General Surgery Coding Alert

Don’t miss changes beyond telehealth.

The continued onslaught of policy revisions may provide a break from strict regulations — but not if you don’t know about the changes.

Let our experts walk you through the most recent sweep of changes published in a second interim final rule published in the Federal Register on May 8.

“The war is far from over, but in various areas of the country the tide is turning in our favor,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma in a release. “Building on what was already extraordinary, unprecedented relief for the American healthcare system, CMS is seeking to capitalize on our gains by helping to safely reopen the American healthcare system.”

Pocket This Checklist of the Top Changes

CMS’ new waivers, expansions, and policy changes offer relief across a spectrum of healthcare mediums. Here’s a quick look at three of the most important updates that may affect surgery practices in addition to telehealth and other forms of virtual patient contact that you’ve already read about here:

1. Testing: CMS hopes to up its COVID-19 testing ante and offers a plethora of pro-testing policies to back that up. Highlights include:

• Any healthcare provider authorized under state law can now order COVID-19 testing for a beneficiary without a physician or nonphysician practitioner (NPP) written order.
• Pharmacists acting as Medicare labs and within state law can administer COVID-19 tests.
• Hospitals and providers who collect specimens for COVID-19 testing will get a separate payment.
• NPPs like physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), and others “may order, furnish directly, and supervise the performance of diagnostic tests” through the duration of the PHE, the interim final rule says.

2. Hospitals and locations: With its “Hospitals Without Walls” initiative, CMS offers several new options to increase capacity and cover alternative venues for patient care where your surgeons may provide services. Examples of policy expansions include:

• Allow teaching hospitals to add temporary beds.
• Permit inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) to take in acute-care hospital patients.
• Enable payments for some outpatient services in expansion locations like parking lots, gyms, and such.

3. Staffing: CMS is easing up on the regulatory burdens associated with staffing. These workforce flexibilities are OK during the PHE:

• Residents at teaching hospitals can go to hospitals strained by COVID-19 without penalties.
• Medical staff reappraisals at ambulatory surgery centers are waived under the PHE to allow clinicians to continue to assist patients without the administrative burden.
• Physical and occupational therapy assistants can do maintenance therapy to free up physical and occupational therapists for more important beneficiary services.

Resource: Review the interim final rule at www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-05-08/pdf/2020-09608.pdf.