https://fearunmasked.com/us-government-pays-hospitals-more-for-patients-treated-with-remdesivir/"US Government Pays Hospitals More For Patients Treated With Remdesivir
CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) said on October 28, 2020 that Medicare will pay hospitals extra when they treat in-hospital patients with drugs or biologicals approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for COVID-19. The additional payments are linked to the 20% bonus hospitals already receive for COVID-19 Medicare categories, and both require proof of a positive COVID-19 test.
Hospitals will receive an additional payment when treatment includes Veklury (remdesivir) or COVID-19 convalescent plasma to treat patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
The only catch is that hospitals must ensure they make a connection to the Medicare bonus for COVID-19 inpatients, said attorney Daniel Hettich, with King & Spalding in Washington, D.C. “You have to be eligible for the 20% add-on to get the new therapeutic add-on,” he said. “If you don’t have a positive test, you don’t qualify for the new treatment add-on payment.”
CMS Creates ‘New Treatments Add-On PaymentThe ball for the newest add-on payments got rolling with the advent of coronavirus therapies. As the regulation explains, the FDA created a program for possible coronavirus therapies called the Coronavirus Treatment Acceleration Program, which includes issuing emergency use authorizations (EUAs) during the PHE. The FDA has issued EUAs for five drugs and biologicals for COVID-19, although
only remdesivir and COVID-19 convalescent plasma are eligible for the add-on payment in connection with the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS).
“We believe that as drugs or biological products become available and are authorized or approved by FDA for the treatment of COVID-19 in the inpatient setting, it would be appropriate to increase the current IPPS payment amounts to mitigate any potential financial disincentives for hospitals to provide these new treatments during the PHE,” CMS stated in the rule. “Therefore, effective for discharges occurring on or after the effective date of this rule and until the end of the public health emergency, CMS is using the exceptions and adjustment authority under section 1886(d)(5)(I) of the Act to create a New COVID–19 Treatments Add-on Payment (NCTAP) under the IPPS for COVID-19 cases that meet certain criteria.”
More at the above link.
