CMS Resources for Long-term Care Facilities

The end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) could mean changes in reimbursement flexibilities related to Medicare telehealth and other types of remote and virtual care. This article explores those potential changes.

The public health emergency (PHE) is expected to end on May 11, 2023. Read the Quality, Safety, & Oversight Memorandum to learn about the expiration of emergency waivers related to minimum health and safety requirements for long-term care and acute and continuing care providers, and timelines for certain regulatory requirements issued during the PHE.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new overview fact sheet that provides more information about CMS waivers, flexibilities and the transition forward from the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission Long-term Care (LTC) Regulation has published Provider Letter 2023-05, which describes the waivers that are ending, the waivers still in place and the waivers that previously ended in regard to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.

COVID-19 cases are increasing. Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and timely access to treatment are the best ways to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death. Here are the latest facts and resources from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

A new report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) highlights patients’ experience of Long COVID to better understand its complexities and offers a variety of short-term and longer-term recommendations that come directly from the patient experience.

How can your health care office bill for administering the Novavax booster? Who is eligible to receive the Novavax booster? Read the latest entry in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Medicare Learning Network newsletter for the new CPT codes and list of eligibility.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that people with Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program coverage, private insurance coverage, or no health coverage can get COVID-19 vaccines, including the updated Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, at no cost, for as long as the federal government continues purchasing and distributing these COVID-19 vaccines.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is assessing its response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the health care system is prepared for addressing future emergencies. Visit the CMS website for details of what CMS calls "a cross-cutting initiative" to streamline the process used to reestablish health and safety standards. CMS will identify barriers and opportunities for improvement using a health equity lens.

Read this latest issue of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) MLN Connects newsletter to learn how to bill for the COVID-19 monoclonal antibody therapy, bebtelovimab, 175 mg, and how much CMS will cover for this product.

This July 21 LTC Connect recording features TMF QIN-QIO subject-matter experts reviewing hand hygiene protocols and proper procedures for donning and doffing personal protective equipment. They also discuss targeted COVID-19 training from CMS for management and frontline staff, including vaccination system preparation.

View this information in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) MLN Connects newsletter to learn which ICD-10 codes to use for patients who have a current COVID-19 infection or a previous COVID-19 infection. CMS also specifies ICD-10 codes to use for patients experiencing Long COVID-19 symptoms.

This brief document details the COVID-19 Reporting data fields with the associated CMS reporting deadlines and frequency.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued new codes, effective March 29, 2022, for the Moderna vaccine booster and administration.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new test-to-treat program to allow anyone who thinks they may have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 to get tested and receive treatment, if appropriate, all in the same location.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is posting data on COVID-19 vaccine booster shots administered to nursing home residents and staff on the Medicare.gov Care Compare website. The data will show resident and staff booster rates at the facility level and will include national and state averages.

Download this latest version of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Nursing Home Visitation FAQs, which were updated Feb. 2, 2022, with information about testing visitors for COVID-19, improving air flow and air quality in facilities and funding available for environmental changes, which could potentially reduce transmission of COVID-19.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) encourages long-term care providers to consider the option that works best for their residents and staff when coordinating access to COVID-19 vaccines.

This quality improvement plan provides an example of how to identify a concern, determine the root cause(s) and develop a plan with outcome measures. This is to be used only as a reference.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated the Nursing Home Visitation FAQs to give additional guidance about visitation during the Omicron surge.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced that insurance companies and group health plans will be required to cover the cost of over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests beginning Jan. 15, 2022.

Watch and share this video with patients and loved ones who have chronic health conditions to educate them on why getting the COVID-19 vaccine is so important.

Listen to this recording from the week of Aug. 16, 2021, with Russell Kohl, MD, FAAFP, chief medical officer at TMF Health Quality Institute. Dr. Kohl gives an update on what states in the TMF region have experiened with the surge of the delta variant, the status of COVID-19 vaccinations, deaths and a look at vaccination rates among medical personnel in nursing homes.

Listen to this recording from the week of Aug. 16, 2021, with Russell Kohl, MD, FAAFP, chief medical officer at TMF Health Quality Institute, to learn what has changed with the COVID-19 vaccine and why booster shots are now being recommended.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is developing an emergency regulation requiring staff COVID-19 vaccinations within the nation’s more than 15,000 Medicare- and Medicaid-participating nursing homes.

