Publications

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30 Senators Send Letter to the Administration Calling for Extension of Telehealth Policies

Policy Snapshot
Practitioners, Telemedicine
June 18, 2020
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and a bipartisan group of 29 senators sent a letter to the administration on June 15 calling to make permanent telehealth waivers and flexibilities that are currently implemented for the duration of the public health...

MIPS Call for Measures Deadlines

Policy Snapshot
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Medicare Access and CHIP Re-authorization Act (MACRA), Merit-Based Incentive Program Payment System (MIPS), Electronic Health Records (EHR), Practitioners
June 18, 2020
The Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Annual Call for Measures and Activities process allows clinicians; professional associations; and medical societies that represent clinicians, researchers, consumer groups, and others to identify and...

HHS Announces New Laboratory Data Reporting Guidance for COVID-19 Testing

Policy Snapshot
COVID-19, Practitioners
June 12, 2020
Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced new guidance that specifies what additional data must be reported to HHS by laboratories along with COVID-19 test results. The guidance standardizes reporting to ensure that...

CMS Unveils Enhanced Enforcement Actions Based on Nursing Home COVID-19 Data and Inspection Results

Policy Snapshot
June 5, 2020
On June 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled enhanced enforcement for nursing homes with violations of long-standing infection control practices. This announcement builds on the previous actions CMS has taken as the...

Updated CDC Serology Testing Guidelines Follow AMA's Recommendations

Policy Snapshot
June 5, 2020
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidelines on serology (antibody) testing, bringing them in line with the AMA's recently issued guidelines . For the past several weeks, the AMA has been in touch with various...

HHS Announces Nearly $4.9 Billion Distribution to Nursing Facilities Impacted by COVID-19

Policy Snapshot
COVID-19, Skilled Nursing Care, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)
May 28, 2020
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing it has begun distributing billions in additional relief funds to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) to help them combat the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing...

Society Supports the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act

Policy Snapshot
Federal Regulations
May 28, 2020
The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act would reallocate visas previously authorized by Congress that have not currently been used. Of these, 15,000 visas would be reallocated for foreign-born physicians and 25,000 visas for foreign-born nurses...

CMS Issues Guidance to Ensure States Have a Plan in Place to Safely Reopen Nursing Homes

Policy Snapshot
COVID-19, Skilled Nursing Care, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)
May 21, 2020
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced new guidance for state and local officials to ensure the safe reopening of nursing homes across the country. The recommendations would allow states to make sure nursing...

CDC Issues Updated Infection Prevention Guidance for Long-Term Care Settings

Policy Snapshot
May 21, 2020
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated guidance for infection prevention in long-term care facilities. The tiered recommendations address nursing homes in different phases of COVID-19 response. They added a...

Nursing Home Quality Initiative: Updated MDS 3.0 Item Sets

Policy Snapshot
Skilled Nursing Care, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), Payment, Practitioners
May 21, 2020
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 item sets ( version 1.17.2 (ZIP) ) and related technical data specifications. These changes support the calculation of Patient Driven Payment Model payment...