NEWS ALERT
April 14, 2020
Here is a summary of recent Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) actions taken in response to the COVID-19
virus, 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 14, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
Postponement
of 2019 Benefit Year HHS-operated Risk Adjustment Data Validation
To facilitate the nation’s response
to COVID-19, CMS is announcing the postponement of the 2019 benefit year HHS
Risk Adjustment Data Validation (HHS-RADV) process. This action will allow
individual and small group health insurance issuers and providers to focus
on the health and safety threats currently faced by enrollees,
participants, and other impacted individuals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CMS intends to provide future guidance in the summer of 2020 on the updated
timeline for 2019 benefit year HHS-RADV activities that are planned to
begin in 2021. CMS previously announced a similar suspension of the Medicare
Advantage RADV program.
Updated
Medicaid & CHIP FAQs on Enhanced Federal Funding, Recent Congressional
Action
CMS released additional guidance to
states on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES). The Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs) address enhanced federal Medicaid funding and other topics
during the COVID-19 national emergency.
CMS
Approves Additional State Medicaid Waivers and Amendments to Give States
Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS has approved 50 emergency waivers, 28 state amendments, 9
COVID-related Medicaid Disaster Amendments and one CHIP COVID-related
Disaster Amendment in record time. States are using a toolkit
CMS developed to expedite the
application and approval of Medicaid state waivers and State Plan
Amendments.
CMS continues to deliver urgent regulatory relief to ensure
the State can quickly and effectively care for their most vulnerable
citizens. CMS approved a COVID-related Medicaid Disaster Amendment
that brings relief to Alabama. These approvals help to ensure that states
have the tools they need to combat COVID-19 through a wide variety of state
plan flexibilities. CMS continues to authorize amendments to ensure
emergency flexibilities in programs that care for the elderly and people
with disabilities, including most recently in Arkansas. These approved
flexibilities support President Trump’s commitment to a COVID-19 response
that is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.
2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Long-Term Care Facility Transfer Scenarios
CMS is providing supplemental
information for transferring or discharging residents between skilled
nursing facilities and/or nursing facilities based on COVID-19 status
(i.e., positive, negative, unknown/under observation). In general, if two
or more certified long-term care facilities want to transfer or discharge
residents between themselves for the purposes of cohorting, they do not
need any additional approval to do so. However, if a certified long-term
care facility would like to transfer or discharge residents to a
non-certified location for the purposes of cohorting, they need approval
from the State Survey Agency.
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Contact: CMS Media Relations
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