The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their Roadmap to the End of the PHE to give guidance to prepare Health Systems for operations after the public health emergency ends. Currently, the PHE is extended until October 15, 2022, but HHS Secretary Becerra has committed to providing a 60-day notice prior to ending the PHE.
The following are fact sheets for each provider type and will provide guidance on the COVID waivers CMS is planning to terminate, keep or modify after the PHE ends and can be accessed directly from the links that are provided or by clicking here.
Unless additional legislation is passed, there are many important CMS waivers that will terminate at the end of the PHE to include:
- Critical Access Hospital Bed Count and Length of Stay (see page 10 of hospital/CAH fact sheet)
- Hospital Originating Site Facility Fee for Professional Services Furnished Via Telehealth (see page 4 of Hospital/CAH fact sheet)
- Expanded Ability for Hospitals to Offer Long-term Care Services (Swing Beds) for Patients Who do not Require Acute Care but do Meet the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Level of Care (see page 9 of Hospital/CAH fact sheet)
- Hospitals Classified as Sole Community Hospitals (SCHs) (see page 11 of hospital/CAH fact sheet)
- Hospitals Classified as Medicare-Dependent, Small Rural Hospitals (MDHs) (see page 11 of hospital/CAH fact sheet)
- Other Key Telemedicine Waivers (see page 13 of hospital/CAH factsheet)
- Limit Discharge Planning for Hospital and CAHs (see page 17 of hospital/CAH factsheet)
- Physician services (see page 24-25 of hospital/CAH fact sheet)
CMS COVID-19 Waivers and Flexibilities for Providers
- Physicians and Other Clinicians
- Hospitals and CAHs (including Swing Beds, DPUs), ASCs and CMHCs
- Teaching Hospitals, Teaching Physicians and Medical Residents
- Long Term Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities and/or Nursing Facilities)
- Home Health Agencies
- Hospice
- Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
- Long Term Care Hospitals & Extended Neoplastic Disease Care Hospitals
- Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs)
- Laboratories
- Medicare Shared Savings Program
- Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies
- Medicare Advantage and Part D Plans
- Ambulances
- End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Facilities
- Participants in the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program
See below for additional information that CMS distributed:
- Creating a Roadmap for the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
- Health Care System Resiliency
Preparing the Health Care System for Operation After the Public Health Emergency: Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra extended the existing COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) through October 15, 2022 – and has committed to providing states, health care providers, and other stakeholders a 60-day notice before ending the PHE.