In an informational bulletin, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will further extend waivers for “unwinding” under Section 1902(e)(14)(A) of the Social Security Act until June 30, 2025. The...more
On August 1, 2023, CMS issued its annual Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) Final Rule for FY 2024 (the Final Rule). In the Final Rule, CMS,...more
On December 19, 2022, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled, “Medicare: CMS Needs to Address Risks Posed by Provider Enrollment Waivers and Flexibilities” (GAO-23-105494). The report...more
In January 2020, Alex M. Azar, II, then secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), signed a nationwide declaration of a Public Health Emergency (PHE) that would largely shape the response of public...more
In response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), CMS temporarily waived a significant number of Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements and conditions of participation pursuant...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) calendar year 2023 rule proposing changes to payment policies under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Medicare Part B (the Proposed Rule) will officially be published in...more
Providers have, once again, been left in a tenuous position after two federal courts issued orders blocking the previously-issued vaccine mandate from taking effect less than a week before its first effective date. ...more
Lawsuits challenging the CMS Interim Final Rule (IFR) on COVID-19 vaccine requirements for healthcare workers and Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards on Health Care...more
A group of states has sued President Joe Biden and his administration challenging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Interim Final Rule (IFR) setting COVID-19 vaccination requirements for a range of...more
On May 5, 2021, OIG issued guidance on its COVID-19 Administrative Enforcement FAQs page stating that an ambulance provider or supplier waiving or discounting Medicare beneficiary cost-sharing obligations presents a low risk...more
On April 22, 2021, Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and David McKinley (R-WV), along with 22 co-sponsors from both major parties, introduced H.R. 2759, “A Bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for...more
On January 11, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new web portal to more easily permit healthcare providers and other stakeholders to submit requests for specific waivers of certain healthcare...more
Today we want to address a topic that many state Medicaid agencies will no doubt be thinking about in the coming months, as the COVID-caused pandemic continues to threaten state finances and Congress has somewhat tied states’...more
On Friday, October 2, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that the Public Health Emergency (PHE) declaration for COVID-19 will be renewed for another 90 days, beginning on October 23 (the date the...more
CMS is soliciting comments on whether future payments for devices that may have been impacted by the COVID-19 PHE should be adjusted. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its annual proposed rule related...more
On August 3, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order that could potentially extend the easing of restrictions on telemedicine that were put in place during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) beyond the...more
...As COVID-19 cases spread across the U.S., another public health issue continues to escalate: the rise of opioid-related overdose deaths. For patients with a substance use disorder (SUD), the pandemic has increased feelings...more
On Thursday, July 23, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that the Public Health Emergency (PHE) declaration for COVID-19 will be renewed for another 90 days through October 22. This update...more
On July 6, 2020, CMS issued a proposed rule under the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System (PPS). The rule proposes to update payment policies and rates for renal dialysis services furnished to...more
Editor’s Note: As states face the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, information technology (IT) is an essential tool to support access to health coverage and the safe and effective evaluation, testing and treatment of...more
Editor’s Note: Privacy is among the many areas of our lives that COVID-19 is radically changing. While some new developments are short-term solutions to help us navigate the immediate impacts of this unprecedented crisis,...more
On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued a proclamation that the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (previously referred to as 2019-nCoV, now as COVID-19) outbreak in the United States constitutes a national emergency...more
In an effort to address the need to increase the availability of COVID-19 testing, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued guidance notifying pharmacies and other Medicare-enrolled suppliers that they...more
Hospitals across the country are questioning whether and how the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requirements apply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, CMS issued a list of Frequently Asked Questions...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an interim final rule, Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (April 6), that makes...more