Why OIG Did This Review In 2012, the OIG issued a report to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicating that during 2009, Medicare part D paid for prescription drugs that likely should have been paid for by hospice organizations under the Medicare Part A hospice benefit. They matched Part A and Part D data to identify occurrences …
The OIG performed an audit review focusing on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS’s) use of data on nursing home staffing from April 2018 through March 2019; before the COVID-19 pandemic. They also noted recent CMS actions through December 2020. Since November 2016, CMS has required nursing homes to submit payroll-based staffing data, including data on nurses and …
CMS updated the original QSO-20-28-NH from April 24, 2020 on July 09, 2020 and again on March 10, 2021. A summary of the updates are below: CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s nursing homes are prepared to respond to the threat of the COVID-19. Nursing Home Compare website and Nursing Home Five Star Quality Rating System: …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued updated guidance on March 10th for nursing homes to safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency (PHE). This latest guidance comes as more than three million doses of vaccines have been administered within nursing homes, thanks …
CMS has revised the criteria requiring states to conduct focused infection control surveys, effective January 4, 2021, due to the increased availability of resources for the testing of residents and staff and factors related to the quality of care. This revision affects previous guidance issued June 1, 2020 concerning “COVID-19 Survey Activities, CARES Act Funding, Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control …
JAMDA published a recent study that assessed whether using coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) community activity levels can accurately inform strategies for routine testing of facility staff for active severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Of the staff tested, 28% were certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who accounted for 36.9% of all staff testing positive. Similarly, licensed practice nurses (LPNs) …
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that as of November 10, 2020, Medicare beneficiaries are receiving coverage of monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19 with no cost-sharing during the Public Health Emergency (PHE). CMS’ coverage of monoclonal antibody infusions applies to bamianivimab, which received an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA on November 9. CMS anticipates that …
CMS has released great informational material during the pandemic, including free training designed to educate staff in nursing homes and help combat the spread of COVID-19. Early this week, CMS released a statement publicly recognizing those that have completed training, and calling out star facilities that have had over half their staff complete such training. By the numbers, 125,506 individuals …
Following President Trump’s declaration of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 outbreak as a national emergency, on March 13, 2020 the Secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, Alex Azar authorized waivers and modifications under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act (the Act). As a result, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued blanket waivers consistent with those …
