Thursday, October 7, 2021
- Medicare-Dependent Hospital COVID-19 Waiver: Modification
- Organ Procurement Organization Performance Report
- NPPES: Add Digital Contact Information
- Hospice QRP Claims-Based Measures: FAQs
- Breast Cancer: Talk to Your Patients about Screening
- Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System Webinar: Labor Costs — October 7
- Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System: Q&A Session — October 12
- Hospice Quality Reporting Program Forum — October 19
- Quarterly Update to the End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (ESRD PPS)
- Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) Updates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 — Revised
View this edition as PDF (PDF)
News
Medicare-Dependent Hospital COVID-19 Waiver: Modification
CMS modified the current COVID-19 blanket waiver for Medicare-Dependent Hospitals (MDHs) to include hospitals that became newly classified during the Public Health Emergency (PHE) without application of this waiver. For the duration of the PHE, we’re waiving these MDH eligibility requirements:
- 100 or fewer beds
- At least 60 percent of the inpatient days or discharges attributable to patients with Medicare Part A
For more information, see page 12 of the COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers (PDF).
Organ Procurement Organization Performance Report
The CMS Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) Performance Report is available in the left menu of the S&C's Quality, Certification and Oversight Reports webpage. The goal of this annual, aggregate report is to create greater transparency in our oversight of OPOs.
More Information:
NPPES: Add Digital Contact Information
In the May 2020 CMS Interoperability and Patient Access final rule, CMS finalized the policy to publicly report the names and National Provider Identifiers of providers who don’t have digital contact information included in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES).
Enter your digital contact information, or Endpoints, in NPPES now. Provider organizations can upload new or updated data elements for their providers in bulk through the NPPES Electronic File Interchange (EFI) process. Endpoints allow health care providers to send authenticated, encrypted health information directly to trusted recipients securely over the internet. CMS plans to publicly report providers missing digital contact information by the end of this year.
More Information:
- EFI process
- How to enter Endpoint information in NPPES
- How to update Endpoints in NPPES (begins on slide 29)
- May 2020 CMS Interoperability and Patient Access final rule FAQs
Hospice QRP Claims-Based Measures: FAQs
CMS finalized 2 new claims-based measures as part of the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (QRP): Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life and Hospice Care Index. Find FAQs on calculating and reporting claims-based measures in the Downloads section of the Public Reporting Background and Announcements webpage.
Breast Cancer: Talk to Your Patients about Screening
Medicare covers breast cancer screening. Your patients pay nothing for the following services if you accept assignment:
- Mammography screening
- Clinical breast exam during a screening pelvic exam
During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, talk to your patients about the best screening options for them.
More Information:
- Preventive Services webpage
- Screening Pap Tests & Pelvic Exams (PDF) booklet
- CDC Breast Cancer Awareness webpage
- Breast Cancer Screening Disparities (PDF) data snapshot
- Information for your patients on mammograms and cervical & vaginal cancer screenings
Claims, Pricers, & Codes
Drugs & Biologics: HCPCS Level II Application Summaries & Coding Decisions
CMS published the third quarterly 2021 HCPCS Application Summaries and Coding Decisions for Drugs and Biologics (PDF). Visit the HCPCS Level II Coding Decisions webpage for more information.
Events
Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System Webinar: Labor Costs — October 7
Thursday, October 7 from 2-3pm ET
Register for this Zoom webinar.
During this webinar, CMS will walk through the Labor Cost section of the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Instrument (section 7). The presentation includes examples to help different types of ground ambulance organizations understand how to collect and report data for their paid and volunteer staff.
A Q&A session will follow this presentation. You may also send your questions in advance to AmbulanceDataCollection@cms.hhs.gov with “October 7 Labor Cost Webinar” in the subject line.
More information:
- Presentation (PDF)
- Ambulances Services Center webpage – includes lists of organizations that must collect data starting in 2022
- CY 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule
- CY 2020 PFS final rule
- Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018
Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System: Q&A Session — October 12
Tuesday, October 12 from 2-3pm ET
Do you have questions about the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System? Join this live Q&A session. You may also send your questions in advance to AmbulanceDataCollection@cms.hhs.gov with “October 12 Q&A” in the subject line. We’ll update documents on our Ambulances Services Center webpage with answers to common questions from this session.
More Information:
- Ambulances Services Center webpage – includes lists of organizations that must collect data starting in 2022
- CY 2022 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) proposed rule
- CY 2020 PFS final rule
- Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018
Hospice Quality Reporting Program Forum — October 19
Tuesday, October 19 from 2-3pm ET
This CMS webinar will include:
- New claims-based measures
- Quality Measures (QM) Specifications User’s Manual v1.00
- QM Report Review
- Q&A session following the presentation
For more information contact CMSQualityTeam@ketchum.com.
MLN Matters® Articles
Quarterly Update to the End-Stage Renal Disease Prospective Payment System (ESRD PPS)
Learn about updates starting October 1 (PDF):
- Diagnosis codes eligible for the ESRD PPS co-morbidity payment adjustment
- ICD-10 codes for the hereditary hemolytic and sickle cell anemia comorbidity category
Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) Updates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 — Revised
We corrected the fixed dollar loss threshold amount to $16,040 (PDF), but made no other changes.
Publications
Medicare DMEPOS Payments While Inpatient — Revised
Read new Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) supplier information (PDF) in this Medicare Learning Network fact sheet:
- 2020 Medicare Fee-for-Service Supplemental Improper Payment Data
- DMEPOS items that may be delivered to a facility
- Responsibility during transition from inpatient to home
Multimedia
Modernizing Health Care to Improve Physical Accessibility
Learn how to make it easier for people with disabilities to get services in this Medicare Learning Network web-based training:
- Requirements and definitions
- Facilities and services
- Policies and procedures
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