Category: Healthcare News

CMS Releases Long-Awaited 2021 FY IPPS Final Rule

CMS Releases Long-Awaited 2021 FY IPPS Final Rule

Medicare spending on acute-care inpatient hospital services will increase by about $3.5 billion in FY 2021 As the healthcare industry continues to be buffeted by the unrelenting coronavirus pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) final rule. The final […]
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CMS to Require Hospitals to Report Critical COVID-19 Data on Bed Capacity, PPE and Cases

CMS to Require Hospitals to Report Critical COVID-19 Data on Bed Capacity, PPE and Cases

  The Trump administration is now going to require all hospitals to submit daily critical information on COVID-19, including bed capacity and the availability of essential supplies. The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) released an emergency regulation Tuesday calling for the mandatory reporting. The agency also posted new requirements for lab reporting and […]
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Medicare Advantage Plans Drops Due To Covid-19

Medicare Advantage Plans Could See Payments Drop in 2021 Due To Covid-19, Analysis Finds

  The COVID-19 outbreak appears to have impacted claims patterns for Medicare Advantage enrollees, according to a new analysis by Avalere Health. Even though seniors are historically the most vulnerable population health-wise, their claims were down dramatically during the month of April. The survey suggests it could impact risk score factors for MA plans in 2021, driving […]
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Medicare Reimbursement for Telehealth Services

New Bill Would Codify Medicare Reimbursement for Telehealth Services

The bipartisan HEALTH Act would make permanent Medicare payments for telehealth services at federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics. U.S. Reps. G.K. Butterfield, D-North Carolina, and Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., introduced new legislation this week that would provide for permanent Medicare payments for telehealth services at federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics. The Helping […]
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Labs Welcome CMS Rate for Coronavirus Antibody Testing

Labs Welcome CMS Rate for Coronavirus Antibody Testing

CMS set the reimbursement rate for Medicare Administrative Contractors covering the main type of coronavirus antibody test at approximately $42, per an update Tuesday. That rate exceeds investment firm William Blair’s $25 estimate for the category of tests, boding well for future reimbursement policy for antigen testing, analysts noted. Last month, the agency doubled its reimbursement for high-throughput molecular […]
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COVID-19 Puts Unprecedented Strain on US Health System

COVID-19 Puts Unprecedented Strain on US Health System

Federal officials pleaded with the American public Monday to heed directives to socially distance themselves in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus as hospitals warned of low supplies and canceled elective procedures to free up resources. “In some of those hospitals that are no longer performing elective procedures, we are converting […]
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Coronavirus_ Antibody Testing Guidance

Coronavirus: FDA Updates Antibody Testing Guidance

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated COVID-19 antibody testing guidance. According to a news release, the revised rule allows laboratories and commercial manufacturers to help accelerate the use of tests they develop to expand rapid testing capacity. The rule allows companies to develop and distribute serological, antibody, tests after validation while an […]
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Diagnosing COVID-19

Diagnosing COVID-19

Clinical judgment is sufficient for COVID-19 diagnosis. When I was a third-year resident, in 1987, I saw a really sick kid in the ED. He was about 5 years old, had a fever of 104°, and was lethargic in his mother’s arms. His eyes were swollen and infected, and he had a runny nose and […]
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