COVID-19

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 testing clinical specimens from persons with COVID-19. The CDC has [...]

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 flexibility to the healthcare system as America reopens.  These changes [...]

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 (LTCH) prospective payments system fiscal year 2020 pricer to reflect [...]

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, April 28 as of 4:00 p.m. White House The Trump administration has released two new documents to support its plan for reopening the country and its economy:  a testing overview and an accompanying testing blueprint. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has updated its COVID-19 guidance for different types of clinical facilities. Food and Drug Administration After questions arose about its April 18 emergency use authorization (EUA) about the uses of non-surgical face masks, the FDA has re-issued that EUA to manufacturers of face masks, health care personnel, hospital purchasing departments, distributors, and other [...]