Since the early stages of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, long term care facilities (LTCFs) have been an epicenter of transmission. Medicare Requirements for Participation for LTCFs include an obligation to establish and...more
6/9/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
Medicare ,
Nursing Homes ,
Quality Control Plan ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Safety and Oversight Group (QSO) ,
Surveys
As previously reported, President Trump’s Opening Up America plans introduce measures to slowly ease business and social restrictions and require enhanced testing and reporting of Coronavirus (COVID-19) incidences in long...more
Long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, (collectively, LTCF) have been a hot spot for the transmission of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). In an effort to balance quality, transparency and infection...more
On April 19, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Quality, Safety and Oversight Group (QSO) memorandum (QSO-20-26-NH) informing long term care facilities, including nursing homes, about certain...more
On March 30, 2020, CMS issued QSO-20-15-REVISED, which updated and expanded the guidance provided in its original QSO-20-15 memorandum issued March 9, 2020, as further described in the On the Subject appended below....more
On March 30, 2020, CMS issued updates to its prior QSO memorandum, expanding its infection control and prevention guidance to include hospitals, critical access hospitals and psychiatric hospitals. The updated QSO memorandum...more
4/1/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Mental Health ,
OCR ,
Psychiatric Hospitals ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Relief Measures ,
Telemedicine ,
Waivers
Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ICF/IIDs) and psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) face unique concerns when it comes to providing care and services—and when...more
4/1/2020
/ Business Continuity Plans ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Health and Safety ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Safety
On March 30, 2020, CMS issued updates to its March 9, 2020, memo from the Quality Safety and Oversight (QSO) Group on controlling and preventing the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in dialysis facilities and other...more
4/1/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Emergency Response ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Nursing Homes ,
Risk Management ,
State of Emergency
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSO) memorandum (QSO-20-22-ASC, CORF, CMHC, OPT, RHC/FQHCs) addressing standards for infection control and...more
4/1/2020
/ Ambulatory Surgery Centers ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Community Care Program ,
Community Health Systems ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Clinics ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Outpatient Services ,
Quality Assurance Programs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has temporarily modified certain operational and regulatory requirements that may help Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) certified laboratories adapt their...more
As the US federal government dedicates trillions of dollars toward containing and treating Coronavirus (COVID-19) and stimulating the national economy, it is also waiving many federal health program requirements to allow...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSO) standards for infection control and prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in nursing facilities,...more
3/16/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dialysis Providers ,
Emergency Response ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospice ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Nursing Homes ,
Risk Management ,
State of Emergency
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released several fact sheets on COVID-19 coverage and benefits, and announced a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code, U0002, for billing COVID-19...more
3/11/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Diagnostic Tests ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) ,
Medicare Part A ,
Medicare Part B ,
Medicare Part D ,
Physicians ,
Provider Payments
As more cases emerge highlighting the transmission of COVID-19 from person-to-person contact in the general public rather than through contact with a known infected individual, hospitals and health systems must be ready to...more
In this installment of the Healthcare Enforcement Quarterly Roundup we cover several topics that have persisted over the past few years and identify new issues that will shape the scope of enforcement efforts in 2020. In this...more
2/7/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Drug Compounding ,
Drug Distribution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Overpayment ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Stark Law