IPPS Hospitals, LTCHs: Reprocessing Claims for CARES Act

CMS is implementing changes to increase payments to Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) hospitals and Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs) under Sections 3710 and 3711 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. When you submit an IPPS claim for discharges on or after January 27, 2020, or an LTCH claim for admissions on or after January 27, 2020, and we receive it:

April 20, 2020, and earlier, Medicare will reprocess. You do not need to take any action.
On or after April 21, 2020, Medicare will process in accordance with the CARES Act.

For more information, see MLN Matters Special Edition Article SE20015.

Trump Administration Announces Expanded Coverage for Essential Diagnostic Services Amid COVID-19 Public Health Emergency

CMS, together with the Departments of Labor and the Treasury, issued guidance to ensure Americans with private health insurance have coverage of COVID-19 diagnostic testing and certain other related services, including antibody testing, at no cost. This includes urgent care visits, emergency room visits, and in-person or telehealth visits to the doctor’s office that result in an order for or administration of a COVID-19 test. As part of the effort to slow the spread of the virus, this guidance is another action the Trump Administration is taking to remove financial barriers for Americans to receive necessary COVID-19 tests and health services, as well as encourage the use of antibody testing that may help to enable health care workers and other Americans to get back to work more quickly.

Press Release
Guidance

Removal of Non-Invasive Ventilator Product Category from DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program

CMS is removing the non-invasive ventilator (NIV) product category from Round 2021 of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic, the President’s exercise of the Defense Production Act, public concern regarding access to ventilators, and the NIV product category being new to the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program.

DME Competitive Bidding Program