NEWS ALERT
April 27, 2020
Here is a summary of recent Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions taken in response to the
2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), as part of the ongoing White House Task
Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task Force is doing
in response to COVID-19, click here www.coronavirus.gov. For information specific
to CMS, please visit the CMS News Room and Current Emergencies Website. CMS
updates these resources on an ongoing basis throughout the day; the
information below is current as of April 27, 2020 at 10:45 a.m.
CMS
Reevaluates Accelerated Payment Program and Suspends Advance Payment
Program
CMS announced that it is reevaluating
the amounts that will be paid under its Accelerated Payment Program and
suspending its Advance Payment Program to Part B suppliers effective
immediately. The agency made this announcement following the successful
payment of over $100 billion to healthcare providers and suppliers through
these programs. CMS had expanded these temporary loan programs to ensure
providers and suppliers had the resources needed to combat the beginning
stages of the COVID-19. Funding will continue to be available to hospitals and
other healthcare providers on the front lines of the coronavirus response
primarily from the Provider
Relief Fund.
Trump
Administration Releases COVID-19 Toolkit to Accelerate State Use of
Telehealth in Medicaid and CHIP
CMS released a new toolkit for states
to help accelerate adoption of broader telehealth coverage policies in the Medicaid
and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) during the COVID-19
pandemic. The toolkit will help states identify policies that may impede
the rapid deployment of telehealth when providing care. This release builds
on the agency’s swift actions to ensure that Americans can access the
health care services they need through electronic and virtual means,
minimizing travel to healthcare facilities and supporting efforts to limit
community spread of the virus.
Infection
Control Guidance to Home Health Agencies on COVID-19
CMS issued guidance to respond to
questions from Medicare & Medicaid Home Health Agencies and Religious
Nonmedical Healthcare Institutions. The guidance addresses the COVID-19
outbreak and minimizing transmission to other individuals.
Now
Available: Nursing Home Five Star Quality Rating System Updates, Nursing
Home Staff Counts, and Frequently Asked Questions
In a recent memo to State Survey
Agencies, CMS announced that the inspection domain of the Nursing Home
Compare website will be held constant temporarily due to the prioritization
and suspension of certain surveys, to ensure the rating system reflects
fair information for consumers. In addition, CMS is releasing information
that shows the average number of staff each nursing home has onsite, each
day (nursing staff and total staff), and aggregated by state and
nationally. Along with these announcements CMS released a list of
Frequently Asked Questions to clarify certain actions the agency has taken
related to visitation, surveys, waivers, and other guidance.
CMS Gives
States Additional Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS has approved more than 125
requests for state relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including
recent approvals for Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.
These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools they need to
combat COVID-19 through a wide variety of waivers, amendments, and Medicaid
state plan flexibilities, including for programs that care for the elderly
and people with disabilities. CMS developed a toolkit to expedite the application and review of each request and has
approved these requests in record time. These approved flexibilities
support President Trump’s commitment to a COVID-19 response that is locally
executed, state managed, and federally supported.
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Contact: CMS Media Relations
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