News

CMS Announces Additional COVID-19 Provider Relief On March 28, 2020, CMS expanded the existing COVID-19 Accelerated and Advance Payments (CAAP) Program to a broader group of providers. Accelerated and advance payments are payments intended to provide necessary funds to Part A providers and Part B suppliers, respectively, when there is a disruption in claims submission and/or claims processing. CMS can also offer these payments in circumstances such as national emergencies or natural disasters in order to accelerate cash flow to the impacted health care providers and suppliers. In accordance with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136), the expanded CAAP program provided additional flexibilities for a specific subset of providers, including inpatient hospitals, children’s hospitals, certain […]

AMA Releases Report on Physician Service Expenditures in 2020 In March 2021, The American Medical Association (AMA) released a new report “Changes in Medicare Physician Spending During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” which analyzed Medicare claims data exclusive to physician services. The study found that in April 2020, spending dropped to 57% below expected pre-pandemic levels. Medicare spending on physician services partially recovered from the April low but was still 12% less than expected by the end of June 2020. During the first half of 2020, the cumulative estimated reduction in Medicare physician spending associated with the pandemic was $9.4 billion (19% below expected). The report also provides estimates by state and specialty. To download the full report, please see the following […]

ISASS and Other Stakeholders Urge Congress to Extend Physician Payment Relief in 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule ISASS joined a sign-on letter to congressional leadership advocating that Congress pass legislation to extend the current moratorium on the 2% Medicare payment sequester beyond the current March 31, 2021, expiration date. The letter strongly urges Congress to pass a new bill, H.R. 315, referred to as the Medicare Sequester COVID Moratorium Act. This bipartisan legislation would continue the current Medicare sequester moratorium for the duration of the public health emergency. Please see the attached copy of the sign-on letter: Here

Kaiser Health News Article Raises Questions About New Medicare Site of Service Policy In an article published March 23, 2021, Kaiser Health News (KHN) questioned the impact of the new CMS policy allowing numerous surgical procedures to be performed in outpatient locations or ambulatory surgical centers. For 2021, CMS allowed more than 200 procedures, including dozens of spine surgical procedures, to be moved from the Inpatient Only (IPO) list. The KHN article describes the transition and impacts on hospitals that face potential reduced reimbursements and patients who face potentially higher Medicare co-pays. The article looks at several health systems, including the Hospital for Special Surgery and Langone NYU Hospital System in New York and Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto, California. […]