CMS Announces Efforts to Help With Hurricane Irma Emergency Response
"CMS is working to do all we can to support
This week, Health and Human Services Secretary
* Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF): CMS waives requirements for a 3-day prior hospitalization before admission in order to receive Medicare SNF services and provides temporary emergency coverage of services in SNFs without a qualifying hospital stay for people who are evacuated, transferred, or otherwise dislocated due to Hurricane Irma. Certain people with Medicare benefits who recently exhausted their SNF benefits are authorized for renewed coverage without first having to start a new benefit period.
* Home Health Agencies: This CMS waiver provides relief to Home Health Agencies on the timeframes related to completion of OASIS (assessment data) Transmission.
* Critical Access Hospitals (CAH): CMS waives the requirements limiting the number of patient beds to 25, and allows for length of stays beyond the capped 96-hour time period.
CMS can also waive or modify certain Medicare provisions for providers, including deadlines, conditions of participation and certification requirements. Providers can now submit waiver requests to the state survey agency or the CMS regional office and they will be evaluated to ensure that they meet the requirements set out under the law. To help clarify billing instructions, CMS issued technical direction to the Medicare Administrative Contractors regarding the waivers and reminded area
HHS Secretary also declared a public health emergency in the state of
To read previous updates regarding HHS activities related to Hurricane Irma, please visit https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/hurricane-response/index.html - Opens in a new window
To learn more about HHS resources related to Hurricane Irma, please visit www.phe.gov/irma.
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