In this guide, the HRSA-supported Center for Connected Health Policy presents an overview of how to bill fee-for-service Medicare and Medicaid for telehealth encounters, including information on originating and distant sites, virtual healthcare, and coding telehealth services.

This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)released the Announcement of Calendar Year (CY) 2023 Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies (the Rate Announcement). In the CY 2023 MA and Part D Advance Notice, CMS solicited comments on a variety of topics, including seeking input on promoting health equity in Medicare Advantage and Part D plans.

On Monday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule that would update the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. CMS estimates that hospices in urban areas will experience, on average, a 2.7 percent increase in estimated payments compared to FY 2022; while hospices in rural areas will experience, on average, a 2.6 percent increase in estimated payments compared to FY 2022.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates under the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System and the IRF Quality Reporting Program for fiscal year (FY) 2023. IRF payments per discharge are estimated to increase by 2.0 percent in urban areas and 1.8 percent in rural areas, compared with estimated FY 2022 payments. Additionally, CMS is soliciting comments on the methodology used to update the IRF facility-level adjustments (specifically, the rural, low-income, and teaching status adjustments).

This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed update to the prospective payment rates, the outlier threshold, and the wage index for Medicare hospital services provided by Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPF), which include psychiatric hospitals and certain psychiatric units at acute care hospitals and critical access hospitals. Compared to payments in 2022, total payments to IPFs are estimated to increase by 1.4 percent for urban facilities and 1.7 percent for rural facilities in FY 2023.

This study, published in JAMA Health Forum, offers results from a national survey of a sample of 292 rural hospitals that provided obstetric services in 2021. Obstetric unit administrators shared about their experiences, the challenges they face, and the decisions that factor into providing labor and birth care for their rural communities.

Last week, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released findings from five selected states showing a sharp increase in services delivered via telehealth to Medicaid beneficiaries following the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 2020 through February 2021, 32.5 million services were delivered via telehealth to about 4.9 million beneficiaries in the five states, compared with 2.1 million services to about 455,000 beneficiaries in the 12 months

In an open-access article in the New England Journal of Medicine, top officials at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) describe the rationale and approach for a newfound focus on climate change.  The effort began with an executive order in January 2021 that created the new Office of Climate Change and Health Equity, charged with acting on health threats caused by extreme weather and prioritizing vulnerable populations.  According to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, increasingly severe events – rising temperatures, fire, flooding, land erosion – will affect every region of the country and have an outsized impact on rural residents and economies.

HRSA has established a process that accounts for extenuating circumstances that may have prevented providers from submitting a completed Provider Relief Fund report. From Monday, April 11 to Friday, April 22, 2022, at 11:59 pm ET, providers will have the opportunity to submit a request for Reporting Period 1 reports.

Department Responds in Record Time to Meet the Growing Health Care Needs in Rural America

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today announced that USDA is awarding $10.5 million in Emergency Rural Health Care Grants to 18 rural health care organizations and community groups in Pennsylvania.

“No matter where you live, people deserve good health care, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to making that a reality throughout rural America,” Torres Small said. “Through the Emergency Rural Health Care Grants Program, USDA is improving access to the critical health care services rural people rely on every day here in rural Pennsylvania, and we are proud to have such strong partners like Representatives Cartwright and Wild.”

The Biden-Harris Administration made these funds available through its historic legislative package, the American Rescue Plan Act. Within months after the Act’s passage, USDA responded quickly by making this funding available to ensure the long-term availability of rural health care services.

The grants USDA is awarding will help rural hospitals and health care providers implement telehealth and nutrition assistance programs, increase staffing, build or renovate facilities, and purchase medical supplies.

Torres Small made the announcement at the Greater Pittston Ambulance Rescue Service Association. The association is one of 18 recipients to receive grant funds in Pennsylvania. It will use a $226,900 grant to purchase approximately 200 pieces of medical equipment for emergency and ambulatory services. The equipment includes LIFEPAK monitors, therapy cables and reusable blood pressure cuffs.

The complete news release including all 18 projects that were announced can be viewed on our website.