CMS

HOUSTON—A 63-year-old Sugar Land resident has been ordered to prison for conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Washington, D.C.—In response to a requirement of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) presented data used to determine Medicare home health payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2023, including the permanent and temporary rate adjustments calculated under the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) “budget neutrality” requirements.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia—The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) announced it successfully petitioned the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to secure a new billing code for injectable immunotherapies and revise an existing code to facilitate administration of a wider range of monoclonal antibodies for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

LOS ANGELES— AppliedVR, an immersive therapeutics (ITx) company, announced the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) established a unique Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) Level II code (E1905) for its flagship product, the RelieVRx program.

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) joined 21 Senators in a request to the Biden Administration to publicize the effect of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Medicare Part B inflation rebate on coinsurance in the program.

AAHomecare and oxygen stakeholders joined major respiratory associations in asking HHS to protect access to respiratory products for patients who qualified for care under relaxed guidelines during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE).

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia—The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) appreciates the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) publication, “

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed national coverage determination (NCD) decision that would, for the first time, expand coverage for power seat elevation equipment on certain power wheelchairs to Medicare individuals. The proposed NCD is open for public comment for 30 days.

WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued additional provider-specific guidance for the winding down of the COVID-19 public health emergency, which is set to end May 11.

WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has added 10 HCPCS codes to the list of those that require face-to-face encounter and a written order, bringing the total up to 63 codes, according to VGM Government Relations. 

The new codes, all for back, knee and ankle or foot braces, are: 

WASHINGTON, DC—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) should require hospice care providers to report all allegations of abuse and neglect immediately to survey agencies, regardless of whether the alleged perpetrator is affiliated with the hospice, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged in a new report.

The Department of Health and Human Services neither agreed nor disagreed with GAO's recommendation.

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Illinois–The Joint Commission announced it is eliminating 168 standards, or 14% overall, and revising 14 other standards across its accreditation programs to streamline requirements and make them as efficient and impactful on patient safety, quality and equity as possible. That includes deleting 10 homecare standards and revising one. 

The first tranche of standards deletions and revisions by program, effective Jan. 1, 2023, include:

WASHINGTON (December 20, 2022)—Most of the providers who were enrolled in Medicare under COVID-19-related waivers and then had their enrollments revoked were durable medical equipment, prosthetics and orthotics (DMEPOS) suppliers, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

WASHINGTON (December 7, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule that it says would improve interoperability and streamline processes related to prior authorization for medical items and services.

WASHINGTON (December 2, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have published a new Oxygen and Oxygen Equipment LCD and related

WASHINGTON (November 11, 2022)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), a coalition of the nation's leading home oxygen therapy providers and manufacturing companies, recently submitted its response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (November 11, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a clarification regarding medical review audits after the public health emergency (PHE) ends. This is the first public guidance CMS has published regarding audit

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 6, 2022)—As part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) ongoing work to improve access to care, reduce clinician burden, and support interoperability throughout the health sector, CMS has released a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on the concept of CMS creating a directory with information on health care providers and services or a “National Directory of Health Care Providers and Services” (NDH).

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 4, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Nov. 6, 2022, is the last day that the National Supplier Clearinghouse (NSC) will process Medicare enrollment applications for durable medical equipment, prosthetics and orthothics (DMPOS) suppliers.