The Food and Drug Administration amended the emergency use authorizations for both the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to allow for an additional dose in certain immunocompromised people.

This webpage holds all CMS COVID-19 partner calls, including CDC/CMS hosted fireside chats answering long-term facility staff questions about COVID-19 vaccination.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, has issued the first Surgeon General's Advisory of this Administration to warn the American public about the urgent threat of health misinformation during the COVID-19 vaccination push.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is increasing the Medicare payment amount for administering the COVID-19 vaccine. Visit the CMS website for more information and to review billing codes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued updated guidance for nursing homes to safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency. CMS has released this document to further explain the expanded visitation options.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has issued updated guidance allowing nursing homes to safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued new guidance removing barriers to COVID-19 diagnostic testing and vaccinations, and strengthening requirements that plans and issuers cover diagnostic testing without cost sharing.

Do you know how to code for administering a COVID-19 vaccine? View this webpage from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for more information.

Health care providers can view this webpage from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to learn how to enroll in Medicare to bill for administering COVID-19 vaccines.

This toolkit from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is for providers, states and insurers to help swiftly administer the COVID-19 vaccine, and includes information on enrolling, billing and coding for vaccine administration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created this plan to outline its process to prepare for, respond to, and recover from current and future pandemic threats. This plan addresses policy responses related to waivers and flexibilities. It also includes some information specific to rural health care providers, health care facilities and residents.

View this website from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that provides COVID-19 vaccine policies and guidance.

Staff at nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities can access the public data reports for the Nursing Home COVID-19 Long-Term Care Facility Module. This module includes resident impact, facility capacity, staff and personnel, supplies and personal protective equipment and ventilator capacity and supply data elements, which are updated weekly. The positivity rates of COVID-19 in each county is updated bi-weekly.  

Read this MLN Connects Special Edition newsletter to learn about the PC-ACE software updated health care providers can download in preparation of the release of the vaccine(s) for COVID-19 in order to use the proper codes when administering the vaccines.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched a new online platform - the Nursing Home Resource Center - to serve as a centralized hub bringing together the latest information, guidance and data on nursing homes.

Watch this five-minute video from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to learn what the agency is doing to stop the spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released preliminary data on the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicare population. This data was derived from claims between Jan. 1 and May 16, 2020.

View this Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services webpage for resources to assist with managing patient surge due to COVID-19.

Use this worksheet comprised of both regulatory requirements and best practices in infection prevention and control to help create an improved infection prevention and control program.

Visit this Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' webpage to learn more information.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has released a toolkit to help nursing homes manage and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) in their facilities.

View the Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) Memorandum Summary QSO-20-26-NH for details.

Read this press release from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to learn more about the new independent commission that will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the nursing home response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a memo March 23, 2020, listing the prioritization of survey activities it will complete during the COVID-19 pandemic. This memo also lists the surveys it will not complete.

See CMS memo QSO-20-28-NH for details.

This page holds all Partner Relations Group Podcasts, transcripts and audio recordings. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) makes open door forums and other presentations available as audio podcasts.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced new regulatory requirements that will require nursing homes to inform residents, their families and representatives of COVID-19 cases in their facilities. In addition, CMS will require nursing homes to report cases of COVID-19 directly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On April 13, 2020, CMS released supplemental information for transferring or discharging residents between facilities for the purpose of cohorting residents based on COVID-19 status.

Keep up with the important work the Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19.

Listen to this webinar from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as they answer questions during office hours on April 14, 2020.

See these April 11, 2020, FAQs regarding implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the FFCRA), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act), and other health coverage issues related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) official website has the latest resources related to COVID-19. It is updated regularly with clinical and technical announcements for providers and facilities, as well as guidance on billing and codes, coverage, provider enrollment and more.

CMS announced the following blanket waivers are in effect, with a retroactive effective date of March 1, 2020, through the end of the emergency declaration.

Email your COVID-19 questions to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at Covid-19@cms.hhs.gov.

