Medicaid Can No Longer Pay Union Dues Under New CMS Policy
This week, CMS finalized a rule which prevents home healthcare workers from paying union dues via state Medicaid payments. This reverses a rule from 2014 which permitted the practice. CMS’ …
CMS Releases a New Version of OASIS for 2020
CMS has announced changes to OASIS for 2020. Fortunately for providers, they are relatively minor and will be easy to implement. From CMS: “Beginning January 1, 2020, changes to the …
CMS Finalizes Medicare Advantage and Part D Payment and Policy Updates for 2020
On Monday CMS finalized a rule giving Medicare Advantage plans a 2.53% pay raise in 2020. This is far better than the 1.59% raise that was proposed previously. Additionally, the …
Important Medicare Benefit Policy Manual Updates for Home Health Providers
CMS has released CR11104, which contains many important changes for home health providers. CR11104 updates the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual and Medicare Program Integrity Manual to reflect policy changes in …
CMS Announces No Active Medicare Provider Enrollment Moratoria in any State
The Moratoria for Medicare Provider Enrollment has been lifted as of January 30, 2019, according to CMS. Providers can now enroll in all U.S. States and Territories. In previous years, …
The Physician Compare Preview Period is Closing Soon!
The Physician Compare 30 day preview period has been open since the end of November. Have you checked out your performance information yet? Don’t get caught by surprise – the …
Important Changes to Home Health Rural Add-On Payments
CR 10782 creates a new value code, and an associated FIPS State and County Code. The new value code 85 is defined as “County Where Service is Rendered.” All RAPs …
Back to Basics – Mastering Medicare Acronyms
Even the most seasoned health care provider can sometimes get lost in the alphabet soup of CMS. There’s no shame in having to search for the occasional acronym – we’re …
2019 Mileage Rate
For providers who pay mileage, expect to pay a little more in 2019! The Internal Revenue Service today issued the 2019 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs …
Changes to the CWF for Medicare Providers
Per CR 10983 – the Common Working File will require verification of the National Provider Identifier and Submitter Identification. This is similar to the HIPAA Eligibility Transaction System (HETS) – …