WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 18, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) today cautioned that data released from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) do not fully reflect the true impact of Medicare cuts recently imposed on Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics & Supplies (DMEPOS), including home-based respiratory therapies.
CMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 18, 2016)—Starting in 2011, section 1834(a)(1)(F) of the Social Security Act (the Act) required CMS to use competitive bidding to set payment amounts for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) for certain areas in the country.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 13, 2016)—The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare—a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home health care for our nation's seniors—recently expressed deep concern regarding the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposal to require the prior authorization of Medicare home health services.
Washington, D.C. (May 12, 2016)—The highly anticipated companion bill to S. 2736, the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment (PADME) Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday, May 12, 2016. H.R. 5210 was introduced by Representatives Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa). This bill has gathered broad bi-partisan support as it has been introduced with 40 original co-sponsors including Reps.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 12, 2016)—Today CMS published a revision to SE1521, which places limits on the scope of review for redeterminations and reconsiderations of certain claims. When this was originally published in 2015, AAHomecare worked with CMS to have the instruction expanded to include complex prepayment audits.
This should be helpful as suppliers work through the audit and appeal process!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 12, 2016)—This week, AAHomecare submitted comments on the proposed demonstration to revise Part B Medicare prescription drug payments under the Agency’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 5, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Round 2 Recompete and national mail-order recompete contract suppliers for Medicare’s Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (May 4, 2016)—The Board of Certification/Accreditation’s (BOC) Board of Directors recently approved a plan to sunset the acceptance of new applications for its orthotist (BOCO), prosthetist (BOCP) and pedorthist (BOCPD) certifications. The decision will lead to greater growth opportunities for the organization and streamline the professions’ credentialing options.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health released data detailing the quality of care received by people with Medicare Advantage by racial or ethnic group.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2016)—Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have asked the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to delay the next round of bidding-derived reimbursement cuts for rural and non-bid areas for an additional twelve months and to disclose specific indicators the agency is using to monitor possible beneficiary access issues under the Medicare bidding program for home medical equipment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is pleased to offer the awardees in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative the opportunity to extend their participation in Models 2, 3 and 4 through September 30, 2018.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 14, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Monday its largest-ever initiative to transform and improve how primary care is delivered and paid for in America. The effort, the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) model, will be implemented in up to 20 regions and can accommodate up to 5,000 practices, which would encompass more than 20,000 doctors and clinicians and the 25 million people they serve.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 8, 2016)—Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of the Treasury announced key enhancements to the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) template and Uniform Glossary. The improvements include an additional coverage example and language and terms to improve consumers' understanding of their health coverage.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 7, 2016)—Recently, the American Association of Respiratory Care, the American College of Chest Physicians and the National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care submitted a reconsideration of the current Medicare National Coverage Determination for home ventilators, including bi-level devices to CMS.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2016)—In conjunction with the President’s visit to the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule to strengthen access to mental health and substance use services for people with Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage, aligning with protections already required of private health plans.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug Program changes for 2017 that seek to provide stable payments to plans, and make improvements to the program for plans that provide high quality care to the most vulnerable enrollees.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 31, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last week it will test whether a new payment model for nursing facilities and practitioners will further reduce avoidable hospitalizations, lower combined Medicare and Medicaid spending and improve the quality of care received by nursing facility residents.
FRANKLIN, TENN. (March 31, 2016)—PlayMaker CRM, a cloud-based sales growth solution for post-acute healthcare providers, announces two upcoming educational webinars with well-known industry experts. These webinars are free to attend. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot today!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 30, 2016)—With a July 1 deadline looming for additional Medicare reimbursement cuts for suppliers in rural and other non-bid areas, there’s an urgent need to get House companion legislation to S. 2736 introduced with a strong round of original co-sponsors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) released a new interactive map to increase understanding of geographic disparities in chronic disease among Medicare beneficiaries.