CMS extends ASC quality data reporting deadline
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced May 17 that it has extended the Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) program data submission deadline from Monday, May 17, to Monday, July 19, 2021. The extension provides ASCs with more time to obtain HARP [Health Care Quality…
US deficit in cancer screening associated with COVID-19
Editor's Note This study led by researchers at the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, finds a sharp decline in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer screening rates in 2020. This analysis of data on 60 million people in Medicare Advantage and commercial health plans across the US shows that…
Hospital groups ask US Senate for $35B in COVID-19 relief funds
Editor's Note Nine hospital groups have asked the US Senate to add $35 billion to COVID-19 relief legislation to help them deal with financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the February 25 Fierce Healthcare reports. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill passed by the House does not include a provider…
More states report telehealth reimbursement laws
Editor's Note A Foley & Lardner survey finds that state telehealth reimbursement laws have significantly increased during the COVID-10 pandemic, but more can be done to address telehealth adoption barriers, the February 15 Revcycle Intelligence reports. More than 43 states and Washington, DC, have some telehealth statute for commercial payers,…
CMS releases final 2021 Medicare payment rule for ASCs, HOPDs
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 2 released its 2021 final payment rule for ASCs and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). CMS has finalized the addition of 11 procedures to the ASC covered procedures list, including total hip arthroplasty, autochondrocyte knee implant, and open complex…
Medicare to cover monoclonal antibody COVID-19 treatments
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 10 announced that Medicare will cover out-of-pocket costs for monoclonal antibody drugs for COVID-19 during the public health emergency. The agency’s coverage includes Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab, which recently received an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug…
CMS: How to prepare for COVID-19 vaccine
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 5 released a set of toolkits and enrollment actions to take to administer the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s available. Many Medicare-enrolled providers don’t have to take any actions until the vaccine is available. Some Medicare-enrolled providers must also…
CMS penalizes 2,545 hospitals for high readmissions
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will penalize and reduce a year’s worth of payments to nearly half of the nation’s hospitals because of 30-day readmission rates, the November 2 Kaiser Health News reports. The penalties are part of the ninth year of the Hospital Readmissions…
Impact of COVID-19 on HAIs
Editor's Note To provide flexibility to healthcare workers responding to the COVID-19 crisis, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waived reporting requirements for healthcare associated infections (HAIs) through June 2020. Using the experience of hospitals in New York City and St Louis, Missouri, the authors provide commentary on…
CMS threatens to withhold payments from hospitals not reporting COVID-19, flu data
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 6 released guidance on how it will implement an interim final rule that requires hospitals and critical access hospitals to report data on COVID-19 and flu patients. CMS says failure to report specified data may lead to termination…
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