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April 2023 COVID-19 and Other Medicare Updates

Published on 

Wednesday, April 26, 2023

 | Case Management 
 | COVID-19 
 | Documentation 

COVID-19 Updates

 

March 29, 2023: FAQs Issued on Coverage of COVID-19 Testing and Vaccines by Health Plans After the Public Health Emergency Ends

A set of FAQs were issued to help group health plans and health insurance issuers in the private market understand their obligations under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) related to coverage for COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccines following the expiration of the PHE. The FAQs were issued jointly by HHS, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Treasury.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/faqs/aca-part-58

 

April 10, 2023: New COVID-19 Treatments Add-On Payment (NCTAP)

This webpage was updated to let providers know Medicare will provide an enhanced payment through September 30, 2023, for eligible inpatient cases using certain new products with current FDA approval or emergency use authorization (EUA) to treat COVID-19.

https://www.cms.gov/medicare/covid-19/new-covid-19-treatments-add-payment-nctap

 

April 5, 2023: COVID-19 Over the Counter (OTC) Test Coverage Ends May 11, 2023

“Effective May 12, 2023, COVID-19 OTC tests (HCPCS K1034) are no longer a covered benefit for Medicare. Any providers or suppliers providing monthly supplies to their patients should notify their patients of this change before providing further services.”

https://med.noridianmedicare.com/web/jfa/article-detail/-/view/10529/covid-19-over-the-counter-otc-test-coverage-ends-may-11-2023

 

Other Updates

 

April 4, 2023: Special Edition MLN Connects: Proposed Rules

CMS announced the release of the FY 2024 proposed rules for Hospice, Medicare Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities, and Skilled Nursing Facilities. Included in the announcement are links to related Fact Sheets. https://www.cms.gov/outreach-and-education/outreach/ffsprovpartprog/provider-partnership-email-archive/2023-04-04-oce

 

April 6, 2023: Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage: Form Renewal         

CMS posted a notice in the March 6, 2023 edition of MLN Connects letting providers know the OMB has approved the Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (Form CMS-R-131) for renewal. The expiration date is the only change to the form and must be used beginning June 30, 2023.

 

April 17, 2023: New Resources to Address Rising Threat of Cyberattacks in Health and Public Health Sector

HHS issued a Press Release announcing new resources made available by the U.S. HHS 405(d) Program to address cybersecurity concerns in the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) sector including a Knowledge on Demand – platform offering free educational cybersecurity trainings, the 2023 edition of the Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP) report, and a Hospital Cyber Resiliency Initiative Landscape Analysis reporting on the current state of domestic hospitals’ cybersecurity preparedness.

 

The HICP report indicates that “healthcare records continue to be one of the most lucrative items on the underground market, ranging from $250 to $1,000 compared to other items like credit cards only selling for an average of $100,” driver’s license an average of $20, and SSN’s average of $1.

   

April 21, 2023: CMS Issues Two More Civil Monetary Penalties for Failure to Meet Hospital Price Transparency Requirements

On April 21, CMS updated the hospital’s price transparency enforcement actions webpage by adding two more hospitals subject to civil monetary penalties for noncompliance with the hospital price transparency requirements (https://www.cms.gov/hospital-price-transparency/enforcement-actions). 
Article Author: Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS
Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS, is the Manager of Clinical Analytics at Medical Management Plus, Inc. Beth has over twenty-five years of experience in healthcare including eleven years in Case Management at a large multi-facility health system. In her current position, Beth is a principle writer for MMP’s Wednesday@One weekly e-newsletter, an active member of our HIPAA Compliance Committee, MMP’s Education Department Program Director and co-developer of MMP’s proprietary Compliance Protection Assessment Tool.

This material was compiled to share information.  MMP, Inc. is not offering legal advice. Every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the information is accurate and useful.