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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released guidance (with accompanying FAQs from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) that includes new reporting requirements as well as information on how it will enforce CMS’ interim final rule that was published in September.
The interim final rule made collecting and reporting COVID-19 data part of Medicare and Medicaid conditions of participation. As detailed by this new guidance, changes in data reporting include:
- Six new fields related to influenza. These fields will be available for optional reporting beginning on Oct. 19 and will become mandatory reporting several weeks thereafter (CMS has not yet specified an exact date).
- Modifications to reporting frequency for existing fields related to personal protective equipment and supply availability. These fields are now only required to be reported once a week on Wednesdays.
- A change in remdesivir reporting requirements. Reporting related to remdesivir will be optional, though not for several more weeks (the specific date will be clarified by CMS).
- A requirement that psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation hospitals report data once a week for all data fields.
Additionally, CMS outlined the enforcement process for a hospital’s failure to report. Failure to adhere to these requirements can ultimately result in the termination of the Medicare and Medicaid provider agreement, though hospitals will receive numerous warnings before this happens. Effective Oct. 7, CMS will send hospitals an initial notification about their compliance with the reporting requirements.
CHA will make changes to its COVID-19 Tracking Tool to incorporate the new fields related to influenza in the coming weeks. In addition, CHA will work with the California Department of Public Health to update the data dictionary. Once these changes are implemented, hospitals and systems that are currently using the data upload feature will receive a revised template.
Please send any questions to COVIDTracker@calhospital.org.
