NEWS ALERT
May 19, 2020
As part of the
ongoing White House Task Force efforts taken in response to coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19), following is a summary of recent Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions. To keep up with the
important Task Force work being done 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 19, 2020 at
4:00 pm ET.
Trump
Administration Issues Guidance to Ensure States Have a Plan in Place to
Safely Reopen Nursing Homes
CMS announced new guidance for state and local
officials to ensure the safe reopening of nursing homes across the country.
The guidance released today is part of President Trump’s Guidelines for
Opening Up America Again. It details critical steps nursing homes and
communities should take prior to relaxing restrictions implemented to
prevent the spread of COVID-19, including rigorous infection prevention and
control, adequate testing, and surveillance. The recommendations allow
states to make sure nursing homes are continuing to take the appropriate
and necessary steps to ensure resident safety and are opening their doors
when the time is right.
CMS Releases
Additional Waivers for Hospitals and Ground Ambulance Organizations
CMS continues to release waivers for the
healthcare community that provide the flexibilities needed to take care of
patients during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). CMS recently
provided additional blanket waivers for the duration of the PHE that:
- Modify existing physical environment waivers
to allow for increased flexibilities for surge capacity and patient
quarantine at hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and critical access hospitals
as a result of COVID-19; and
- Modify the data collection period and data
reporting period for ground ambulance organizations.
Medicare Payment
for COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests
Earlier this year, CMS took action to ensure
America’s patients, health care facilities, and clinical laboratories were
prepared to respond to COVID-19. To help increase testing, CMS developed
two codes that laboratories can use to bill for certain COVID-19 lab tests,
including serology tests. CMS has updated its guidance to include payment
details for additional CPT codes created by the American Medical
Association. There is no cost-sharing for Medicare patients.
CMS Gives States
Additional Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS has approved over 200 requests for state
relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent approvals for
Alaska, Iowa, Hawaii, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Utah, and Virginia. These approvals help to ensure that states have
the tools they need to combat COVID-19. This is done through a wide variety
of waivers, amendments, and Medicaid state plan flexibilities, including
support for programs that care for the elderly and people with
disabilities. CMS also 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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