COVID-19 FAQs on Medicare Fee-for-Service Billing Updated Again

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare This 140-page COVID-19 FAQ document was updated on July 28, 2020.   This is what’s new in this version during July: Page 10 – Diagnostic Laboratory Services … 14. Question: If a physician/non-physician practitioner (NPP) reports CPT code 99211 “Office or other outpatient visit for the…… Continue reading COVID-19 FAQs on Medicare Fee-for-Service Billing Updated Again

Skilled Nursing Facility PEPPER Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Q4FY19 release of the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) with statistics through September 2019 is now available for download through the PEPPER Resources Portal. To obtain your SNF PEPPER, the Chief Executive Officer, President, Administrator, Compliance Officer, or Quality…… Continue reading Skilled Nursing Facility PEPPER Now Available

Minnesota SNF and AL Facility Directors – Please Review This COVID-19 Testing Information ASAP!

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare I received the following email notification at 4pm on Thursday, July 30, 2020 and wanted to pass it on to SNF and AL facilities to make sure you see it: Dear Facility Directors, Long-term care populations, including those in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, are…… Continue reading Minnesota SNF and AL Facility Directors – Please Review This COVID-19 Testing Information ASAP!

CMS Updates Data on COVID-19 Impacts on Medicare Beneficiaries

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today released its first monthly update of data that provides a snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicare population. For the first time, the snapshot includes data for American Indian/Alaskan Native Medicare beneficiaries. The new data indicate…… Continue reading CMS Updates Data on COVID-19 Impacts on Medicare Beneficiaries

Antipsychotic Drug Epidemic Ravaging America’s Nursing Homes

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee released Under-Enforced and Over-Prescribed: The Antipsychotic Drug Epidemic Ravaging America’s Nursing Homes on July 27, 2020.  This is a 53-page report that merits your attention.  These are excerpts from the Executive Summary to whet your interest (bolding…… Continue reading Antipsychotic Drug Epidemic Ravaging America’s Nursing Homes

HHS Marks the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Sunday, July 26, 2020, (marked) the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act. HHS Secretary Alex Azar released the following statement commemorating the occasion: “The Americans with Disabilities Act was a landmark achievement in upholding the rights of Americans with disabilities and…… Continue reading HHS Marks the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Underlying Medical Conditions That Increase a Person’s Risk of Severe Illness from COVID-19

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare This list was most recently updated on July 28, 2020. Updates to the list of underlying medical conditions that put individuals at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 were based on published reports, articles in press, unreviewed pre-prints, and internal data available between December 1,…… Continue reading Underlying Medical Conditions That Increase a Person’s Risk of Severe Illness from COVID-19

COVID-19: Staff and Survey Team Members – Food for Thought

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare These are indeed very strange times that we live in.  All our lives are on the line during this pandemic, especially individuals in congregate living communities and workers in those communities.  In the past few days, I’ve read two (2) articles that were almost heart-stopping for…… Continue reading COVID-19: Staff and Survey Team Members – Food for Thought

[Save the dates] Get 2 full days of free Texas LTC training… Sep 15-16

Ken Bell, SimpleLTC Get 2 days of free LTC training… and be a part of the solution for Texas skilled nursing On Sept. 15-16, hundreds of Texas skilled nursing professionals come together at the Texas LTC Virtual Symposium, a first-of-its-kind training and strategy event. This two-day online event will provide insightful and timely education and…… Continue reading [Save the dates] Get 2 full days of free Texas LTC training… Sep 15-16

[Free webinar, Aug 11] Section GG functional outcomes: How to get the real story

Melina Halikias, SimpleLTC Outcome measures tell a story, but do we really know the story we are telling? All post-acute care providers are finally speaking the same language and have a story to tell. SNFs have reported Section GG outcomes (aka Therapy Report Card) to CMS since 2016. How do your outcomes stand up against…… Continue reading [Free webinar, Aug 11] Section GG functional outcomes: How to get the real story