Oncology Newsfeed

HHS Starts Distribution of $30 Billion in Provider Relief Funds

 

CMS Adds New COVID-19 Workforce Flexibility Waivers

On April 9, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily suspended a number of rules so that hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities can boost their frontline medical staffs during the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

These changes affect doctors, nurses, and other clinicians nationwide, and focus on reducing supervision and certification requirements so that practitioners can be hired quickly and perform work to the fullest extent of their licenses. The new waivers sharply expand the workforce flexibilities CMS announced on March 30.

Access CMS fact sheet on detailing Blanket Waivers for Healthcare Providers (includes information on the new waivers and those announced previously).

Posted 4/10/2020

No Change to Open Payments Dispute Timeline, CMS Says

FDA Approves Braftovi in Combo with Cetuximab for mCRC with BRAF V600E Mutation

CMS Issues Updated Infection Control Guidance for Inpatient & Outpatient Care

On April 8, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the agency has issued a series of updated guidance documents focused on infection control to prevent the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in a variety of inpatient and outpatient care settings. The updates aim to help clinicians in a variety of healthcare setting prevent and mitigate spread of the novel coronavirus. 

CMS states that the guidance, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, will help ensure infection control in a wide range of areas, according to the agency, including:  of patient triage, screening and treatment, the use of alternate testing and treatment sites and telehealth, drive-through screenings, limiting visitations, cleaning and disinfection guidelines, staffing, and more.

Read CMS press release.

For hospitals, psychiatric hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), the revised guidance, for example, provides expanded recommendations on screening and visitation restrictions, discharge to subsequent care locations for patients with COVID-19, recommendations related to staff screening and testing, and return-to-work policies.

In addition, for hospitals and CAHs, the revised guidance on the Emergency Medical Labor and Treatment Act (EMTALA) includes a detailed discussion of: patient triage, appropriate medical screening and treatment; the use of alternate testing sites; telehealth; and appropriate medical screening examinations performed at alternate screening locations, which are not subject to EMTALA, as long as the national emergency remains in force.

Find latest CMS updates (dated 4/8/20) to guidance documents on infection control here (listed under Clinical & technical guidance.)

Posted 4/8/2020

HHS Announces Upcoming Funding to Provide $186 Million for COVID-19 Response

• Supplement an existing cooperative agreement to a number of states and local  identified as having the highest number of reported COVID-19 cases (“hot zones”) and jurisdictions with accelerating or rapidly accelerating COVID-19 cases.

Novartis Announces New C-Code for Adakveo®, Effective April 1

Novartis has announced that, effective April 1, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a product-specific C-code, C9053 for 100 mg/10 mL (10 mg/mL) solution in a single-dose vial of ADAKVEO® (crizanlizumab-tmca) for IV infusion. The code can be reported in box 44 on the CMS-1450 (UB-04) claim form for the hospital outpatient department.

C-codes are used primarily to report services under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), but may also be recognized by other private and public payer types. Please check with each payer for specific requirements.

Important billing and coding information:

ADAKVEO is supplied as a 100 mg/10 mL (10 mg/mL) single dose vial. See below for coding details:

Please make sure to include C9053 on appropriate claims submission forms for ADAKVEO administered April 1 and later. If you have questions or need further clarification, please contact your Reimbursement Manager or ADAKVEO Support at PANO at 1-800-282-7630.

Posted 3/24/2020

FDA Approves Durvalumab for Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer

CMS Expands Accelerated & Advance Payment Program for Medicare Providers & Suppliers

On March 28, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is expanding the Accelerated and Advance Payment Program for all Medicare providers throughout the country during the COVID-19 public health emergency. The payments can be requested by hospitals, doctors, durable medical equipment suppliers, and other Medicare Part A and Part B providers and suppliers.

To qualify for accelerated or advance payments, the provider or supplier must:

• Have billed Medicare for claims within 180 days immediately prior to the date of signature on the provider’s/ supplier’s request form,
• Not be in bankruptcy,
• Not be under active medical review or program integrity investigation, and
• Not have any outstanding delinquent Medicare overpayments.

Medicare will start accepting and processing the Accelerated/Advance Payment Requests immediately. CMS anticipates that the payments will be issued within seven days of the provider’s request. Access CMS fact sheet for more information.

Posted 3/29/2020

President Trump Signs CARES Act