The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that it is increasing payments under Medicare for high-throughput COVID-19 clinical diagnostic laboratory tests. Previously, Medicare Administrative Contractors were paying out $51 for these tests. Under the new payment policy, effective April 14, 2020, Medicare will pay $100 (nearly double the previous amount) for such […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it would directly deposit $30 billion in funds into the accounts of providers/suppliers that billed Medicare fee-for-service claims last year. This initial $30 billion is part of a $100 billion appropriation under the CARES Act that HHS will disburse through its grants from […]
On April 2, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), issued critical guidance to nursing homes and state and local governments to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities. While CMS and the CDC have already taken action to address […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a temporary rule under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) to combat the effects of COVID-19 on the workplace (the “FFCRA Temporary Rule”). The FFCRA Temporary Rule is effective from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 and extends employee leave protections and relief offered by […]
In a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing on April 7, 2020, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma (the “Administrator”) announced that CMS will distribute $30 billion in grants from the Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund (PHSSEF) to providers to help alleviate the burden that COVID-19 has caused to the […]
On March 30, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it will issue blanket waivers from sanctions imposed under section 1877 of the Social Security Act (SSA), often referred to as the Physician Self-Referral (Stark) Law, to healthcare providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. By way of background, the Stark Law […]
The Michigan Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) is a public policy that allows Michiganders access to information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those who represent them. To balance this priority with the restrictions created by the COVID-19 crisis, it is necessary to provide temporary extensions of certain FOIA deadlines, so […]
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued an Interim Final Rule (the “Initial Rule”) to implement sections 1102 an 1106 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on April 2, 2020. Subsequently, the SBA issued an additional Interim Final Rule (the “Subsequent Rule”) to supplement the Initial Rule with guidance regarding […]
The new Small Business Administration (“SBA”) program for forgivable loans to small businesses (the “Paycheck Protection Program” or “PPP”) under the CARES Act launched yesterday. There at $349 billion in funds appropriated for forgivable loans under the PPP. Businesses must obtain loans directly from private SBA lenders and one lender reported taking in over $22 […]
On March 28, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it is expanding its Accelerated and Advance Payment Program for healthcare providers and suppliers participating in Medicare. CMS is expanding the program to ensure that all Medicare-participating providers and suppliers have the resources necessary to combat COVID-19. Accelerated and/or advance payments […]
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