COVID-19

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, June 3 as of 12:00 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its FAQ on Medicare COVID-19 fee-for-service billing.  All of the changes address national coverage determinations and are clearly marked within the document.  Providers should review them carefully. In response to COVID-19, CMS is providing new flexibilities and adjustments to current and future CMMI models to address the emergency.  It has released a chart that outlines the models and the new changes.  CMS also has written a blog post describing additional CMMI model flexibilities. CMS has released guidance to states supporting implementation of the Optional COVID-19 Testing (XXIII) Group­­­ established by [...]

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 1 as of 3:00 pm. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has added to and modified its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ.  Find additions on pages 2, 4, 5, 8, 23, 24, and 25 and modifications on pages 8, 9, and 19.  The latest changes are identified as added or modified on 5/26 or 5/29.  Providers should review these changes carefully. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has issued new guidance to clarify when providers must use modifier CR (catastrophe/disaster-related) and/or condition code DR (disaster-related) when submitting claims to Medicare.  The guidance applies [...]

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, May 26 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has submitted its required report to Congress detailing its COVID-19 strategic testing plan. HHS announced a 45-day extension for providers that are receiving grants from the CARES Act’s Provider Relief Fund to accept the terms and conditions for those payments. This means providers have now been granted 90 days from the date they received a payment to accept the terms and conditions or return the money. ASPR TRACIE, sponsored by HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to provide [...]

Coronavirus update for Friday, May 22 as of 3:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund page, adding a new section on allocations for skilled nursing facilities. That new section is the foundation for HHS’s announcement that it has begun distributing nearly $4.9 billion in relief funds to skilled nursing facilities to help them respond to the effects of COVID-19. Each SNF will receive a fixed distribution of $50,000 plus $2500 per bed.  All certified SNFs with six or more certified beds are eligible for this targeted distribution. HHS has updated [...]

Coronavirus update for May 20, 2020 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has updated its FAQ for the distribution of CARES Act money through the Provider Relief Fund on four occasions in the past two weeks, including new updates dated yesterday.  Updates from yesterday include instructions on attestation and questions about change in ownership.  Go here to see the changes, which are identified within the document. HHS announced that its Health Resources and Services Administration provided $225 million to rural health clinics for COVID-19 testing and shared a state-by-state breakdown of the funding.   Centers [...]