Nursing Home Compare Quarterly Refresh
From CMS: “The July 2020 Nursing Home Compare refresh, including quality measure results based on SNF QRP data submitted to CMS, is now available. For this refresh SNF QRP assessment-based …
Insights and News
HHS and CMS Release Reports on Telehealth Use, COVID-19 Impact on Medicare Beneficiaries
HHS and CMS have released new data about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on telehealth usage, as well as COVID-19’s impact on vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. The new report from …
CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Engagement Calls – July 27th to August 14th
CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended …
Home Health QRP COVID-19 PHE Tip Sheet from CMS
CMS has released a new tip sheet to help home health providers navigate the changes to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (QRP) during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). …
Trump Administration Announces New Resources to Protect Nursing Home Residents Against COVID-19
From CMS: HHS will devote $5 billion of the Provider Relief Fund authorized by the CARES Act to Medicare-certified long term care facilities and state veterans’ homes to build nursing …
OCR Issues Guidance on Civil Rights Protections Prohibiting Race, Color, and National Origin Discrimination During COVID-19
From HHS: The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing guidance to ensure that recipients of federal financial assistance understand …
MassHealth: Revisions to the Eligibility Verification System (EVS) for All Providers
MassHealth has issued revisions to the Eligibility Verification System (EVS) message codes in Appendix Y of all provider manuals. The following changes were made: added codes related to the new …
Medicaid and CHIP Distribution Update from HHS
In June, HHS announced the opening of the application period and plans to distribute approximately $15 billion to eligible providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs who had …
Nursing Homes with Three or More COVID-19 Cases will Be Prioritized for Point-of-Care Tests
From McKnight’s: “The federal government will prioritize nursing homes with three or more coronavirus cases during the initial distribution of point-of-care COVID-19 tests.” “During a call with nursing homes Wednesday …
MassHealth: FY19 Supplemental Budget Surplus Distribution for Home Health Agencies
From MassHealth: During the fourth quarter of state fiscal year 2020, due to COVID-19, providers experienced an unanticipated and significant reduction in service utilization. As a result of this reduction …