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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Monday, May 11
Coronavirus Response: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Vice Chairman Mary Gay Scanlon, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Chairman Steve Cohen, and Vice Chairman Jamie Raskin Seek Answers on DOJ Actions against State Imposed Coronavirus Restrictions
This article has been revised to include additional and updated guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. Please click here to view the most recent version.
This updated article provides links to, and briefly summarizes, legislation and federal agency guidance designed to ease the burden on higher education institutions.
Powers has updated this article to incorporate new information and guidance released by the U.S. Department of Education on May 15, 2020. Sections that have been substantively updated are denoted by the phrase New Information.
This memorandum summarizes key changes to the acute-care hospital IPPS proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for FFY 2021. CMS issued a display copy of the proposed rule on May 11, 2020. The proposed rule is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on May 29. Comments are due by 5:00 pm Eastern on July 10, 2020. The tables and data files for the proposed FFY 2021 IPPS rule are available on the FFY 2021 Proposed Rule Home Page.
On May 14, Powers attorneys from the Indian tribal governments and health care groups hosted a webinar on Indian tribal telehealth opportunities, including recent opportunities presented by the CARES Act.
Remote patient monitoring (RPM) technology has been proven to enhance quality of care for patients with chronic conditions and to reduce hospital readmissions. During the COVID-19 pandemic it has become especially relevant as a strategy for ensuring vulnerable patients can be monitored at home without the need to visit their physician’s office or the hospital.
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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Monday, May 4
Oversight: Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray and Democratic Lawmakers Call to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Overturn Policies that Undermine Global Health and COVID-19 Response
While the impact of the COVID pandemic on elective surgery has received significant attention from the lay media, the impact of the crisis on diagnostic imaging and diagnostic testing—although likely at least as severe—has been less in the public eye (with the exception of clinical laboratory services, which are not addressed here). And while the expanded availability and coverage of telehealth has the potential to somewhat mitigate the impact of sharp reductions in in-person office visits and other medical services, at least some component of many diagnostic imaging and other diagnostic tests are not the beneficiaries of any such technological buffer.Read More
Updated May 12, 2020
In an Interim Final Rule published on March 31, CMS authorized physicians to bill for telehealth visits as if they were office visits in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). Since then, many hospitals have pointed out that there was no mechanism for a hospital to bill an originating facility fee for a telehealth service performed by a physician from a hospital outpatient department or other provider-based clinic. Consequently, these services were reimbursed less when performed from a hospital site, as compared to a physician office site. (The UB92 hospital outpatient billing form does not provide for billing of a telehealth originating site facility fee because the patient is not physically present at the hospital.) This issue was raised repeatedly by providers during the CMS “Office Hours” teleconferences, during which CMS acknowledged the inconsistency and promised to release additional guidance.
As the COVID-19 crisis has unfolded, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) have faced new transparency requirements imposed by both federal and state authorities that mandate certain specified disclosures of the COVID-19 status of residents and staff to other residents and their family members. Read More
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WHITE HOUSE UPDATE
Monday, April 27
Coronavirus Response: President Trump Unveils COVID-19 Testing Blueprint to Help Facilitate Reopening of States
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On April 30, 2020, CMS issued a display copy of an Interim Final Rule (IFR) to clarify certain policies and make regulatory changes in response to the COVID-19 PHE. At the same time, CMS announced new waiver authorities under the CARES Act and released other documents to further clarify policies during the pandemic. The significant changes are summarized below.
Powers attorneys from the Indian tribal governments and health care groups will host a free webinar next week on Indian tribal telehealth opportunities, including recent opportunities presented by the CARES Act.
Click here to visit our COVID-19 resource center.
WHITE HOUSE UPDATE
Friday, April 24
Coronavirus: President Trump Signs Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, Providing Funding for Hospitals, Providers, and Testing amid COVID-19 Pandemic.