Coronavirus

Coronavirus Update for Monday, September 21

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, September 21. Provider Relief Fund Reporting Requirements HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund web page with the document “General and Targeted Distribution: Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements.”  The purpose of this document is to inform recipients of Provider Relief Fund payments that received one or more payments exceeding $10,000 in the aggregate of the data elements they will be required to report as part of the post-payment reporting process.  This is important because it identifies how HHS will calculate lost revenue and COVID-related [...]

2020-09-22T06:00:16-04:00September 22, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Friday, September 18

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, September 18. CMS/Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes In June, CMS established a Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes to “address safety and quality in nursing homes in relation to the public health emergency.  The main purpose of the independent Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes… was to solicit lessons learned from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and recommendations for future actions to improve infection prevention and control measures, safety procedures, and [...]

2020-09-20T17:24:04-04:00September 20, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, September 16

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16. Department of Health and Human Services HHS and the Department of Defense released documents outlining their strategy for delivering COVID-19 vaccine doses. The documents provide a strategic distribution overview along with an interim playbook for state, tribal, territorial, and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19 within their respective jurisdictions. Learn more from the following documents: HHS’s news release The distribution strategy The vaccination program interim playbook HHS’s Office of the Assistant [...]

2020-09-17T08:50:19-04:00September 17, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Medicaid Enrollment on the Rise

More people are enrolling in Medicaid, and much of the increase is driven by the COVID-19 emergency. Or so reports the organization Families USA in a new study. According to the study, Over half of the 38 states reporting monthly enrollment through May or later have seen greater than 7% growth in enrollment since February. For the eight states reporting August enrollment, their average enrollment growth since February is approximately 11%. But the implications are even greater, according to the analysis, which found that in large part because of COVID-19 job loss, Medicaid enrollment among the 38 states reporting has [...]

2020-09-15T06:00:57-04:00September 15, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Medicaid|

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|

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 [...]

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|

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|

Coronavirus Update for Thursday, August 27

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 27. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has provided new guidance on completing Medicare reports: specifically, how providers should report Provider Relief Fund payments, uninsured charges reimbursed through the uninsured program administered by HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration, and Small Business Administration loan forgiveness amounts.  The new information can be found in CMS’s updated COVID-19 FAQ on Medicare fee-for-service billing, in questions 2 through 8 on pages 99-102. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act waives cost-sharing under Medicare Part B [...]

2020-08-28T06:00:39-04:00August 28, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, August 26

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26. Provider Relief Fund The deadline to apply for General Distribution Phase 2 Provider Relief Funds for Medicaid, CHIP, dental, and certain Medicare providers, previously this Friday, August 28, has been extended to September 13.  Entities that received payments from the initial $30 million distribution and the subsequent $20 million distribution are eligible to apply for additional funding if those payments do not equal at least two percent of their annual net patient revenue.  Go here for information about the extension of the application deadline and [...]

2020-08-27T06:00:23-04:00August 27, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|
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