CMS

BIRMINGHM, Ala. (May 13, 2022)—Medicaid can directly pay for independent home health aides' benefits, including health insurance and skills training, according to a final rule the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Thursday. The final rule allows State Medicaid agencies to provide home health aides not working with an agency employee benefit premiums and union dues deducted from their paychecks. 

WASHIGNTON, D.C. (April 28, 2022)—Legislation has recently been introduced that would work to improve the Medicare enrollment process for individuals nearing Medicare eligibility, aged 60-64. Longtime homecare champions Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) and Todd Young (R-Indiana) are leading the charge for the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification 2.0 (BENES 2.0) Act, (S. 2675).

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 22, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will offer more than $110 million to expand access to home and community-based services (HCBS) through Medicaid’s Money Follows the Person (MFP) program.

WASHINGTON, D.C (April 19, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a final rule with comment period that finalizes two remaining proposals from the original proposed rule that laid out policy and technical changes to the Medicare Advantage program, Medicare Part D, Medicaid and more. That proposed rule was originally issued in February 2020. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 7, 2022)—The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) sent a “Dear Provider” letter announcing an opportunity for providers to submit a Request to Report Late Due to Extenuating Circumstances for PRF Reporting Period 1 if one or more of the extenuating circumstances described below apply.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2022)—The Biden-Harris Administration announced that more than 59 million Americans with Medicare Part B, including those enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, now have access to FDA approved, authorized or cleared over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost. People with Medicare can get up to eight tests per calendar month from participating pharmacies and health care providers for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 31, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a proposed rule (CMS1773-P) that would provide routine updates to hospice based payments and the aggregate cap amount for fiscal year (FY) 2023 in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. This rule proposes to establish a permanent mitigation policy to smooth the impact of year-to-year changes in hospice payments related to changes in the hospice wage index.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 11, 2022)—The Advanced Care at Home Coalition applauds introduction of the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, which would extend the Acute Care at Home waivers that have allowed for the expanded delivery of hospital-level care at home for Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 1, 2022)—Building on the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities for a better health care system, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a redesigned Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model that better reflects the agency’s vision of creating a health system that achieves equitable outcomes through high quality, affordable, person-centered care.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 22, 2022)—Medicare paid a total $6.6 billion to nonhospice providers for services provided to hospice beneficiaries between 2010 and 2019, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (February 3, 2022)—The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) appreciates the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) publication, “HIT Monitoring Report, January 2022,” which summarizes utilization trends for the Medicare Part B home infusion therapy (HIT) services benefit over three years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 3, 2022)—As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to expand Americans’ access to free testing, people in either Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage will be able to get over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost starting in early spring. Under the new initiative, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to access up to eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month for free.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 27, 2022)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the 2021 Medicare Fee-For-Service Supplemental Improper Payment Data report. This is an annual report published by CMS’s Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program that is intended to measure the improper payments made in the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) program.

By Michelle Andrews on January 24, 2022

[UPDATED at 4 p.m. ET]

What group is especially vulnerable to the ravages of covid-19 even if fully vaccinated and boosted? Seniors. And who will have an especially tough time getting free at-home covid tests under the Biden administration’s plan? Yes, seniors.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 11, 2022)—The deadline for home health agencies to submit a request for an exemption from participating in the Home Health CAHPS (HH CAHPS) Survey for the CY 2023 Annual Payment Update (APU) is March 31, 2022.