TRUMP, CMS TAKE ACTION TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS NATIONAL EMERGENCY
The Trump Administration announced on March 12 aggressive actions and regulatory flexibilities to help healthcare providers and states respond to and contain the spread of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking these actions following President Trump’s declaration of a national
CMS VERMA ATTACKS CRITICS OF MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENT, PUSHES FOR TIGHTER ELIGIBILITY
By Phil Galewitz Seema Verma, the Trump administration’s top Medicaid official, Nov. 12 sharply attacked critics of her plan to force some Medicaid enrollees to work, a policy that led to thousands of people losing coverage in Arkansas. “We cannot allow those who prefer the status quo to weaponize the legal
CMS ISSUES RENEWED GUIDANCE IN EFFORT TO ENSURE MEDICAID PROGRAM INTEGRITY
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance to state Medicaid agencies June 21 that outlines the necessary assurances that states should make to ensure that program resources are reserved for those who meet eligibility requirements. This guidance follows a series of steps that CMS has taken since
CMS SUPPLY NUMBER RATE REDUCTIONS FOR 2019 LOWEST FOR CLARIVEIN
By Larry Storer The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule Nov. 1, 2018, that includes updates to payment policies, payment rates and quality provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on or after Jan. 1, 2019. The effect of CMS changes to
VOLUNTARY MACRA CODES MAY DETERMINE WHAT DOCTORS ARE PAID
New patient relationship categories and codes are one of the most important provisions of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), according to a piece in the New England Journal of Medicine. In January 2018, the billing-code modifiers, which allow clinicians to report their relationship to a patient at a
WISCONSIN MEDICAID WORK PROGRAM GETS CMS OK OCT. 31
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a waiver to implement work requirements in Wisconsin’s Medicaid program Oct. 31, making it the fourth state to enact such an approach. Under the waiver, beneficiaries in the state’s BadgerCare program would have to engage in 80 hours a month of “community
CMS SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED RULE TO USE IPI PAY MODEL BY DEC 31
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services intends to test whether phasing down the Medicare payment amount for selected Part B drugs to more closely align with international prices will meet President Trump’s blueprint to lower drug costs and reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients. CMS is soliciting public comments by
CMS ANNOUNCES PARTICIPANTS IN NEW VALUE-BASED BUNDLED PAYMENT MODEL
On Oct. 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that 1,299 entities have signed agreements with the agency to participate in the Administration’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement – Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model. The participating entities will receive bundled payments for certain episodes of care as
MEDICAL GROUPS SEE PROGRESS IN CMS’s EHR APPROACH IN HOSPITAL RULE
Medical groups have applauded steps that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services took to ease administrative burden through a new rule on hospital payments, while still pressing the agency for further changes in its approach to electronic health records. On Aug. 2, the CMS unveiled the final version of