Coronavirus update for Tuesday, May 5 as of 3:00 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its FAQ for state Medicaid and CHIP programs.  Among the issues the FAQ addresses are emergency preparedness and response, eligibility and enrollment flexibilities, benefit flexibilities, cost-sharing flexibilities, financing flexibilities, managed care flexibilities, information technology and  data reporting.  A separate document includes only the new questions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has posted guidance for nasal (anterior nasal) specimen collection for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. The CDC has updated its interim guidance for collecting, handling, and [...]

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 [...]