As of October 1, approximately 1,080 cases of respiratory illnesses and 18 deaths brought on by vaping have been reported in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Despite continued research into these cases by the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the specific cause of these illnesses remains unknown.
This week’s Medicare updates include the Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, a proposed decision memo on genetic testing for cancer, and more!
CMS is moving forward with multiple policies—effectively based on reducing reimbursement to hospitals—that have been deemed unlawful in court, according to the 2020 OPPS final rule, released Friday, November 1. However, the agency pushed its controversial price transparency proposals to a separate, yet-to-be released final rule.
Q: How should we handle denied claims when the payer refuses payment under the billed status? Do we need to document that the status was changed only because the payer did not agree to any other options?
OCR enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification rules. Failing to properly manage and oversee remote access to and the protection of health information can be costly, as the following three cases demonstrate.
Four years after they were proposed, CMS has finalized a series of discharge planning changes that went into effect on October 29. The final rule, called Revisions to Discharge Planning Requirements [CMS-3317-F], imposes a number of new requirements—ranging from how to notify patients about their choice in postacute providers to prioritizing patient preferences when developing discharge plans and treatment goals.
