HEALTH CARE WEEK IN REVIEW: HHS Expands COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Until April Preserving Key Telehealth Flexibilities, Medicare Approves Coverage Of 'Breakthrough' Medical Devices, COVID-19 Will Be A Catalyst In Reshaping U.S. Health Care For Years To Come, Three Key Steps for Hospital Price Transparency Compliance
Source: Fierce Healthcare
Here's The Latest in Health Care:
• The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the public health emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic until April, extending key waivers for regulations on a variety of topics such as telehealth reimbursement. This is now the fourth time HHS has expanded the emergency period. Read More
• In an effort to give Medicare beneficiaries quicker access to the latest medical technology, Medicare will now cover all medical devices designated by the FDA as a "breakthrough" technology. The final rule will cover the use of these devices for four years after it receives FDA market authorization, while CMS evaluates whether to cover them permanently. Read More
• According to the health care management advisory firm KaufmanHall, the COVID crisis has shushed but not silenced hospitals’ talks on mergers and acquisitions in 2020. In fact, there are signs the pandemic may be spurring rather than slowing such deals. Read More
• CMS now requires U.S. hospitals to post a list of their standard charges, including rates negotiated with private payers, on a publicly available website in both machine-readable and consumer-friendly formats. While it sounds simple, price transparency compliance is proving to be a challenge for many hospitals. Implementing a few key strategies can help hospitals stay ahead of the curve and avoid penalties under new CMS requirements. Read More
Each Friday, Signor Goat reports the latest from the week in health care. Check back next Friday for your dose of our little medical corner of health care news. Brought to you by pMD, innovators in charge capture, secure messaging, clinical communication, and care navigation software.
