Permanent expansion of Medicare telehealth services and improved payment for time doctors spend with patients

Mary MadisonSkilled NursingLeave a Comment

Late in the day December 1, 2020, CMS released a “flurry” of announcements impacting physicians, telehealth and therapists that you should be aware of.  A synopsis of these changes along with links to additional information is found in a Special Edition – MLN Connects with that same date.  I have … Read More

CMS updates county positivity rates – December 1, 2020

Mary MadisonSkilled NursingLeave a Comment

CMS has posted COVID-19 county positivity rates for December 1, 2020. Archived rates are also available. As a reminder, nursing homes are required to conduct testing of residents and staff.  These guidelines include testing staff on a certain frequency based on the COVID-19 positivity rate for the county the nursing … Read More

CMS updates LTC survey process documents

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CMS posted updates to several survey process documents/folders on November 25, 2020: The Revision History document provides this synopsis of the updates: Briggs’ subscribers to the Survey Guide 1766 and 1766E will soon receive these updates. Want to keep up with the changing COVID-19 situation in skilled nursing? Subscribe to the Briggs blogCMS posted updates to several survey … Read More

COVID-19 updates for Thanksgiving Week 2020

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I hope that everyone had a safe holiday week!   I’m putting these updates into a digest form so you can see what happened last week regarding COVID information. Updated Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks (CDC)— This guidance has been updated to include the following: Added considerations for returning … Read More

CMS posts updated COVID-19 NH data

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CMS posted 2 sets of nursing home data the week of Thanksgiving: County positivity rates: November 23, 2020 NH rates for Week Ending November 15, 2020 Want to keep up with the changing COVID-19 situation in skilled nursing? Subscribe to the Briggs blogCMS posted 2 sets of nursing home data the week … Read More