Your Gastroenterology
COVID-19 Update
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Federal Relief Funds Disbursed
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10 Things GI Practices Should Do Now
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Treatment Guidelines for IBD Patients
Federal Relief Funds Being Disbursed
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday began distributing $30 billion in emergency relief funds directly to help physicians negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds, which began arriving over this past weekend, are not a loan and do not have to be repaid.
These funds are separate from the Medicare advanced, accelerated payments and the Paycheck Protection Program, which are financial relief programs in the form of loans. All hospitals, medical facilities or physician offices that billed Medicare in 2019 are eligible for the funding.
How are payment distributions determined?
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Provider payments are based on their share of total Medicare FFS reimbursements in 2019. Total FFS payments were about $484 billion in 2019.
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A provider can estimate their approximate payment by multiplying the 2019 Medicare FFS (not including Medicare Advantage) payments they received by 6.19% ($30 billion divided by $484 billion).
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Providers can obtain their 2019 Medicare FFS billings from their organization's revenue practice management system.
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Example: A practice billed Medicare FFS $1 million under a single TIN in 2019. This is how much they would receive using the equation:
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$1,000,000 x 6.19% = $61,900
AGC: 10 Things GI Practices Should Do During Pandemic
The American College of Gastroenterology is encouraging medical offices to develop crisis action plans for now, during the current pandemic, and for future incidents.
New Guidelines for Treating IBD During Pandemic
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) says many inflammatory bowel disease patients who develop COVID-19 should stop their medication. The recommendation is part of new guidelines from the AGA.
To share your COVID-19 experience or ask a question,
email OGS Director Reginald Fields.
And continue to check for updates at the OGS website.
Stay Current on the Latest:
Coronavirus.ohio.gov OSMA.org/coronavirus
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