Policy Updates

Coronavirus Update for May 27, 2020

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, May 27 as of 2:30 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has published a fact sheet for state and local governments on how to seek payments from CMS programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP for outpatient services and acute inpatient care provided at alternative care sites established in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Department of Health and Human Services ASPR TRACIE, sponsored by HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to provide Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) services, in collaboration with the HHS/FEMA COVID-19 Healthcare Resilience [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-28T08:51:33-04:00May 28, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 26, 2020

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 [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-27T06:00:48-04:00May 27, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 22, 2020

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 [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-25T06:00:52-04:00May 25, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 21, 2020

Coronavirus update for Thursday, May 21 as of 3:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has again updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. HHS has announced that it is collaborating with Astra Zeneca to make available at least 300 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine called AZD1222, with the first doses delivered as early as October of this year. HHS has notified skilled nursing facilities of its intent to distribute additional Provider Relief Fund grants to them. According to email communication directly from HHS to those providers, “Each SNF will receive a fixed distribution of $50,000, [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-22T06:00:25-04:00May 22, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for May 20, 2020

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 [...]

iqtsupport2020-05-21T06:00:59-04:00May 21, 2020|Coronavirus, 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|