After a two-week impasse with Democrats and Republicans proposing competing COVID-19 pandemic relief bills, the Senate (on April 21, 2020) and the House (on April 23, 2020) approved a total of $480 billion of additional funds for various COVID-19 pandemic relief programs, including additional funding to the Payroll Protection Program, health care providers treating COVID-19 patients, and state and federal agencies for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing.» Read More
Update: On Thursday evening, April 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) extended the deadline for hospitals in the nation’s hardest-hit areas to apply for additional relief from the $10 billion CARES Act fund set aside for this purpose.» Read More
Beginning April 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), assisted by UnitedHealth Group, began distributing the $30 billion to health care providers and health care systems. These payments are not loans and will not need to be repaid.» Read More
The CARES Act, signed into law on Friday, contains a number of provisions affording financial relief to health care providers who have been struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Senate voted on Wednesday night to approve a $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package to help millions of American workers and businesses survive the impact of COVID-19. The Relief package is titled CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) and includes COVID-19 relief for individuals, businesses, and the health care industry.» Read More
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) is increasing its efforts to transform Medicare from a fee-for-service payment system to a payment system that pays based on the value, quality, and outcome of the services provided.
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Labeling Medicare a “rigged system,” President Trump has outlined a plan that he believes would allow it to lower drug prices covered under its Part B coverage. Specifically, the proposal would permit Medicare to implement a new reimbursement scheme that would reduce drug prices to achieve parity with costs in other nations.» Read More
Space sharing and co-location arrangements have been popular service delivery models for hospitals and independent physician practices. These arrangements enhance patient convenience, improve continuity of care and present cost sharing benefits to the parties involved. However, Medicare rules related to hospital provider-based department status and the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) Guidance Regarding Hospital Outpatient Department – Shared Space arrangements have severely limited what space sharing arrangements will continue to qualify under Medicare’s Hospital Outpatient Department (HOPD) billing rules.» Read More
