Regulatory Requirements | 05.15.20
CMS Expands Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers
By NAMSS Staff
This blog was originally published on NAMSS Insights: A Blog for Medical Services Professionals.
On May 11, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded telehealth services and relaxed certain requirements with the issuance of additional waivers. The recent waivers and further expansion of telehealth services add to those CMS released at the end of March will remain in place through the end of the COVID-emergency declaration. Among other areas, the waivers:
- Expand the types of healthcare practitioners who may be reimbursed for Medicare telehealth services to all practitioners who are eligible to bill Medicare for non-telehealth services.
- Permit more services via audio-only technology. CMS no longer requires two-way, real-time interactive communication between patient and practitioner for certain services. Please review the CMS list of Medicare telehealth services.
- Allow physicians to continue practicing at the hospital where their privileges would otherwise expire and for new physicians to practice prior to full review and approval by the credentialing body.
- Waive the minimum personnel qualifications for clinical nurse specialists and physician assistants.
- Defer staff licensure, certification, or registration to state law.
- Enable long-term care facilities to take 10 working days to provide a resident a copy of their requested records.
Visit CMS Coronavirus Waivers & Flexibilities Page for additional information. Stay connected by visiting NAMSS COVID-19 Resources page.