COVID-19

Coronavirus Update for May 19, 2020

Coronavirus update for May 19, 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 three occasions in the past two weeks. Go here to see the changes, which are identified within the document. HHS is providing $11 billion in new funding to support COVID-19 testing to states, territories, and tribes. States must submit to HHS their projected month-to-month testing plans and capabilities for the rest of calendar year 2020. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS issued recommendations on [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-20T06:00:38-04:00May 20, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 18, 2020

COVID-19 update for Monday, May 18 as of 2:30 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has posted a compendium of COVID-19-related flexibilities it has authorized for ambulance services during the COVID-19 crisis. CMS has updated its collections of COVID-19-related waiver flexibilities for several types of health care providers. For health care providers, a new section on ambulance services and the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system (p. 29). For hospitals, new provisions addressing specific life safety code matters for hospitals (p. 3); expanded ability for hospitals to offer long-term-care services (swing beds) (p. 6); hospitals classified as sole-community [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-19T06:00:22-04:00May 19, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 15, 2020

Coronavirus update for Friday, May 15 as of 2:30 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS released a bulletin that gives guidance to states on how to temporarily modify provider payment methodologies and capitation rates under their Medicaid managed care contracts to address the impact of the COVID-19 emergency while preserving systems of care and access to services for Medicaid beneficiaries. See CMS’s announcement of the bulletin here and find the bulletin itself here. CMS updated its COVID-19 FAQ on Medicare fee-for-serving billing with new information about accountable care organizations that terminate their Shared Savings Program agreement (p. 40). [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-18T06:00:51-04:00May 18, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Uncategorized|

Coronavirus Update for May 14, 2020

Coronavirus update for Thursday, May 14 as of 3:00 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS is sending out its largest distribution of remdesivir this week. As of this week, HHS will have sent out 40 percent of its current supply. The drug is being sent to state health departments, which will distribute it to hospitals. Hospitals are being asked to update their data on COVID and suspected COVID inpatients and ICU patients on a weekly basis via the teletracking portal. The next deadline is Monday, May 18 at midnight. Once the federal supply is exhausted the federal government will not receive any additional donated doses [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-15T08:42:49-04:00May 15, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 13, 2020

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, May 13 as of 2:30 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has posted an FAQ on price transparency and requirements for providers to make public their cash prices for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has updated its FAQs for health care personnel working among and around patients who have or are suspected of having COVID-19. The CDC has updated its resources for hospitals and health care professionals preparing for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The CDC has published information providing a framework for health systems providing non-COVID-19-related [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-14T06:00:13-04:00May 14, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 12, 2020

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, May 12 as of 3:00 p.m. Congress House Democrats have unveiled their newest pandemic relief bill. The overall bill is estimated to cost around $3 trillion. A few of the health care provisions included in this bill are: $100 billion for eligible health care providers to be distributed through the Health Care Provider Relief Fund. This is in addition to the $175 billion Congress has already appropriated for providers. This bill would include a prescriptive and structured methodology for distribution of the Health Care Provider Relief Fund that would include, among other things: quarterly relief funds [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-13T06:00:01-04:00May 13, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 11, 2020

Coronavirus update for Monday, May 11 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has announced its allocation plan for the distribution of the prescription drug remdesivir to treat patients with COVID-19. The initial shipments were to Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, and New Jersey. The drug is being shipped to state health departments, which will decide how it will be distributed among hospitals. HHS will base future distribution of remdesivir on hospitals’ active COVID-19 cases. For this reason, it is asking hospitals log on to the COVID-19 Web Portal at https://teletracking.protect.hhs.gov, using the same login information [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-12T06:00:24-04:00May 12, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 8, 2020

Coronavirus update for Friday, May 8 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has updated its general distribution FAQ for the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund. The updated FAQ includes items that are identified as new. Among other things, it clarifies that HHS will not generally seek to recoup payments as long as providers’ lost revenue and increased expenses are greater than any payments in question. The FAQ also instructs hospitals on what they should do if they believe they received a mistaken payment or an overpayment. HHS’s Office of the Inspector General has updated its [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-11T06:00:45-04:00May 11, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 7, 2020

Coronavirus update for Thursday, May 7 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services Provider Relief Fund HHS has extended the deadline for attestation and acceptance of terms and conditions for payments from the Provider Relief Fund from the current 30 days to 45 days. HRSA, which is administering the program through which providers can submit claims for COVID-19-related care they provide to uninsured patients, has posted an FAQ based on a webinar it held last week to address how providers can submit those claims. HRSA also has posted a video demonstrating how to add and attest to [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-08T06:00:31-04:00May 8, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 6, 2020

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Department of Health and Human Services/Health Resources and Services Administration HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration, which is administering the program through which providers can be reimbursed for COVID-19-related services they provide to uninsured patients, has posted information on how to batch enter patient roster information. HRSA has posted a list of billing vendors and clearinghouses that have committed to submitting claims as part of the program for providers to seek payment for care provided to uninsured COVID-19 patients. HRSA has posted information about timing expectations for COVID-19 claims processing. Department of Health and Human Services/Office [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-07T08:37:08-04:00May 7, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|