coronavirus

Coronavirus Update for Monday, January 11

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, January 11. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has formally extended its declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days, until April 21. HHS has announced the extension of its Community Based Testing Site program for COVID-19 testing. Through partnerships with national pharmacy and retail chains and service providers, this program has resulted in establishing more than 3,300 COVID-19 testing locations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [...]

iqtsupport2021-01-12T06:00:49-05:00January 12, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, January 6

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 6. Provider Relief Fund The Office of Management and Budget has issued guidance on how funds received through the Provider Relief Fund should be audited. Entities that receive government grants of more than $750,000 are subject to a single audit requirement. Because of the Provider Relief Fund, many hospitals that have never been subject to this audit requirement now must comply with it. The deadline originally was October 1 but was postponed and it has now been delayed again until June 30. [...]

iqtsupport2021-01-07T06:00:37-05:00January 7, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronvirus Update for January 4, 2021

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as of 2:30 p.m. on Monday, January 4. Provider Relief Fund HHS has updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ with six changes, all dated 12/28/2020. They can be found on pages 6 (accounting for Provider Relief Fund distributions), 16 (use of Provider Relief Fund grant money), 40 (HHS’s methodology for calculating Phase 3 distributions), 41 (two changes: one about how much providers should expect to receive from the Phase 3 distribution and the other about when providers can expect to receive their Phase 3 distributions), and 56 [...]

iqtsupport2021-01-05T06:00:00-05:00January 5, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, December 23

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 23. Provider Relief Fund The Office of Management and Budget has issued guidance on how funds received through the Provider Relief Fund should be audited. The guidance also extends audit filing deadlines for three months for recipients whose original audit due dates are between October 1, 2020 and June 20, 2021. HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with three new questions on pages 5 and 6 addressing the Form 1099. All are marked “Added 12/18/2020.” HHS has updated the Provider Relief [...]

iqtsupport2020-12-24T06:00:36-05:00December 24, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Friday, December 18

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 3:30 p.m. on Friday, December 18. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has issued an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period that establishes a New COVID-19 Treatments Add-on Payment (NCTAP) under the Medicare inpatient prospective payment system effective from November 2, 2020 until the end of the public health emergency for COVID-19. To mitigate potential financial disincentives for hospitals to provide new COVID-19 treatments during the COVID-19 emergency, Medicare will provide an enhanced payment for eligible inpatient cases that involve use of certain new products with current [...]

iqtsupport2020-12-21T06:00:40-05:00December 21, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Thursday, December 17

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 17. CDC Webinar on Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Vaccines The CDC will hold a clinical outreach and communication activity webinar on Friday, December 18 at 2:00 (eastern) to give clinicians an overview of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Clinicians will learn about vaccine characteristics and administration, vaccinating special populations, and contraindications. They will also get answers to a number of clinical questions CDC has received about these new vaccines. Go here for further information about the webinar and to register to participate. [...]

iqtsupport2020-12-18T06:00:20-05:00December 18, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Wednesday, December 16

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, December 16. Provider Relief Fund HHS announced that it has completed its review of Phase 3 applications from the Provider Relief Fund program and will distribute $24.5 billion to more than 70,000 providers. HHS said this distribution will satisfy up to 88 percent of each applicant’s reported net lost revenues and net change in expenses caused by COVID-19 in the first half of 2020. See HHS’s announcement here. Phase 3 was originally announced as a $20 billion distribution. According to HHS, “As HHS began [...]

iqtsupport2020-12-17T06:00:11-05:00December 17, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Financial Outlook Weak as Non-Profit Hospitals Face Challenging 2021

Non-profit hospitals face numerous challenges to their financial health in 2021, according to a recent analysis by Moody’s, the bond-rating company. Among those challenges are weak cash flow caused by reduced non-urgent procedures; weak demand; a shift of patients to lower-cost, lower-revenue outpatient settings; changes in payer mix as Medicaid enrollment continues to rise and more patients lose their health insurance; and COVID-19-related expenses that continue to drive up costs. Learn more about Moody’s outlook for non-profit hospitals in 2021 in the Fierce Healthcare article “Moody’s: Not-for-profit hospitals face major cash constraints, negative outlook for 2021.”

iqtsupport2020-12-16T06:00:46-05:00December 16, 2020|hospitals|

Coronavirus Update for Monday, December 14

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 2:30 p.m. on Monday, December 14. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its payment and HCPCS Level I CPT code structure with specific COVID-19 vaccine information. Among other things, it notes that providers should only bill the vaccine administration codes when they submit claims to Medicare and should not include vaccine product codes when the vaccines are free. CMS has updated its data on Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payments Program payments to providers. The data is both general, about different provider types, and specific for [...]

iqtsupport2020-12-15T10:29:33-05:00December 15, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|

Coronavirus Update for Thursday, December 10

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal government as 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 10. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its FAQs for Medicare fee-for-service billing with 20 new or updated questions, all marked “12/8/2020,” that address payments for monoclonal antibody treatments and vaccines, including billing and payments for skilled nursing facilities and non-excepted off-campus provider-based departments; requirements for providing antibodies through infusion therapy; and “hospital without walls” flexibilities. Find the new and updated questions between pages 122 and 135. CMS has posted an infographic on coverage of monoclonal antibody products to treat [...]

iqtsupport2020-12-11T06:00:14-05:00December 11, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|