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CMS Approves
Approximately $34 Billion for Providers with the Accelerated/Advance Payment
Program for Medicare Providers in One Week
The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) has delivered near $34 billion in the past week
to the healthcare providers on the frontlines battling the 2019 Novel
Coronavirus (COVID-19). The funds have been provided through the expansion of
the Accelerated and Advance Payment Program to ensure providers and suppliers
have the resources needed to combat the pandemic.
“Healthcare providers are
making massive financial sacrifices to care for the influx of coronavirus
patients,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “Many are rightly complying
with federal recommendations to delay non-essential elective surgeries to
preserve capacity and personal protective equipment. They shouldn’t be penalized
for doing the right thing. Amid a public health storm of unprecedented fury,
these payments are helping providers and suppliers – so critical to defeating
this terrible virus – stay afloat.”
The streamlined process
implemented by CMS for COVID-19 has reduced processing times for a request of
an accelerated or advance payment to between four to six days, down from the
previous timeframe of three to four weeks. In a little over a week, CMS
has received over 25,000 requests from health care providers and suppliers
for accelerated and advance payments and have already approved over 17,000 of
those requests in the last week. Prior to COVID-19, CMS had approved
just over 100 total requests in the past five years, with most being tied to
natural disasters such as hurricanes.
The payments are available
to Part A providers, including hospitals, and Part B suppliers, including
doctors, non-physician practitioners and durable medical equipment (DME)
suppliers. While most of these providers and suppliers can receive three
months of their Medicare reimbursements, certain providers can receive up to
six months.
The CMS Accelerated and
Advance Payment Program is funded from the Hospital Insurance (Part A) and
Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part B) trust funds, which are the same fund
used to pay out Medicare claims each day. The advance and accelerated payments
are a loan that providers must pay back. CMS will begin to apply claims
payments to offset the accelerated/advance payments 120 days after
disbursement. The majority of hospitals including inpatient acute care
hospitals, children’s hospitals, certain cancer hospitals, and critical
access hospitals will have up to one year from the date the accelerated
payment was made to repay the balance. All other Part A providers and Part B
suppliers will have up to 210 days to complete repayment of accelerated and
advance payments, respectively.
It is important to note,
this funding is separate from the $100 billion provided in the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act appropriation
is a payment that does not need to be repaid. The Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) will be providing additional information on how
healthcare providers and suppliers can access CARES Act funds in the coming
weeks.
The fact sheet on the
accelerated/advance payment process and how to submit a request can be found
here: Fact Sheet Providers can also contact their
Medicare Administrative Contractor for any questions.
This action, and earlier
CMS actions in response to COVID-19, are part of the ongoing White House
Coronavirus Task Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task
Force is doing in response to COVID-19, visit www.coronavirus.gov. For a complete and
updated list of CMS actions, and other information specific to CMS, please
visit the Current Emergencies Website.
The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) has delivered near $34 billion in the past week
to the healthcare providers on the frontlines battling the 2019 Novel
Coronavirus (COVID-19). The funds have been provided through the expansion of
the Accelerated and Advance Payment Program to ensure providers and suppliers
have the resources needed to combat the pandemic.
“Healthcare providers are
making massive financial sacrifices to care for the influx of coronavirus
patients,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “Many are rightly complying
with federal recommendations to delay non-essential elective surgeries to
preserve capacity and personal protective equipment. They shouldn’t be
penalized for doing the right thing. Amid a public health storm of
unprecedented fury, these payments are helping providers and suppliers – so
critical to defeating this terrible virus – stay afloat.”
The streamlined process
implemented by CMS for COVID-19 has reduced processing times for a request of
an accelerated or advance payment to between four to six days, down from the
previous timeframe of three to four weeks. In a little over a week, CMS
has received over 25,000 requests from health care providers and suppliers
for accelerated and advance payments and have already approved over 17,000 of
those requests in the last week. Prior to COVID-19, CMS had approved
just over 100 total requests in the past five years, with most being tied to
natural disasters such as hurricanes.
The payments are available
to Part A providers, including hospitals, and Part B suppliers, including
doctors, non-physician practitioners and durable medical equipment (DME)
suppliers. While most of these providers and suppliers can receive three
months of their Medicare reimbursements, certain providers can receive up to
six months.
The CMS Accelerated and
Advance Payment Program is funded from the Hospital Insurance (Part A) and Supplementary
Medical Insurance (Part B) trust funds, which are the same fund used to pay
out Medicare claims each day. The advance and accelerated payments are a loan
that providers must pay back. CMS will begin to apply claims payments to
offset the accelerated/advance payments 120 days after disbursement. The
majority of hospitals including inpatient acute care hospitals, children’s
hospitals, certain cancer hospitals, and critical access hospitals will have
up to one year from the date the accelerated payment was made to repay the
balance. All other Part A providers and Part B suppliers will have up to 210
days to complete repayment of accelerated and advance payments, respectively.
It is important to note,
this funding is separate from the $100 billion provided in the Coronavirus
Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act appropriation
is a payment that does not need to be repaid. The Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) will be providing additional information on how healthcare
providers and suppliers can access CARES Act funds in the coming weeks.
The fact sheet on the
accelerated/advance payment process and how to submit a request can be found
here: Fact Sheet Providers can also contact their
Medicare Administrative Contractor for any questions.
This action, and earlier
CMS actions in response to COVID-19, are part of the ongoing White House
Coronavirus Task Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task
Force is doing in response to COVID-19, visit www.coronavirus.gov. For a complete and
updated list of CMS actions, and other information specific to CMS, please
visit the Current Emergencies Website.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2020
COVID-19 News: CMS Approves Approximately $34 Billion for Providers with the Accelerated/Advance Payment Program for Medicare Providers in One Week
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