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The US District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued a ruling in the latest of a string of State court filings seeking injunctions against implementation of the CMS Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule with Comment Period (IFC). The judge’s ruling in the case of Louisiana vs. Becerra places the CMS vaccine mandate on hold pending resolution of the case or until further orders are issued from that US District Court, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, or the United States Supreme Court. (12/1/21)
CMS' Medicare & Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Interim Final Rule with Comment Period (IFC) is available in the Federal Register and takes effect November 5, 2021. Read NASL's Summary of the IFC.
CMS is requiring more than 17 million health care workers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4, 2022, according to an agency emergency rule released on November 4, 2021, that grants medical and religious exemptions but does not offer a way to test out of the vaccination requirement. (11/4/21)
CMS issued the CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule (CMS-1751-F), which will take effect January 1, 2022. In this Final Rule, CMS is finalizing updated payment policies, payment rates, telehealth policies, and quality provisions furnished under the PFS on or after January 1, 2022. (11/2/21)
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) and Jason Smith (R-MO) introduced the Stabilizing Medicare Access to Rehabilitation and Therapy (SMART) Act of 2021 (H.R.5536), bipartisan legislation that would provide for a temporary legislative fix to a major portion of the CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule cuts. The goal of the legislation is to protect beneficiary access to therapy services by mitigating the impact of the impending Medicare 15% payment differential for services furnished by physical therapist assistants (PTAs) and occupational therapy assistants (OTAs) beginning on Jan. 1, 2022 by delaying the implementation date to January 1, 2023. (10/14/21)
NASL, along with the American Physical Therapy Association, the American Occupational Therapy Association and the National Association of Rehabilitation Providers and Agencies, submitted a letter to Capitol Hill regarding the 15% cut to services furnished by physical therapy assistants and occupational therapy assistants which is scheduled to take effect in January 2022. (8/3/21)
Reimbursement Slashes Cut Deeper for Rural, Small Therapy Providers, Amy Stulick, Skilled Nursing News, August 3, 2021. “Providers are already experiencing high costs as a result of COVID-19’s detrimental impact on the long-term care settings we serve,” says NASL. “These cuts join a current cascade of compounding reimbursement reductions that are detrimental to patient care.” (NASL President Martha Schram, NASL Medical Services Committee Chair Mike Capstick and NASL member Mark Besch are also quoted.)
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