- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
- HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson, Joined by Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Announces New Funding, Policy Action, and Report to Mark Landmark Year of HRSA's Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces $60 Million Investment for Adding Early Morning, Night, and Weekend Hours at Community Health Centers
- Volunteer Opportunity for HUD's Office of Housing Counseling Tribe and TDHE Certification Exam
- Who Needs Dry January More: Rural or Urban Drinkers?
- Rural Families Have 'Critical' Need for More Hospice, Respite Care
- States Help Child Care Centers Expand in Bid To Create More Slots, Lower Prices
- Rural Telehealth Sees More Policy Wins, but Only Short-Term
- Healing a Dark Past: The Long Road To Reopening Hospitals in the Rural South
- Study: Obstetrics Units in Rural Communities Declining
- Q&A: Angela Gonzales (Hopi), on New Indigenous Health Research Dashboard
- Not All Expectant Moms Can Reach a Doctor's Office. This Kentucky Clinic Travels to Them.
House Appropriations Committee ‘Pumps the Breaks’
The House Appropriations Committee (HAC) will likely pursue a less ambitious timeline than previously hinted to pass the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations bills before the September 30th deadline. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had outlined a plan to complete bill markups by the end of June, and Politico is reporting, “That timeline has slipped as top Democrats raced to draft this month’s $3 trillion coronavirus relief package, which passed on May 15. And now leaders of the House Appropriations Committee say they won’t move to marking up its bills until Congress can agree on another massive infusion of federal coronavirus relief, which may be weeks down the line.” Thus far, no appropriations bills have been released or considered by committees.
CMS Update: COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Billing
On May 27, 2020, CMS issued updated FAQs. Among other topics, CMS noted that the RHC productivity limits may be waived during the COVID period at the discretion of the MACs (page 31). Based on this FAQ, if an RHC expects to have difficulty meeting the productivity guideline because of COVID, they should proactively consult with their MAC.
Another FAQ notes the treatment of telehealth costs on the cost reports (page 32). This FAQ response is consistent with current cost reporting instructions – as non-reimbursable costs excluded from the all-inclusive rate calculation. Other RHC FAQs are on pages 31-33.
The FAQs are attached and available at the following link.
The FAQs in this document supplement the previously released FAQs: 1135 Waiver FAQs, available at https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/Emergency/Downloads/MedicareFFS-EmergencyQsAs1135Waiver.pdf.