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CMS NEWS ALERT for May 1, 2020 (COVID-19)
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
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.
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Monday, May 4, 2020
CMS NEWS ALERT for May 1, 2020 (COVID-19)
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