CMS Updates
CMS issues new regulatory waivers to expand care to Medicare beneficiaries and provide more flexibility to Medicare providers.

Changes included in this round of of CMS updates:
  • Expansion of COVID-19 diagnostic testing for Medicare and Medicaid Beneficiaries
  • Increased hospital capacity - CMS Hospitals Without Walls
  • Healthcare Workforce Augmentation
  • Decreased Administrative Burden - Put Patients Over Paperwork
  • Telehealth expansion in medicare
CMS increases Telehealth payments.

  • CMS is increasing payment for audio-only telephone E/M services (CPT codes 99441-99443) such that they are paid at the same rate as similar office and outpatient E/M visits, resulting in increased payments from $14-$41 to $46-$110. CMS believes that the resources required to furnish these services during the PHE are better captured by RVUs associated with level 2-4 established office/outpatient E/M visits. CMS is not increasing payment for CPT codes 98966-98968, which are intended for practitioners that cannot separately bill for E/M. This policy is retroactive to March 1, 2020.

  • For Telehealth services other than CPT codes 99441-99443 and 98966-98968 (now added to the list of covered Telehealth services), Medicare continues to require modalities that have both audio and video capabilities.

  • CMS is forgoing its typical rule making process to add new services to the list of Medicare services that may be furnished via Telehealth. Instead, CMS will add new Telehealth services on a sub-regulatory basis to speed up the process of adding codes to the list.
CMS expands COVID-19 diagnostic testing for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
WMS Provider Connect - Tues., May 5th at Noon
Wyoming House of Representatives Majority Floor Leader Eric Barlow, DVM, will present on legislative updates around state action on CARES funding and answer questions.


Join Zoom Meeting:
1-669-900-6833
Meeting ID: 559 799 163
FDA Approves Emergency Use of Remdesivir in Treatment of COVID-19
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration  issued an emergency use authorization for the investigational antiviral drug Remdesivir for the treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease. While there is limited information known about the safety and effectiveness of using Remdesivir to treat people in the hospital with COVID-19, the investigational drug was shown in a clinical trial to shorten the time to recovery in some patients.
Wyoming State Bar Helps Medicine During COVID-19
Wyoming State Bar Launches Frontline Responders Legal Helpline.

The Wyoming State Bar’s Estate Planning, Elder Law, Trust & Probate Section has launched a new initiative to provide free legal help to the workers on the front lines of keeping Wyomingites safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Through the Frontline Responders Legal Helpline, medical workers and first responders will be paired with attorneys who will assist them with preparing the crucial legal documents that are difficult to think about even during normal circumstances, but whose completion provides peace of mind — wills, medical powers of attorney, and financial powers of attorney.
 
“The people who are on the front lines of the coronavirus fight are putting their lives on the line to help us all. I’m pleased that through this service Wyoming lawyers will have a tangible way to say ‘thank you,’” said Scott Meier, Chair of the Estate Planning, Elder Law, Trust & Probate Section.
 
Meier noted, “Every year Wyoming lawyers give thousands of hours of free legal services to meet the legal needs of low-income people.”
 
Medical workers and first responders who would like the offered free legal services should call (307) 432-2105. More information is available at  www.wyomingbar.org . 
Wyoming Key Points
Wyoming Key Points includes:

  • Wyoming stats
  • New Public Health Orders
  • Lab/EPI updates
  • National Volunteer Week
  • CDC key points
  • Social Media
  • Behavioral health & wellness
Click on image to view Wyoming Key Points
A Message from WPAP
Wyoming Professional Assistance Program
Wyoming Professional Assistance Program will be hosting a virtual support group to help healthcare professionals cope with the stress, anxiety and trauma of working in the healthcare field during COVID-19.

Date:  Thursdays at 6:30pm

Or by Phone: 1-253-215-8782
Meeting ID: 373 633 219
TDC's Top 10 Tips for Reopening Your Clinic
Medical offices are beginning to reopen with some state and local governments implementing Phase 1 of the Opening Up America Guidelines. As they reopen during the pandemic, medical offices should take certain steps to keep patients and office staff safe. 

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