COVID-19-era Uninsured Program runs out of funds

The Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) is no longer accepting COVID-19 testing and treatment claims — and will soon stop accepting vaccination claims — made under the Uninsured Program due to lack of sufficient funds. The Uninsured Program was established during the pandemic to provide claims reimbursement to healthcare providers generally at Medicare rates for testing uninsured individuals for COVID-19, treating uninsured individuals with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, as well as administering COVID-19 vaccines to uninsured individuals.

Claims submitted prior to the below deadlines will be paid subject to the availability of funds:

• On March 22, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET, the Uninsured Program stopped accepting claims for testing and treatment

On April 5, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET, the Uninsured Program will also stop accepting vaccination claims

2021 MIPS data reporting period ends March 31

The data reporting period for the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) 2021 performance year closes on March 31, 2022. Eligible clinicians must submit all data through the Quality Payment Program (QPP) website prior to the deadline. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will calculate final scores that will be used to apply the appropriate MIPS payment adjustment in CY 2023.

For the 2021 performance year, CMS is applying the automatic Extreme and Uncontrollable Circumstances (EUC) policy to individual MIPS clinicians and has reopened the EUC application for groups, virtual groups, and Alternative Payment Model entities through March 31. Under the EUC policy, clinicians that have all performance categories reweighted will receive a neutral payment adjustment in CY 2023. More information is available on the QPP website.

Telehealth waivers extended 5 months past PHE conclusion

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package into law, which extended certain telehealth flexibilities related to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). A handful of PHE-related waivers will be in effect for an additional 151 days following the conclusion of the PHE, including the ability to treat patients virtually in their homes.

An overview of the PHE-related telehealth waivers — including those extended by the omnibus — may be found in MGMA’s updated Medicare Telehealth Waivers resource.