Here are CMS' frequently asked questions (FAQs) on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) billing during COVID-19.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expanded its current Accelerated and Advance Payment Program to a broader group of Medicare Part A providers and Part B suppliers for the duration of the public health emergency

Listen to this webinar from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as they answer questions during office hours on April 9, 2020.

On April 7, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) experts provided updates on recent actions taken to address the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Listen to the recording and read the transcipt of this April 8, 2020, CMS webinar for nursing homes during COVID-19 emergency.

On April 3, 2020, CMS Administrator Seema Verma, Deborah Birx, MD, White House Coronavirus Task Force, and officials from the FDA, CDC, and FEMA participated in a call on COVID-19 flexibilities.

Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to wear a cloth face covering

This is a 45-second video demonstration from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report, updated each Friday, summarizes and interprets key indicators, including information related to COVID-19 outpatient visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as laboratory data.

This CMS Medicare Learning Network (MLN) video provides answers to common questions about the Medicare telehealth services benefit.

Read the latest actions the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

This April 8, 2020, webinar by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provided a COVID-19 update for rural health partners.

Read about exceptions and extensions for Quality reporting requirements for acute care hospitals, PPS-exempt cancer hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care (LTC) hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers (ASC), renal dialysis facilities, and MIPS-eligible clinicians affected by COVID-19.

Answers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about cloth face coverings

This CDC document offers a series of strategies or options to optimize supplies of disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirators (commonly called “N95 respirators”) in health care settings when there is limited supply.

Here is a list of CMS changes due to COVID-19.

CMS provides guidance to states on how to apply for Section 1135 waivers through the Medicaid Disaster Response Tool Kit.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new tools to help speed states’ access to emergency flexibilities and resources.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) compiled the best practices and lessons learned that communities have already faced fighting COVID-19

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are issuing new recommendations to state and local governments and long-term care facilities (also known as nursing homes) to help mitigate the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

CMS released these new changes on April 29, 2020.

This is a brief training related to a focused COVID-19 survey for nursing home surveyors.

Ensemble Health Partners provides the latest coding updates due to COVID-19.

Here is a list of CMS' new 1135 waivers to respond to COVID-19.

In order to increase cash flow to providers of services and suppliers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expanded its current Accelerated and Advance Payment Program to a broader group of Medicare Part A providers and Part B suppliers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most people with Medicare are at higher risk for COVID-19. Here are Medicare's latest resources to keep you up to date.

CMS prioritized and suspended certain federal and SSA surveys, and delayed revisit surveys, for three weeks beginning March 23, 2020.

Here is a summary of recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions taken in response to COVID-19.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced findings at Kirkland Nursing Home and new targeted plan for health care facility inspections in light of COVID-19.

This page holds all COVID-19 podcasts, transcripts and audio recordings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

On March 18, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that all elective surgeries, non-essential medical, surgical, and dental procedures be delayed during the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published this fact sheet.

On March 18, 2020, CMS answered frequently asked questions about catastrophic health coverage and the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program developed this page to share resources to prevent and treat COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, as it spreads throughout the United States.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed this toolkit to help you stay informed on CMS and HHS materials available on COVID-19.

CMS released this memo on March 13, 2020.

CMS released this memo on May 19, 2020.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the following blanket waivers are in effect, with a retroactive effective date of March 1, 2020, through the end of the emergency declaration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the following blanket waivers are in effect, with a retroactive effective date of March 1, 2020, through the end of the emergency declaration.

On March 13, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced critical new measures designed to keep America’s nursing home residents safe from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

CMS is authorized to waive certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program requirements and conditions of participation under Section 1135 of the Social Security Act.

CMS released these frequently asked questions on March 12, 2020.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the following blanket waivers are in effect, with a retroactive effective date of March 1, 2020, through the end of the emergency declaration.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code that can be used by laboratories to bill for certain COVID-19 diagnostic tests to help increase testing and track new cases.

CMS calls on all health care providers to activate infection control practices and issues guidance to inspectors as they inspect facilities affected by Coronavirus.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is suspending non-emergency inspections across the country, allowing inspectors to turn their focus on the most serious health and safety threats like infectious diseases and abuse.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued updated guidance for nursing homes to safely expand visitation options during the COVID-19 pandemic public health emergency. CMS has released this document to further explain the expanded visitation options.