In a recent letter to state governors, Acting Secretary of Health and Human Services Norris Cochran signaled the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’s) commitment to “predictability and stability” in the ongoing...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) notified state survey agency directors of renewed hospital survey limitations and notification expectations for states and hospitals during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in...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
Year-end COVID-19 relief legislation approved by Congress established Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs) as a new Medicare provider type effective January 1, 2023. REHs, defined as providers that furnish certain outpatient...more
1/6/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
New Legislation ,
Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) ,
Provider Payments ,
Reimbursements ,
Relief Measures ,
Rural Health Care Providers
On September 28, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Quality, Safety and Oversight Group memorandum (QSO-20-41-ALL) (the QSO Memo) reinforcing and clarifying the testing exercises required by...more
On August 17, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in a memo to State Survey Agency Directors (QSO-20-35-ALL) the resumption of certain routine surveys and inspections of healthcare providers...more
8/20/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CLIA ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Inspections ,
Nursing Homes ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Plan of Correction ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Suppliers ,
Surveys
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
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued blanket waivers under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act (Section 1135 waivers) on April 30, 2020. Fast on the heels of a more modest waiver announcement on...more
5/7/2020
/ 1135 Waivers ,
CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospice ,
Long Term Care Facilities ,
OCR ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
On April 28, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Frequently Asked Questions for Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals regarding EMTALA (FAQs) as a supplement to the memorandum on the Emergency...more
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
On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Quality, Safety & Oversight memorandum QSO-20-27-Hospital (QSO Memo), addressed to state survey agencies to provide guidance to independent...more
As the United States came to grips with the far-reaching impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020, many state governments put in place executive orders or other public health decrees (collectively, orders)...more
4/26/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Federal Loans ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Small Business ,
Social Distancing ,
Trump Administration
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
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released fact sheets and subsequent guidance detailing regulatory flexibilities for suppliers of Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS),...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 April 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued Quality, Safety & Oversight memorandum QSO-20-24-ASC (the QSO Memo), addressed to state survey agencies to provide guidance on processing attestation...more
The updated waivers build upon the more limited set of Section 1135 waivers issued on March 13, 2020, and address common concerns among Medicare providers and suppliers as they deal with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic....more
4/1/2020
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Emergency Response ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medicare ,
OCR ,
Physicians ,
Public Health ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Waivers
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
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
On March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency under the National Emergencies Act and made an emergency determination under the Stafford Act. This announcement follows the January 31, 2020,...more
In response to the spread of COVID-19 infections and questions from the provider community, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality, Safety and Oversight Group (QSO) issued a series of three memoranda...more
CMS's final rule requires that CMS-regulated payors implement APIs that allow patient information to be shared more readily among patients, health care providers and payors. It also imposes a new Medicare condition of...more
CMS issued three Quality, Safety & Oversight memoranda addressed to state survey agencies and state survey agency directors identifying wide-ranging modifications to the survey and certification process in relation to the...more
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
Hospitals and health systems are facing consumer demand for innovation, the need to expand and enhance streams of revenue and the push for improved quality, all while navigating changing regulations, federal enforcement,...more
2/6/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMIA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
No-Poaching ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Ransomware