This is a change from a May 8 HHS announcement that extended the attestation timeline for providers to accept or reject payments from the original 30 days to 45 days from receipt of payment. Under the May 8th announcement, the deadline should have been June 8. HHS has since issued two additional announcements regarding the deadline. The first announcement on May 20 established the deadline as June 3.
Hargan indicated that the next round of relief payments will be going to Indian Health Services facilities and SNFs in COVID-19 hotspots, which is an item LeadingAge requested in a recent letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar. When asked about relief payments for Medicaid providers, he added, “we are working on it.
The most recent waivers that are relevant for LeadingAge members fall into a few main categories. In general, these waivers permit providers to postpone requirements that are part of conditions or requirements of participation while the public health emergency exists. CMS has indicated that these additional waivers should allow providers to focus on delivering patient care during this time.
Specifically, for tests or services on or after March 18 through the national emergency period, MAOs are required to cover the following without cost sharing to the plan enrollee:
The Accelerated and Advance Payment Programs are temporary loans to help providers with cash flow issues in an emergency. They require repayment which is different than the funds being distributed through the Provider Relief Fund being administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. LeadingAge has heard from many members receiving funding through the Provider Relief Fund distributions but few who are participating in the Accelerated and Advanced Payment Programs.
This second tranche of funding will begin rolling into provider bank accounts starting April 24 and be distributed in the following allocations:
For those providers who have questions about the funds they received or have not yet received funds, HHS has two options for getting answers:
LeadingAge, the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) and ElevatingHOME (EH), and the Better Medicare Alliance (BMA ) jointly submitted a letter to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) on April 13 requesting a one-year delay of the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) demonstration that seeks to test the inclusion of hospice benefits for enrollees in Medicare Advantage plans.
While CMS has been making changes to Medicare fee-for-services policies such as waiving 3-day stay requirements for SNF stay and extending some SNF stays beyond the 100 days, managed care plans, such as Medicare Advantage and Special Needs Plans, are not required to adopt these same policies. The result is these new temporary policy changes vary widely and change frequently among these plans.
Pages
