North Carolina will be following up with 18 nursing homes after an HHS Office of Inspector General report found the facilities had problems related to life safety and emergency preparedness, although the state questioned the report’s validity.
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North Carolina will be following up with 18 nursing homes after an HHS Office of Inspector General report found the facilities had problems related to life safety and emergency preparedness, although the state questioned the report’s validity.
CMS on Tuesday (Sept. 29) lowered the thresholds for testing nursing home staff for COVID-19, basing its new methodology on the number of tests done in the county as well as COVID-19 positivity rates as opposed to just the latter.
Durable medical equipment suppliers have put planning for 2021 on hold as the Medicare landscape remains unclear because key CMS policies have yet to come out, a DME lobbyist said.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s proposal to reform the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits by removing the so-called “subsidy cliff” would reduce health care costs for nearly all current marketplace enrollees, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis out just prior to the first presidential debate.
CMS is updating its state guidance for investigating serious nursing home complaints after a new HHS Office of Inspector General report found that 21 states failed to meet the federal government’s timeliness threshold for investigating serious nursing home complaints from 2016 through 2018.
CMS says it is pleased Congress is working to change the repayment terms of Medicare loans to providers and to mitigate Part B premium hikes as part of the continuing resolution that the Senate is set to take up Tuesday (Sept. 29), after key Democrats wrote to the agency raising concerns with lack of clarity on provider repayment, the effects of the program on Medicare premiums and the overall amount of Part B loans given to providers.
An executive order President Donald Trump unveiled Thursday night (Sept. 25) includes a provision to make HHS update Hospital Compare when providers are not in compliance with the hospital price transparency final rule.
Only some seniors will receive the president’s $200 Medicare Part D cards for copays before the election because it will take months to issue the cards, White House officials said Friday (Sept. 25).
The Senate put off until Tuesday (Sept. 22) its vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 11 and extend funding for several Medicare and Medicaid programs, among other health care riders.
The average monthly Medicare Advantage premium is expected to drop by just under $3.00 in 2021 compared to this year, CMS said Thursday (Sept. 24), coming to $21.00 per month.
CMS Administrator Seema Verma warned in an op-ed earlier this month that nursing homes restricting visitors without a reasonable health or safety reason will face citations, after the agency issued guidance telling nursing homes to again allow visitation.
Congress is expected to soon send to the president a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 11 that also includes funding extensions for several Medicare and Medicaid programs, a delay in cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospitals, and an extension for repayment and lowered interest for certain COVID-19 provider relief payments, among other health care riders.
Key House and Senate Democrats say the Medicare loan programs instituted during the pandemic could cost $6 billion more than lawmakers were initially told and could cause Part B premiums to increase by as much as $50 per month absent congressional intervention, and they ask CMS to respond by Oct. 2 on how it is handling those loans.
CMS on Tuesday (Sept. 22) announced it will expand Medicare prior authorization for repetitive, scheduled, non-emergency ambulance transportation nationwide after a demonstration saved Medicare about $650 million over four years while preserving access and quality.
Two Democratic senators released a report Tuesday (Sept. 22) lambasting the Trump administration for lacking a comprehensive plan to protect nursing home residents, saying data collected both from CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found 11 nursing homes residents died every hour from COVID-19 in July and August.
The White House Office of Management and Budget on Monday (Sept. 21) started reviewing the second part of the Medicare Advantage and Part D rate notice and pay policies for 2022, though the Trump administration potentially could be out of office when that regulation is released.
House Democrats on Monday (Sept. 21) introduced a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 11 that includes Medicare and Medicaid funding extensions supported by the White House.
Administration officials haven’t figured out how to make coronavirus vaccinations free to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries, though HHS Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Paul Mango said they would pay no more than $3.50.
CMS on Friday (Sept. 18) announced it will start on Jan. 1 a mandatory demonstration aimed at increasing the use of home dialysis and kidney transplants -- which the agency says should give providers plenty of time to prepare -- and also revealed it will include 30% of dialysis facilities and providers managing adults with End-Stage Renal Disease in the model rather than its proposed 50% while rejecting the idea of a voluntary approach.
Oncologists vowed to go to Congress if CMS doesn’t delay its plans to kick off in January a mandatory radiation oncology 90-day pay bundle demonstration for those providers, as they say starting a new model during the pandemic won’t work.
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