The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that all eligible hospitals use 2015 Edition certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) to meet the requirements of the Promoting Interoperability Programs. CMS mandates downward payment adjustments be applied to eligible hospitals that are not meaningful users of CEHRT.
UPDATED: Monday, June 22, at 3:21 p.m.
The Trump administration released new data Monday examining how COVID-19 has impacted Medicare beneficiaries, saying that 325,000 were diagnosed with the virus between Jan. 1 and May 16.
Medical groups and integrated health systems say in a recent survey it will take at least a year for revenue to return for pre-pandemic levels, underscoring the need for more relief funding from Congress.
Congress took steps to quickly expand access to telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now 30 senators are calling for those changes to become permanent.
Dear Clients & Friends,
On Wednesday, June 3, 2020 the Senate unanimously approved H.R. 7010 which was passed by the House last week. This bill now heads to the President for signature. We expect it to already be signed by the time of this distribution or signed very soon. The heart of H.R. 7010 is to achieve 100%, or close to 100%, forgiveness for PPP loan proceeds. The original CARES Act instituted very stringent rules, which would make it virtually impossible to achieve 100% loan forgiveness for most borrowers. We know that most of you are very well versed in the world of PPP loans, so the highlights of H.R. 7010 are listed below:
Recently the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an alert identifying the top 10 cybersecurity vulnerabilities routinely exploited by foreign malicious actors. OCR is sharing this alert with our listserv to raise awareness of these vulnerabilities so organizations can take appropriate actions to reduce the potential risk of exploitation.
At President Trump’s direction, and building on its recent historic efforts to help the U.S. healthcare system manage the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued another round of sweeping regulatory waivers and rule changes to deliver expanded care to the nation’s seniors and provide flexibility to the healthcare system as America reopens. These changes include making it easier for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to get tested for COVID-19 and continuing CMS’s efforts to further expand beneficiaries’ access to telehealth services.
The FMA has released the results of its COVID-19 Physician Survey, which illustrates the pandemic’s devastating financial impact on Florida’s medical practices. Of those clinicians who responded, 99.6 percent have experienced a decline in practice revenue or are anticipating a financial loss because of the coronavirus public health emergency.
To support Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and their patients, Congress, and CMS made changes to requirements and payments during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, including:
Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issues new recommendations specifically targeted to communities that are in Phase 1 of the Guidelines for President Trump’s Opening Up America Again with low incidence or relatively low and stable incidence of COVID-19 cases. The recommendations update earlier guidance provided by CMS on limiting non-essential surgeries and medical procedures. The new CMS guidelines recommend a gradual transition and encourage health care providers to coordinate with local and state public health officials, and to review the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies, workforce availability, facility readiness, and testing capacity when making the decision to re-start or increase in-person care.