CMS Releases COVID-19 PHE Unwinding FAQs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released numerous guidance documents and tools designed to help states prepare for the eventual end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), including a State Health Official Letter, Promoting Continuity of Coverage and Distributing Eligibility and Enrollment Workload in Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Basic Health Program (BHP) Upon Conclusion of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (SHO #22-001, dated March 3, 2022).
HHS Renews COVID-19 Public Health Emergency For 90 Days
340B Hospital Reimbursement Rate To Increase After Court Ruling
On September 28, 2022, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the differential payment rates for 340B-acquired drugs in the Calendar Year 2022 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) final rule with respect to their prospective application. The Court ruled:
New Grouper Edits For Home Health Claims
The Home Health (HH) Grouper program has various data validity edits that make sure it uses consistent and accurate data when calculating payment groups on HH claims. Of these edits, currently only a principal diagnosis not assigned to a clinical group causes HH claims to be returned to the provider. Other principal diagnosis code errors aren’t returned to the provider. In some cases, this causes processing problems.