The COVID-19 pandemic’s arrival in the United States began at a time when many healthcare providers would normally be submitting their 2019 MIPS attestations. This yearly process, however, had to be set aside as lockdown orders were implemented in a vast majority of states and social distancing rules had to be observed. In order to offer some relief from the current pressure being experienced by providers during this public health emergency, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has enacted a number of new measures to reduce the chaos of 2019 MIPS attestation.

The recent HIPAA Waiver that was included in the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act passed on March 15, 2020 has caused a bit of confusion among some in the healthcare community. Does this mean HIPAA rules do not apply for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic? Are the rules for safeguarding PHI also suspended during this period? In this blog, we are going to offer our readers a closer look at the current state of HIPAA and PHI safeguards during the COVID-19 pandemic so everyone can stay secure and compliant.

On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the implementation of sweeping temporary regulatory changes that are intended to better equip the American healthcare system for dealing with the current COVID-19 pandemic. As the number of patients presenting to hospitals continues to surge, these new rules and waivers of preexisting federal requirements are designed to make sure hospitals and healthcare organizations have the capacity they need to adequately respond.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) on March 14, 2020. Then last week Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. As expected, it was signed into law by President Trump on Friday, March 27, 2020. While the FFCRA is intended to make it easier for businesses to provide employees with sick leave and family leave, the $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus package is intended to lessen the financial and economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on both businesses and individuals.

On Tuesday, March 17, 2020, the Trump Administration announced a number of temporary measures that are meant to help combat the spread of COVID-19 under a newly passed bill called the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. Unanimously approved by Congress, parts of this bill are intended to expand the uses of telehealth while relaxing HIPAA constraints for healthcare providers. In this blog, we will take a look at these temporary measures in order to keep our readers informed on maintaining compliance during the current COVID-19 public health state of emergency.

For specialty providers, the odds of needing to actually treat patients with COVID-19 are incredibly low. However, there are still certain actions that specialty providers should be taking to minimize the risk of exposure for staff, patients and themselves.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) jointly released the official ICD-10 code changes for fiscal year (FY) 2020. This is the fourth such update to occur since ICD-10 was first officially implemented in the U.S. back in October of 2015. These code changes will go into immediate effect as of Tuesday, October 1, 2019. However, it is important to note that any claims with earlier service dates (on or before September 30, 2019) must continue to use the codes from FY2019.

In mid-August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2020 Quality Payment Program Proposed Rule Overview. This document outlines changes to Quality Payment Program (QPP) policies that will take effect in the upcoming 2020 year, as well as proposed changes for 2021. It is also a summarization of the far more detailed (and roughly 1700 page long) CY 2020 Revisions to Payment Policies document. One section that is likely to be of the most interest to healthcare providers deals with new modifications to the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). In this article, we will be looking at these MIPS 2020 changes, particularly those that are of concern to specialty healthcare practices in fields such as dermatology, ophthalmology, plastics/aesthetics and orthopedics.