COVID-19 Guidance for Postsecondary Institutions – UPDATE: May 22, 2020

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.

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Proposed Changes to Medicare Hospital IPPS for Federal Fiscal Year 2021

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.

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Diagnostic Services in the era of COVID-19: The New Landscape

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

Hospital Billing of Telehealth Visits During COVID-19 Pandemic

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.

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Skilled Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living Facilities Face New Transparency Requirements in the Age of COVID
Designing a Coherent Policy Consistent with Resident Privacy Rights and New Federal and State Requirements

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

CMS Interim Final Rule on COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Waivers

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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.

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Resources on Coronavirus and EEO Laws Applicable to People with Disabilities

In response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have compiled relevant information for employers and provided guidance on equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws applicable to people with disabilities and COVID-19. Those resources can be found at the links below.

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Provider Program for Uninsured Reimbursement Begins

On April 27, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) opened the COVID-19 Uninsured Program Portal, where providers can sign up for reimbursement for testing and treating uninsured patients who had COVID-19 diagnoses on or after February 4, 2020.  The funding is part of the legislative responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and will provide Medicare rates for COVID treatment.  Providers may now enroll through the Program Portal at https://coviduninsuredclaim.linkhealth.com/.

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CMS Announces Suspension of Advance Payment Program and Reevaluation of Accelerated Payment Program

On April 27, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is suspending its Advance Payment Program to Part B suppliers and reevaluating the amounts that will be provided under its Accelerated Payment Program.  Beginning on April 26, 2020, CMS will no longer accept any new applications for the Advance Payment Program, and CMS will reevaluate all pending and new applications for Accelerated Payments.

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A Summary of Key Provisions in the Department’s Distance Education NPRM
By Sean Beller

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On April 2, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) that proposed regulatory edits on a number of topics, and predominantly distance education and direct assessment (including subscription-based) programs.  The NPRM, which can be found here, is the product of negotiated rulemaking surrounding a number of accreditation-related issues that occurred in 2019 and resulted in consensus on the Department’s proposed regulations.  The NPRM invites the public to submit comments on the proposed regulatory revisions, and any such comments must be received on or before May 4, 2020.  Comments may be in support of the NPRM or can suggest revisions.  Please contact Powers if you would like any assistance in preparing comments.

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Summary of Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act

To stay up to date on the latest news and insights from the Powers Law Firm, please visit our COVID-19 resource page here.

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Over the last month, Congress and the Trump Administration have taken several key steps to address the expanding public health crisis caused by the coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19. This memo summarizes Congress’ actions to date with a focus on its most recent activity, today’s enactment of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act.

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