The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today issued a Health Plan Management System memo to all Medicare Advantage Organizations and Medicare-Medicaid Plans to strongly encourage them to waive or relax plan prior authorization requirements and utilization management processes to facilitate the movement of patients from general acute-care hospitals to post-acute care and other clinically-appropriate settings, including skilled nursing facilities, long-term care hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and home health agencies.

CMS in the memo highlights the recent surge of the COVID-19 delta variant and increased hospitalizations across the country and notes that “the ability of hospitals to transfer patients to appropriate levels of care without unnecessary delays or administrative burdens is critical to ensuring that hospitals have open acute-care beds to treat patients requiring emergent care.” The AHA continues to work with both CMS and MAOs to encourage adoption of these waivers.

Related News Articles

Headline
As Congress weighs significant changes and cuts to Medicaid, the AHA today hosted a Capitol Hill briefing for congressional staff featuring hospital and health…
Headline
The House Budget Committee May 16 voted 21-16 against advancing the fiscal year 2025 budget reconciliation bill, with five Republicans joining all Democrats in…
Perspective
Public
Three key House committees — Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Agriculture — after long debates and discussions this week advanced their portions of a…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services May 12 released draft guidance for the third round of negotiations for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation…
Headline
The House Energy and Commerce Committee today advanced by a 30-24 vote along party lines its portion of the fiscal year 2025 reconciliation bill following a…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services May 12 issued a proposed regulation that would change how states may structure provider taxes for purposes of…