On August 3, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at expanding access to care through two avenues: telemedicine and eased financial burdens on rural providers. The executive order builds on President Trump’s original expansion of coverage for telemedicine services in early March 2020, an order which was praised by the American Telehealth Association (ATA) and American Medical Association (AMA) for swiftly responding to the growing healthcare crisis. This Health Capital Topics article will discuss the executive rule and the subsequent agency actions on these fronts. (Read more...)
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On August 3, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two proposed payment rules for calendar year (CY) 2021: the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and the Quality Payment Program (QPP). CMS included in the MPFS proposed rule adjustments to physician payment rates and an expansion of telemedicine services. The proposed QPP rule, meanwhile, takes into account adjustments made for the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and seeks to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden on providers by eliminating some requirements. These rules, which have garnered mixed reactions from stakeholders, are both open for comment until October 5, 2020. (Read more...)
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On August 4, 2020, CMS released the latest in a series of recently-published proposed rules, the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) proposed rule for fiscal year (FY) 2021. This proposed rule builds upon executive orders such as “Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors,” signed by President Trump in October 2019 and Trump Administration initiatives such as “Patients Over Paperwork.” In a press release, CMS highlighted the proposed rule’s focus on increasing competition among providers to give patients more choice, lowering out-of-pocket surgery costs, increasing provider flexibility, and allowing patients to make more informed decisions about their care. (Read more...)
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On July 31, 2020, the CMS released finalized Medicare payment rules for three types of providers: skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), hospices, and inpatient psychiatric facilities (IPFs). While these prospective payment system (PPS) updates for FY 2021, which go into effect on October 1, 2020, aim to better align payments among these three providers, CMS largely limited their rulemaking, in recognition of the “significant impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency, and limited capacity of health care providers to review and provide comment on extensive proposals.” (Read more...)
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The Institute for Healthcare Valuation (IHV) & Consultants' Training Institute (CTI) are pleased to announce premier healthcare valuation training through a distance education program, the Certificate of Educational Achievement (CEA) for Advanced Education in Healthcare Valuation. The program will be featured during the two-day NACVA workshop October 27-28, 2020, and will bridge the interdisciplinary nature of healthcare valuation to include: the Four Pillars of Healthcare (regulatory, reimbursement, competition, and technology); the market forces shaping the U.S. healthcare industry; and the valuation of healthcare enterprises, assets, and services. Legal professionals and healthcare providers, as well as those wishing to expand their scope of activities in healthcare valuation engagements and those seeking to enhance their current healthcare valuation service lines, will gain comprehensive knowledge through completing the expansive program. The program has been developed and is being presented by industry thought leader Health Capital Consultants.
For more information on the program and conference Click HERE.
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