The following is a summary of recent actions CMS has taken in response to the COVID-19 virus. This was originally released on April 9, 2020 and contains additional news following the previous update.
CMS Approves Over $51 Billion for Providers with the Accelerated/Advance Payment Program for Medicare Providers in One Week
CMS delivered more than $51 billion to the healthcare providers on the frontlines battling the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) to ensure they have the resources they need to combat this pandemic. This is an increase from the $34 billion that CMS announced in an earlier press release. Processing times for a request of an accelerated or advance payment is now four to six days, down from the previous timeframe of three to four weeks. In a little over a week, CMS has already approved over 21,000 of the 32,000 requests it received from health care providers and suppliers seeking accelerated and advance payments. Prior to COVID-19, CMS had approved just over 100 total requests in the past five years, with most being tied to natural disasters such as hurricanes.
Note: Payments are now up to $51 billion. CMS approved over 21,000 of 32,000 requests received.
Coronavirus-Related Medicare Scam Alert Blog
The Social Security Administration featured a guest blog from CMS Administrator Seema Verma reminding Medicare beneficiaries to be vigilant and take precautions to avoid falling victim to healthcare fraud during the coronavirus pandemic.
Artificial Intelligence Health Outcomes Challenge Pause
CMS will temporarily pause the Artificial Intelligence Health Outcomes Challenge and restart the Challenge on Monday, June 29, 2020. In the coming weeks, CMS will distribute a more detailed timeline for the remaining stages of the Challenge.
Artificial Intelligence Health Outcomes Challenge
Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model Implementation Date Delay
As CMS seeks to support the community of organizations that are responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency, CMS will delay the start of the ET3 Model from May 1, 2020 until Fall 2020. Selected applicants have been notified and will be required to complete a revised Participation Agreement reflecting the new implementation date.
CMS Approves Additional State Medicaid Waivers and Amendments to Give States Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS continues to deliver urgent regulatory relief to ensure states can quickly and effectively care for their most vulnerable citizens during the COVID-19 crisis. For the first time, CMS has approved a COVID-related Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Disaster Amendment that brings relief for CHIP-covered children living in Maine. In addition, CMS approved COVID-related Medicaid Disaster Amendments that bring relief to North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Wyoming. These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools they need to combat COVID-19 through a wide variety of state plan flexibilities. CMS also authorized amendments to ensure emergency flexibilities in programs that care for the elderly and people with disabilities, including most recently in Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, New York, and North Dakota. These approved flexibilities support President Trump’s commitment to a COVID-19 response that is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.
All told, CMS has approved 49 emergency waivers, 26 state amendments, 7 COVID-19 related Medicaid Disaster Amendments and the first CHIP COVID-related Disaster Amendment in record time. States are using a toolkit CMS developed to expedite the application and approval of Medicaid state waivers and State Plan Amendments.
