Spotlights
Spotlights
-
New Beneficiary Notices Initiative Mailbox
CMS launched the new CMS Beneficiary Notices Initiative (BNI) mailbox portal for beneficiary notices and related policy questions. Please note this mailbox portal replaces the BNI mailbox, BNImailbox@cms.hhs.gov. The purpose of this new BNI mailbox portal is to provide a more efficient method for responding to provider, industry, and stakeholder questions. The new BNI mailbox portal provides links to a variety of resources and links to other CMS mailboxes and e-mail addresses. CMS encourages you to review the available resources before submitting a question to ensure that we have not already provided information on the specific topic in question. Please also refer to the list of other CMS mailboxes and email addresses to ensure that you direct your question to the most appropriate area of expertise. Providers, industry, and other stakeholders may submit questions to the BNI mailbox portal effective immediately. Please access the new BNI mailbox.
-
October 2019 Average Sales Price (ASP) and Not Otherwise Classified (NOC) pricing files and crosswalks available on the 2019 ASP Drug Pricing Files webpage.
-
Medicare Expired Legislative Provisions Extended and Other Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 Provisions
On February 9, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. This new law includes several provisions related to Medicare payment.
With regard to payment for outpatient therapy services, the law repeals application of the Medicare outpatient therapy caps but retains the former cap amounts as a threshold above which claims must include the KX modifier as a confirmation that services are medically necessary as justified by appropriate documentation in the medical record; and retains the targeted medical review process, but at a lower threshold amount. It also extends several recently expired Medicare legislative provisions affecting health care providers and beneficiaries, including the Medicare physician fee schedule work geographic adjustment floor, add-on payments for ambulance services and home health rural services, changes to the payment adjustment for low volume hospitals, and the Medicare dependent hospital program.
In addition, with regard to Section 53111 – Medicare Payment Update for Skilled Nursing Facilities, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has received questions from stakeholders about the impact of the FY 2019 Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) update due to section 53111 of the BBA of 2018. To help answer these questions, we are providing information about the estimated market basket update for FY 2019 based on currently available data. This estimate may be updated in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for the FY 2019 SNF Prospective Payment System (PPS).
Read the full summary (PDF).
- New Option for Submission of Medicare Cost Reports
As part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) commitment to decrease the hours and dollars clinicians and providers spend on CMS-mandated compliance and increase the proportion of tasks that CMS customers can do digitally, a new web portal will be made available to submit a Medicare Cost Report (MCR). Specifically, Part A providers will have the option to electronically transmit their MCR through the Medicare Cost Report e-Filing (MCReF) system. MCReF will be available for cost reporting periods ending on or after December 31, 2017.
New Option for Cost Report Submission (PDF) -
Register for upcoming MLN Connects® Calls. Space may be limited, register early.
- Follow us on Twitter! CMS has added the social media site Twitter to our communication and outreach program. Our main goal is to reach providers, suppliers, health professionals, and others interested in current and up-to-date information on the Medicare Fee-For-Service program. Messages on Twitter will include updates to rules & regulations, MLN products, notices of upcoming National Provider Calls, new web postings, and more.
- #CMSMLN for all MLN tweets,
- #CMSNPC for all National Provider Call tweets, or
- #MLNProducts for all tweets related to MLN products.
MLN Connects Newsletter
- Subscribe now to receive the weekly MLN Connects® newsletter for the latest Medicare Fee-For-Service program information, event announcements (including National Provider Call announcements), claims and pricer information, and MLN educational product updates.