Articles and Blogs

NATIONAL 10 highest-paying cities for physicians in 2020 13 states see record COVID-19 hospitalizations 39 hospitals face maximum Medicare readmission penalties A breakdown of 5 recent CMS rules After hospital volumes plummeted due to COVID-19, full rebound not likely soon CMS delayed help, investigating instead, at site of first U.S. COVID-19 outbreak, ’60 Minutes’... READ MORE

In just a few months, CMS is going to introduce significant changes to office or other outpatient visit coding guidelines. With a historic provision in the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, CMS will attempt to address the administrative burden placed on providers and prioritize patients over paperwork. When it comes to documentation... READ MORE

Many clients have inquired about what they can do to ensure adequate safety precautions are being observed in their medical office buildings. A recent study found that 61% of Americans are not confident or only slightly confident that public spaces have the guidance needed to open safely. Another study found that 44% of respondents... READ MORE

On September 4, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) issued an order to temporarily halt residential evictions of certain individuals for the nonpayment of rent through December 31, 2020 (“Order”). Based on the express language of the Order, the CDC aims to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by allowing some renters... READ MORE

Michigan recently joined a chorus of states adopting protections for businesses and governmental agencies related to COVID-19 exposures and adding protections and requirements for employees. On October 22, 2020, Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer, signed three new pieces of legislation. Health care organizations will particularly take note because many of their employees have no work-from-home... READ MORE

On Thursday, October 29, HHS made the most substantial revisions to its Relief Fund Frequently Asked Questions document to date, adding or modifying 61 FAQs and deleting 78. Many of the deletions are related to the new or modified FAQs, as well as the updated Reporting Guidelines issued October 22, which we addressed here.... READ MORE

On October 22, 2020, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published revised Provider Relief Fund Reporting Guidelines (“Revised Reporting Guidelines”) for providers (“Recipients”) who received more than $10,000 in relief fund payments from the Provider Relief Fund created by the CARES Act (“Relief Fund”) (the press release announcing the Revised Reporting Guidelines is... READ MORE

NATIONAL 100 of the largest hospitals and health systems in America | 2020 10 hospitals closing departments, ending services AHA urges CMS to delay radiation oncology model, changes to BPCI Advanced AMA: 4 ways providers can use social media to improve public health Amazon eyeing expansion of Amazon Care virtual health care clinics Court... READ MORE

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) recently finalized the End-Stage Renal Disease (“ESRD”) Treatment Choices Model (the “ETC Model”), which is a mandatory payment model intended to reduce Medicare expenditures by encouraging greater use of home dialysis and kidney transplants for patients with chronic kidney disease, while maintaining or improving the quality... READ MORE

The push for increased telehealth coverage continues during the COVID-19 public health emergency (“PHE”). On October 14, 2020, CMS added 11 new telehealth services available for Medicare reimbursement during the PHE. The newly added services include cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services and certain neurostimulator analysis and programming services. Since the beginning of the PHE,... READ MORE