Online resource packed with regulatory news and expert guidance, tips & tools pertinent to professionals across the post-acute care continuum.
CMS issued a final rule that aims to modernize and clarify Medicare physician self-referral law, also called “Stark Law” On November 20. Stark Law was first introduced in 1989, and has not been meaningfully updated since. The law aims to protect patients and nursing home residents from physicians pushing services that are in their own […]
CMS announced that it will retire the original compare tools Dec. 1. Released in early September, Care Compare at Medicare.gov replaces the original compare tools, including Nursing Home Compare, Hospital Compare, and Physician Compare. Care Compare streamlines the eight original health care compare tools and can be used to find and compare health care providers, […]
New CMS guidance released Oct. 28 on a future COVID-19 vaccine offered new details for providers on distribution, billing and payment. An interim final rule establishes that any vaccine that receives Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization will be covered under Medicare as a preventive vaccine at no cost to beneficiaries. The rule also relaxes […]
CMS released the new home health cost report forms in a transmittal released on October 2. The new cost report forms are effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2020, and ending on or after December 31, 2020. The federal Medicare agency did make some changes to the forms that will require […]
On September 30, 2020, the U.S. Senate approved a continuing resolution (CR) that would delay the recoupment of Medicare Accelerated and Advanced Payments, according to CMS. Details of the plan include the delay of recoupment for one full year. The actual recoupment schedule would be stretched over 29 months. Recoupment for each claim would be […]
The National Government Services (NGS) supports the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) announcements that suggest Medicare patients get their flu and pneumonia shots. Medicare patients should remain current with flu, pneumonia and other vaccinations, according to NGS. A high-dose flu vaccine should be given to people who […]
CMS announced August 17 that routine inspections will resume for all Medicare and Medicaid certified providers and suppliers. Onsite revisit surveys, non-immediate jeopardy complaint surveys and annual recertification surveys will resume as soon as resources are available. CMS has also provided guidance on resolving enforcement cases that were previously on hold due to survey reprioritization […]
Any providers and suppliers interested in becoming a Home Infusion Therapy (HIT) supplier will be treated as new entrants into the program and be required to comply with all Medicare provider enrollment regulations, according to the 2021 proposed home health prospective payment rate update rule. A HIT supplier can be a pharmacy, physician or provider […]
Medicare relief funds have been an integral part in keeping some SNFs afloat since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some providers have yet to see any financial relief. Providers that took over SNFs in early 2020, before the pandemic, were not included in the previous federal aid packages, as the relief funds were […]
CMS released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Medicare fee-for-service billing. These FAQs are supplemental to those previously released by CMS in March. To view those, visit https://go.cms.gov/2yIS29R. CMS noted in the release that in many instances, the general statements of the FAQs referenced above have been superseded by COVID-19-specific legislation, emergency rules and waivers granted […]