Category: Healthcare News

Regulations on SNF Waivers and Telehealth

COVID-19 Impacts Regulations on SNF Waivers and Telehealth

As with last week, RACmonitor asked Dr. Ronald Hirsch, vice president of R1 RCM, to summarize the most pertinent regulatory changes recently arising. The following is a transcript of his reporting today on Monitor Mondays. “First, thank you, everyone, for continuing to care for patients and continuing to take this pandemic seriously,” Dr. Ronald Hirsch […]
Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Drug Plan

New Directions for Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Drug Plan in 2021

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare Advantage plan (MA, or Part C) and the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Part D) program. In years past, CMS has also issued a “call letter,” not subject to the regulatory process, to provide additional information for plans to use […]
MIPS Changes

What You Need to Know About 2020 MIPS Changes

In November 2019, CMS published the 2020 Quality Payment Program Final Rule (the “2020 MIPS Final Rule Changes”). Below is a summary of some of the most notable changes to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment Program (MIPS). For a complete list of changes, please review the 2020 MIPS Final Rule or CMS’ Quality Payment Program Resource […]
New Rules from CMS

More New Rules from CMS for FY 2020

Among the proposed new rules is one intended to clarify the contentious “Stark Law” On Oct. 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to modernize and clarify the regulations that interpret the Medicare physician self-referral law (often called the “Stark Law”). The law prohibits physicians from making referrals for […]
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Improve Clinician EHR

How Can Artificial Intelligence (AI) Improve Clinician EHR Use?

The implementation of artificial intelligence into healthcare is becoming more widespread by the day. EHRs may have worked to improve data use among medical providers, but these tools are still far from perfect. Digital medical records have introduced a host of problems, including disrupting clinician workflows, limited interoperability, and creating data overload. But with the […]
EM Code

Final Physician Payment Rule Keeps E/M Code Changes

CMS on Friday issued its 2020 final rules for the Physician Fee Schedule, including a streamlining of evaluation and management services (E/M) reporting that was rolled back from an earlier proposal in a change providers applauded. The final rule, which is mostly unchanged from the proposed rule put forward in July, also cuts payments to physical therapists […]
Final Physician Payment Rule Keeps EM Code Changes

Medicare Remote Patient Monitoring: CMS Finalizes New Code and General Supervision

CMS just released the 2020 final rule with changes to remote patient monitoring (RPM), officially titled “Chronic Care Remote Physiologic Monitoring,” reimbursed under the Medicare program, as part of the Physician Fee Schedule changes. The changes, proposed earlier this year, have been hotly-anticipated by digital health companies hoping to see more clarity and flexibility for RPM services. CMS […]