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Part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act included reimbursement rate changes for certain zip codes and HCPCS codes.

Let’s start with the rural and contiguous areas where the 50/50 blended rate that was initially set to expire December 31, 2020 and is now being extended beyond 2020 and for the duration of the public health emergency (PHE). This applies to beneficiaries that have a rural zip code according to Medicare FFS and the HCPCS code is part of...

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REMINDER: The deadline to apply for the HHS Provider Relief Fund for Medicaid/CHIP providers who did not receive any relief payments during the Medicare-based General Distribution is Monday, July 20th. Providers who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19, meet all of the other eligibility requirements, and can agree to the Terms and Conditions associated with the program are encouraged to apply for this relief fund.

HHS created this $15B relief program from the Provider Relief Fund,...

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The deadline for small businesses to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan has been extended through August 8th. The program has already provided small businesses around the country with over $500B in forgivable loans. The original deadline to apply for a loan was June 30, but as of that date, there were still over $130B left over in available funding for the popular program. On Saturday, July 4th, President Trump signed a bill that would extend the application deadline to August 8th. Any...

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On Monday, June 29, HHS Spokesperson Michael Caputo tweeted “…@HHSGov expects to renew the Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19 before it expires. We have already renewed this PHE once…” The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) was initially declared on January 31, 2020 (with acknowledgement that it has existed since January 27th). Any PHE declaration can only last for 90 days at a time, but can be extended or renewed. The COVID-19 was already renewed once in...

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HHS has announced an additional $15B in relief fund distributions from the Provider Relief Fund, which will be made available to eligible providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs. Providers who have previously received a payment from the Provider Relief Fund General Allocation will not be eligible for this next round of funding. To be eligible for this funding, health care providers...

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Those of you who received a payment from HHS between April 10 and April 24th (the payments that were automatically sent to you, that you didn’t ask for or apply for) are able to apply for a second round of HHS Relief Payments. In fact, ONLY companies that received Round 1 HHS relief payments can apply for Round 2. I’ve included a few links below that are pertinent to the Round 2 application process. You need to complete the attestation process for Round 1 before you can apply for Round...

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When HHS first started distributing relief funds to providers throughout the country, they initially stated providers had 30 days to complete their attestation and agree to the terms and conditions of keeping the payments. HHS has now extended that attestation timeframe to 45 days, giving providers an additional 15 days to familiarize themselves with the terms and conditions associated with the Provider Relief Fund. More information can be found HERE.

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This week HHS opened a new portal which allows providers, including DME providers, to submit claims to be reimbursed at Medicare reimbursement rates if they provided equipment and services to uninsured patients with a COVID-19 diagnosis. Some key highlights and provisions of the program are as follows:

Providers can begin submitting claims May 6th Dates of service can be February 4th or after are eligible for reimbursement Providers must enroll in the program (obtain an Optum...

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Yesterday, the Trump Admiration released an array of temporary regulatory waiver and new rules to help equip the healthcare community with flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our VGM Government team will continue to process the information and what it means for our members, but current highlights include:

Patients Over Paperwork Where Durable Medical Equipment Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) is lost, destroyed, irreparably damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable,...

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