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). …
Insights and News
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 …
SAMSHA and HHS Make Big Changes to Substance Use Disorder Privacy Rules
SAMSHA announced that they have revised the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulation (42 CFR Part 2). The new rule allows providers to share SUD client records with other …
Important Deadline: Notice of Non-Compliance Related to Annual Payment Update
CMS is providing notifications to facilities that were determined to be out of compliance with Quality Reporting Program (QRP) requirements for CY 2019, which will affect their FY 2021 Annual …
CMS Directs Additional Resources to Nursing Homes in COVID-19 Hotspot Areas
From CMS: “CMS announced the agency’s targeted approach to provide additional resources to nursing homes in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) hotspot areas. Specifically, CMS plans to deploy Quality Improvement Organizations …