COVID-19

Coronavirus Update for Tuesday, June 30

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, June 30 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services An HHS spokesperson tweeted yesterday that “@HHSGov expects to renew the Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19 before it expires.” HHS announced that it has entered into an agreement to secure a supply of remdesivir, a drug used to treat COVID-19. Hospitals will have to purchase the drug from the pharmaceutical company and its distributor at the negotiated price of about $3200 a treatment, with the amount each hospital can purchase to be determined by the federal government and state health departments based on [...]

2020-07-01T06:00:38-04:00July 1, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Friday, June 26

Coronavirus update for Friday, June 26 as of 3:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. The latest changes are marked “6/22/2020.”  Most refer to the planned Provider Relief Fund distribution of $15 billion to Medicaid and CHIP providers. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has posted an FAQ on implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. CMS has issued guidance to hospitals on visits to patients who are COVID-19 negative. CMS has clarified previous guidance that Medicare Administrative [...]

2020-06-29T06:00:28-04:00June 29, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Monday, June 22

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 22 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has added new questions and answers and modified others in its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. Providers should review these changes carefully; they are marked 6/19/2020 and 6/21/2020. CARES Act Provider Relief Fund - Medicaid and SCHIP-Only Distribution Webcasts On its Provider Relief Fund web page, HHS has posted the following notice: HHS expects to distribute $15 billion to eligible Medicaid and CHIP providers through the Provider Relief Fund.  Join our webcast to learn more about the application process.  Please pre-register to [...]

2020-06-23T06:00:09-04:00June 23, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Thursday, June 18

Coronavirus update for Thursday, June 18 as of 3:00 p.m. CARES Act Provider Relief Fund - Medicaid and SCHIP-Only Distribution Webcasts On its Provider Relief Fund web page, HHS has posted the following notice: HHS expects to distribute $15 billion to eligible Medicaid and CHIP providers through the Provider Relief Fund.  Join our webcast to learn more about the application process.  Please pre-register to reserve a spot on your preferred date: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 2 PM ET Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 2 PM ET   Department of Health and Human Services HHS has published “Healthcare System Considerations [...]

2020-06-19T06:00:00-04:00June 19, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Tuesday, June 16

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, June 16 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ, adding new questions on pages 9 and 32 that are labeled “Added 6/13/2020” and new questions on pages 8, 14, and 31 that are labeled “Added 6/15/2020.” Hospitals should pay particular attention to the new question and answer at the top of page 9 (added 6/13/2020), which describes the reporting requirements of grant recipients to ensure their compliance with the program’s terms and conditions. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its [...]

2020-06-17T06:00:28-04:00June 17, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Friday, June 12

Coronavirus update for Friday, June 12 as of 4:00 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services As we reported previously, HHS will be distributing $10 billion in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund grants to hospitals that have served especially large numbers of COVID-19 patients. To apply for these grants, hospitals must submit data to HHS via its teletracking web site.  See below for: information about the Provider Relief Fund and the grants to high-impact hospitals; an FAQ about the grants and the data to be submitted; and where to submit the data. Hospitals must submit their data no later than [...]

2020-06-15T06:00:20-04:00June 15, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, June 10

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, June 10 as of 3:00 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services On Tuesday HHS announced that it will be distributing $15 billion to clinicians and facilities that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and/or Medicaid and CHIP managed care organizations that have not yet received any general distribution grants from the Provider Relief Fund. This funding is intended to supply relief to Medicaid and CHIP providers experiencing lost revenues or increased expenses due to COVID-19.  Examples of providers serving Medicaid/CHIP beneficiaries that may be eligible for this funding include pediatricians, obstetrician-gynecologists, dentists, opioid treatment [...]

2020-06-11T06:00:58-04:00June 11, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

New Distributions of Provider Relief Fund Money

On Tuesday morning the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will distribute $10 billion to hospitals located in COVID-19 hotspots that have cared for especially large numbers of COVID-19 patients.  It also will distribute $25 billion in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund money to safety-net providers, including $10 billion specifically for safety-net hospitals.  (Some of the language in this memo is taken directly from HHS’s news release.) The $10 Billion Distribution to COVID-19 Hotspot Hospitals On Monday HHS sent messages to all hospitals asking them to update information on their COVID-19 positive-inpatient admissions for the period January [...]

2020-06-10T06:00:52-04:00June 10, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Monday, June 8

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 8 as of 2:30 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its “COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers” document.  Added since the last version are a new section, on page 14, on altered time lines for Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, along with two modifications:  one on page 10, addressing site-neutral payments for long-term care hospitals, and another on page 13, in support of care for patients in long-term care hospital patients. CMS – Stakeholder Engagement Calls CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related [...]

2020-06-09T06:00:02-04:00June 9, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Friday, June 5

Coronavirus update for Friday, June 5 as of 2:30 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services In the past week CMS issued six section 1135 waivers to give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  It issued waivers to Alaska (two waivers), Arizona, Mississippi, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has updated its guidance on recommendations for people who believe they have been exposed to people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 when the people to whom they have been exposed are neither health care workers nor critical infrastructure workers [...]

2020-06-08T09:51:56-04:00June 8, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|
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