CMS

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 14, 2021)—The Biden-Harris Administration announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is making $25.5 billion in new funding available for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 10, 2021)—The Government Accounting Office (GAO) is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to better track the effects of pandemic-related changes on programs for home- and community-based services (HCBS). The changes include allowing evaluations by telehealth, allowing other settings for care and relaxing provider qualifications.

Updated Sept. 10 at 8:22 a.m. Central, to reflect further industry reactions.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 7, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) indicated in an August 2021 MLNConnects newsletter that the agency will resume the targeted probe and educate (TPE) program that was suspended in March 2020 (as were most medical reviews) due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).

Some medical reviews resumed in August 2020, despite the PHE, but the TPE program remained on pause.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 31, 2021)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the latest home health proposed rule 86 Fed. Reg. 35874. The rule proposed changes to the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) case mix and reimbursement based on 2020 care data.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 26, 2021)—On August 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) distributed an alert on Philips respiratory products under recall. In their notice, CMS tells patients with recalled devices:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 26, 2021)–The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expanding opportunities for people to receive COVID-19 vaccinations in their home. To ensure Medicare beneficiaries who have difficulty leaving their homes or are otherwise hard-to-reach can receive the vaccination, health care providers can now receive additional payments for administering vaccines to multiple residents in one home setting or communal setting of a home.   

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2021)—On a party line vote, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced the annual appropriations for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for fiscal year 2022, approving $119 billion in discretionary spending, an increase of $23 billion over the previous year.

(Discretionary spending does not include Medicare and Medicaid care-related expenses, as that is considered mandatory spending and not subject to the annual appropriations process.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 6, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule on July 30, 2021, permanently exempted manual complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchair accessories from pricing based on competitive bidding results for standard wheelchair accessories.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 6, 2021)—AAHomecare has retained The Nickles Group (TNG), a well-established D.C. lobbying firm, to bolster the association’s capability to engage Capitol Hill and federal agencies overseeing health care policy.
 

WASHIGNTON, D.C. (August 5, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has added bid data that compares Round 2021 of the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program (CBP) to the most recent three rounds of competition.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 30, 2021)—It’s a victory for complex rehab suppliers. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that ends the application of bid-derived rates for complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs.

WASHINGTON, D.C (July 16, 2021)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and a group of like-minded organizations representing America's health providers have written a letter to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), asking them to:
•    oppose an extension of mandatory Medicare sequestration as a pay-for in any infrastructure package; and

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 16, 2021)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation's leading home respiratory therapy providers and manufacturing companies—expressed concern in response to the Proposed Decision Memo for Home Use of Oxygen and Home Oxygen Use to Treat Cluster Headaches, which outlines proposed changes to documentation requirements put in place to protect providers and patient access by two National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) related to home oxygen.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 6, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) has published proposed changes to the Oxygen National Coverage Determination (NCD) based on public comments from last year’s opening of the National Coverage Analysis (NCA) for Home Use of Oxygen Use to Treat Cluster Headaches. Proposed changes include but are not limited to:

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (July 1, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) isn’t ready to make dramatic changes yet to the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) but could reduce base payment rates as soon as 2023 if current tren

WASHINGTON, DC (June 29, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule that would i

WASHINGTON, DC (June 25, 2021)--New legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House on Thursday that would strengthen and expand access to quality homecare services and support the caregiving workforce that provides them. 

According to a summary of the bill provided by the Senate Committee on Aging, the Better Care Better Jobs Act, a key element of President Biden’s American Jobs Plan, would: 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 9, 2021)—Clover Health, a technology company committed to improving health equity for America’s underserved seniors, announced plans to scale its in-home primary care program, Clover Home Care, through the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new Direct Contracting model.