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NEWS ALERT
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 May 1, 2020
at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Trump Administration Issues Second
Round of Sweeping Changes to Support U.S. Healthcare System During COVID-19
Pandemic
Building
on its recent historic efforts to help the U.S. healthcare system manage the
COVID-19 pandemic, CMS issued another 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 include
making it easier for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to get tested for
COVID-19 and continuing CMS’s efforts to further expand beneficiaries’ access
to telehealth services. The temporary changes will apply immediately for the
duration of the Public Health Emergency declaration.
CMS Announces Independent Commission to
Address Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes
CMS
announced a new independent Commission that will conduct a comprehensive
assessment of the nursing home response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
Commission will help inform efforts to safeguard the health and quality of
life of vulnerable Americans as CMS continues to battle COVID-19 as well as
prepare for future threats to resident safety and public health. This
unprecedented effort builds on the agency’s five-part
plan unveiled last April to ensure safety and quality in America’s
nursing homes, as well as recent CMS efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19
within these facilities.
New Frequently Asked Questions on
EMTALA
CMS
issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) clarifying requirements and
considerations for hospitals and other providers related to the Emergency
Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
FAQs address questions around patient presentation to the emergency
department, EMTALA applicability across facility types, qualified medical
professionals, medical screening exams, patient transfer and stabilization,
telehealth, and other topics.
Guidance Available on Telehealth and
HHS-Operated Risk Adjustment for Individual and Small Group Health Insurance
Health Plans
In
response to the increased need for providing telehealth due to COVID-19, CMS
has given additional consideration to telehealth services in HHS-operated
risk adjustment for issuers in the individual and small group health
insurance markets inside and outside the Marketplaces. CMS’ new guidance
clarifies which telehealth services are valid for HHS-operated risk
adjustment data submission in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dear Clinician: CMS Adds New COVID-19
Clinical Trials Improvement Activity to the Quality Payment Program
CMS
issued a letter thanking clinicians for their ongoing efforts to treat
patients and combat COVID-19 and shared additional details on the new
Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) improvement activity. As
announced earlier this month, clinicians who participate in a
COVID-19 clinical trial and report their findings to a clinical data
repository or registry many now earn credit in MIPS under the Improvement
Activities performance category for the 2020 performance period by attesting
to this new activity.
CMS Gives States Additional Flexibility
to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS
has approved 140 requests for state relief in response to the COVID-19
pandemic, including recent approvals for Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Virginia, and Wyoming. 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.
Contact:
CMS Media Relations
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Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has sent this Measures Management
System Update. To contact Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
go to our contact
us page.
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To be a Medicare Agent's source of information on topics affecting the agent and their business, and most importantly, their clientele, is the intention of this site. Sourced from various means rooted in the health insurance industry - insurance carriers, governmental agencies, and industry news agencies, this is aimed as a resource of varying viewpoints to spark critical thought and discussion. We welcome your contributions.
Monday, May 4, 2020
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Measures Management System
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