Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On April 17, 2023, HHS issued this Press Release: On April 17, 2023, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) 405(d) Program announced the release of the following resources to help address cybersecurity concerns in the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector: Knowledge on…… Continue reading HHS Cybersecurity Task Force Provides New Resources to Help Address Rising Threat of Cyberattacks in Health and Public Health Sector

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Due to the Payroll Based Journal (PBJ) quarterly deadline, the iQIES Service Center is projecting an increase in the volume of calls and emails between now and May 15, 2023.  Live phone and email support for the Monday, May 15, 2023, PBJ Deadline will be available until Monday, May 15, 2023,…… Continue reading Upcoming iQIES Service Center Hold Times

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Q4FY22 release of the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) with statistics through September 2022 is now available for download through the PEPPER Resources Portal. To obtain your CAH PEPPER, the Chief Executive Officer, President, Administrator, Compliance Officer, Quality…… Continue reading Critical Access Hospital PEPPER Available Including Upcoming Q4FY22 CAH PEPPER Review Webinar

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Due to scheduled maintenance, the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES) won’t be available from:  Thursday, April 13, 2023 8 p.m. ET until Monday, April 17, 2023 8 a.m. ET. iQIES Service Center  For questions about this information, please contact our QIES/iQIES Service Center by phone at…… Continue reading Attention: iQIES Planned System Outage April 13 8pm thru April 17 8am ET

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare April 4, 2023: The ABN, Form CMS-R-131, and form instructions have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for renewal. The use of the renewed form with the expiration date of 01/31/2026 will be mandatory on 6/30/23. The renewal form may be used/issued prior to this…… Continue reading OMB Renews CMS-R-131 Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS will be transitioning to a new data source for a provider’s demographic data for all five Post-Acute Care (PAC) provider types (Skilled Nursing Facilities/Nursing Facilities (SNF/NFs), Home Health Agencies (HHAs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs) and Hospices).  These demographic data include such…… Continue reading Updated Provider Demographic Update Instructions

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Des Moines, IA – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces today (April 11, 2023) that some Medicaid members’ personal information was compromised in a national data breach affecting a contractor’s computer system last year. The Iowa Medicaid system was not breached. “Medicaid…… Continue reading National Data Breach Impacts Some Iowa Medicaid Members – Cyberattack Occurred On Contractor’s Computer System Iowa Medicaid System Was Not Breached

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Please join the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and her leadership team, who will provide an update on CMS’ recent accomplishments and how our cross-cutting initiatives are advancing CMS’ Strategic Plan.  CMS serves the public as a trusted partner…… Continue reading National Stakeholder Call with the CMS Administrator on April 25th, 2023

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Late afternoon on Monday, April 10, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule for inpatient and long-term care hospitals that builds on the Biden-Harris Administration’s key priorities to advance health equity and support underserved communities. As required by statute, the…… Continue reading CMS Proposes Policies to Improve Patient Safety and Promote Health Equity

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On April 3, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule to update Medicare payment policies and rates under the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Prospective Payment System (PPS) and the IRF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) for fiscal year (FY) 2024. CMS…… Continue reading FY2024 Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule (CMS-1781-P)