CMS NEWS ALERT: May 5, 2020 (COVID-19)

View in browser | Distributed by Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) CMS NEWS ALERT May 5, 2020 Here is a summary of recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions taken in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (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 5, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. ET. Health Affairs Blog: What CMS’s Response to COVID-19 Means for Front Line Clinicians Health Affairs recently featured a blog post about what the recent CMS policy changes, including an unprecedented number of health system waivers and flexibilities, mean for health care professionals on the front lines. The blog was written by Michael J. Lipp, MD, Chief Medical Officer for the CMS Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, and Shari M. Ling, MD, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of CMS and Medical Officer for the CMS Center for Clinical Standards and Quality. Health Affairs Blog CMS Gives States Additional Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic CMS has approved over 145 requests for state relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent approvals for Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Rhode Island, 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. Section 1135 Waivers Section 1115(a) Waivers 1915(c) Waiver Appendix K Amendments Medicaid State Plan Amendments CHIP State Plan Amendments ###  Get CMS news at cms.gov/newsroom, sign up for CMS news via email and follow CMS on Twitter CMS Administrator @SeemaCMS, @CMSgov, and @CMSgovPress.

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