVID-19 emergency and delaying certain reporting requirements for the skilled nursing facility quality reporting program.  The CMS news release announcing the policy changes describes them as a “…round of sweeping regulatory waivers and rule changes to deliver expanded care to the nation’s seniors and provide [...]

Coronavirus update for Thursday, April 29 as of 3:30 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has posted a letter to clinicians participating in its Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) explaining how participating in a clinical trial and reporting their findings to a clinical data repository or registry may earn them credit in the 2020 performance period. CMS has updated its FAQ on Medicare fee-for-service billing. The update features a new question on the MIPS program. CMS has issued a transmittal on the quarterly update of the long-term-care hospital [...]

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, April 28 as of 4:00 p.m. White House The Trump administration has released two new documents to support its plan for reopening the country and its economy:  a testing overview and an accompanying testing blueprint. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has updated its COVID-19 guidance for different types of clinical facilities. Food and Drug Administration After questions arose about its April 18 emergency use authorization (EUA) about the uses of non-surgical face masks, the FDA has re-issued that EUA to manufacturers of face [...]