Month: March 2020

If you’re concerned or uncertain about expanded medical leave, paid sick leave, or complying with other regulations regarding personnel, TMA Practice Management Services experts have created a FAQ to help guide your practice during the pandemic.

The below is from the MGMA community.  It offers another source of information for several topics regarding this pandemic.  

 Our team at NORCAL Group has developed what we hope is a robust website on this topic that will hopefully supplement (and possibly overlap) the MGMA resource centers.  It is constantly evolving as well, so you may want to check back often.  Some of the most requested resources are on telehealth and telehealth consent.  We’ve included various downloads that are open access, including a sample consent form in both Word and fillable PDF formats; so you can either adapt it to your practice’s needs or will be able to send it  out quickly by email and obtain an electronic signature.

https://www.norcal-group.com/pandemic

www.norcal-group.com/pandemic/telehealth-consent

https://www.norcal-group.com/pandemic/telemedicine

Take care everyone!

Regulatory Alert: CMS Announces New Flexibilities 3/31/2020

Last night, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS) issued a series of temporary regulatory waivers to further support the ability of the nation’s healthcare system to respond to CoVID-19. To view the changes that will take effect immediately, across the country, follow this link.

Accelerated and advance Medicare payments provide emergency funding and addresses cash flow issues based on historical payments when there is disruption in claims submission and/or claims processing. These expedited payments are typically offered in natural disasters to accelerate cash flow to the impacted health care providers and suppliers. In this situation, CMS is expanding the program for all Medicare providers throughout the country during the public health emergency related to COVID-19. The payments can be requested by hospitals, doctors, durable medical equipment suppliers and other Medicare Part A and Part B providers and suppliers.

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.  For private practice groups, you can get 3-months of Medicare receipts, as a pre-payment, within seven days of application.  Payback period begins 120 days later with 210 days to pay it back, interest free.

Yes, it’s an advance on future dollars, but this might help smaller cash-strapped practices

Details at: http://ams-txma.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT03ODY2NDEyJnA9MSZ1PTg3NTY2Nzg0OCZsaT02NDM3NDg5Ng/index.html

Click here to find the most recent version of the TMA OGC Whitepaper on TMB’s emergency rules reflecting the changes in the board’s FAQs last night.

“Cares” Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

On March 27, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the third stimulus bill (the “CARES” Act). Since both chambers of Congress voted to pass the bill, it now goes to President Trump’s desk to get signed into law. The CARES Act provides $2 trillion in economic stimulus and financial assistance to address the COVID-19 public health emergency and includes several provisions significant to medical groups. View the entire article.

On March 24th, MGMA presented a discussion with office managers in Washington State that are in the thick of COVID-19.

Their discussion could help you prepare for the fallout of pandemic on your office.  They offer possible solutions and what they have learned.

Click to view the video. 

Follow this link.

I received an email today from a former contact in technology. I wanted to pass his company’s offer on to anyone interested.

“Fresh and Beautiful Cosmetics, is a global company https://www.freshbeautifulcosmetics.com/ based outside of Nashville, TN. Our leadership team has a long history in healthcare and PE funded companies so we understand the challenges healthcare organizations are having at this moment for basic supplies.

We have traditionally supplied products to major cosmetic firms. In an effort to support the US Healthcare delivery system, our CEO has asked the management team to retrofit our facility to produce hand sanitizer and soap. We are currently taking orders from healthcare organizations exclusively to be sold at manufacturers pricing. We are committed to run 24X7 shifts if necessary. 

Be advised, raw materials and components are 15 – 30 days out. Healthcare organizations can secure time in our facility designated for them. We are taking orders ranging from $10K to $2M. 

Our 73,000 sq. ft. facility is located in La Vergne, TN and we would like to help. We are committed to run 24X7 shifts if necessary. It is vital for these organizations to secure spots as we are building out production time. 

We are asking all of our friends and colleagues to spread the word.  If anyone is interested, please pass them my contact info.   I will call you soon regardless.”

David Reimer – Director of Technology Innovation freshbeautifulcosmetics.com

615.619.9955 484.256.8574, cell

During this time I know there is a lot of information coming from all different directions. We are monitoring several resources to be able to provide you with information.

We know the answers are not always clear. If you have questions or need clarification, please ask.

The question we are working on at this time is about telemedicine and telehealth.

I am on the MGMA community and there are lots of questions and answers regarding the situation at hand. We will do our best to answer your questions by providing documentation.

We do not want to add to the onslaught of reading that needs to be done. This is why we have highlighted some documents provided on here.

My concern is you may need to refer to these documents later to get paid.

We are here to help.