WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 21, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a new “one-stop shop” for state Medicaid agencies and stakeholders on medicaid.gov to advance transparency and innovation for home- and community-based services.
CMS
ATLANTA (October 19, 2021)— The home medical industry has made significant progress in recent months but still faces big challenges in Washington, including the threat of Medicare cuts and uncertainty about competitive bidding, Tom Ryan, president and CEO of the American Association of Homecare, said in his update at Medtrade East.
WATERLOO, Iowa (October 19, 2021)—VGM Government, in conjunction with Brian Leitten and Leitten Consulting, has released an updated study analyzing the efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to control distribution of durable medical equipment (DME). The study, “Competitive Bidding—A Decade Focused on the Wrong Prize.
WASHINGTON, D.C (October 15, 2021)—As the population ages and more people live longer with greater disability and disease, policymakers are increasingly motivated to build out the palliative care infrastructure so that more patients and families can access these vital services that address the stress and symptoms of serious illness.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 13, 2021)—Ninety-five members of the House of Representatives have joined a Congressional sign-on letter urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to finalize the durable medical equipment (DME) rule and extend the 50/50 blended rates for suppliers serving rural areas.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 12, 2021)—Hospice providers have been anxiously awaiting additional information on two new Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) measures:
• Hospice Visits in Last Days of Life (HVLDL)
• Hospice Care Index (HCI)
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (October 11, 2021)—WellSky, a health and community care technology company, announced that Seema Verma, the longest-serving administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in modern history, has joined the company’s board of directors. Verma’s vast experience creating national health care policies and developing technology standards will accelerate WellSky’s mission to transform care at every level.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 8, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted the annual update of the Post-Acute Care and Hospice Provider Public Use File (PAC PUF) with data for 2019. The PAC PUF now has data available for years 2013-2019.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 7, 2021)—The American Assocation for Homecare (AAHomecare) shared that it had received confirmation from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the agency that manages the Provider Relief Fund (PRF), that durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers are eligible for General Distribution Phase 3 and Phase 4 funding.
ARLINGTON, Va. (October 7, 2021)—Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) announced new home medical equipment (HME)/durable medical equipment, prosthetics and orthotics (DMPOS) standards approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The new standards will be used for all HME/DMEPOS surveys starting Jan. 1 2022.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 1, 2021)—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made $25.5 billion in funds available starting Sept. 29th. HHS is now accepting applications for General Distribution Phase 4 and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments. HHS is also accepting requests for reconsideration of Phase 3 payment calculations.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 30, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Calendar Year (CY) 2022 participants in the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model. There is a more than two-fold increase in the number of model enrollees covered by participating MA plans in 2022 compared to 2021.
BIRMINGHAM, AL (September 23, 2021)—On Sept. 9, the Biden administration announced that staff at Medicare and Medicaid-certified “facilities”—including home health agencies and likely home medical equipment providers—will be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine. Homecare providers should work now to get health care staff vaccinated to make sure they are in compliance when the rule takes effect, the government said.
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.)