CMS

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 24, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Care Compare on medicare.gov in September, to streamline the eight original health care compare tools. Since then, providers have had the opportunity to use and familiarize themselves with Care Compare while having the option to use the original compare tools, too.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 23, 2020)—Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized changes to outdated federal regulations that have burdened health care providers with added administrative costs and impeded the health care system’s move toward value-based reimbursement.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 23, 2020)—Beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, through the VBID Model, participating Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) can voluntarily participate in the Hospice Benefit Component of the Model, according to a November 13 transmittal (10458/CR 12045) from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 18, 2020)—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) urged government officials to include DMEPOS suppliers in the Phase 1 Distribution of COVID-19 vaccine for front-line health care personnel.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 18, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that the Medicare Fee- For-Service (FFS) improper payment rate has continued to decline, the fourth year Medicare FFS improper payment rate has been below 10%, the threshold for compliance established in the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 13, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare beneficiaries can receive coverage of monoclonal antibodies to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with no cost-sharing during the public health emergency (PHE). CMS’s coverage of monoclonal antibody infusions applies to bamlanivimab, which received an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Nov. 9.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 6, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued another revision to change request 11855—Penalty for Delayed Request for Anticipated Payment (RAP) Submission—Implementation. The Change Request (CR) revision added remittance advice message information related to the No Pay RAP penalty.

Home health agencies (HHAs) should note that Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will: 

ATLANTA, Georgia (Nov. 5, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) is seeking an unprecedented level of advice from stakeholders even as it makes major changes to the competitive bidding program, Mark Higley, vice president or regulatory affairs for VGM, and others said Wednesday. 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (November 4, 2020)—The DMEPOS competitive bidding program was designed to find competitive rates of reimbursement for DME items, not necessarily the lowest, said John Gallagher, vice president of government relations at VGM & Associates, during a presentation for the 2020 Medtrade Virtual conference. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 3, 2020)--The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it has finalized policies that allow certain new equipment and supplies used for dialysis treatment of patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) in the home to qualify for an additional Medicare payment. The final rule encourages the development of home dialysis machines that will give Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD more dialysis treatment options in the home.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

BOCA RATON, Fla. (October 28, 2020)—Clear Arch Health, a lprovider of remote patient monitoring (RPM) and mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS) solutions, announced today its membership in the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), the only organization completely focused on accelerating the adoption of telehealth.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 27, 2020)—Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the single payment amounts (SPAs) for the Off-The-Shelf (OTS) Back Braces and OTS Knee Braces product categories included in Round 2021 of the Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program (CBP) and began awarding contracts in certain competitive bidding areas (CBAs).

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 27, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing to develop standard measures to use across the home and community-based services (HCBS) system for voluntary use by states, managed long-term services and supports (LTSS) plans, providers and other entities to address the gaps and recommendations identified in the report.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 22, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released data showing that 21% of Medicare beneficiaries report forgoing non-COVID-19 related care due to the pandemic, and nearly all—98%—of beneficiaries have taken preventative measures to keep themselves safe from the virus.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (October 19, 2020)—The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world for homecare—but also elevated the profession in the eyes of the public and lawmakers, William A. Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, said Monday as he opened the group’s annual conference.

“What has emerged is energy and enthusiasm about our future,” Dombi said.

WASHINTON, D.C. (October 13, 2020)—Since implementation of the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey in 2015, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and other hospice stakeholders have submitted recommendations for improvements to the survey, including suggestions that the survey be shortened and that certain questions be modified to eliminate the potential for confusion.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (October 9, 2020)—In what is the third in a nationwide series of telemedicine fraud prosecutions, more than 40 people in South Carolina and Georgia are being charged. The charges add up to hundreds of millions in fraudulent billings.