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The White House announced that the PHE will end May 11, 2023. CMS posted a blog on August 18, 2022, discussing options to building your roadmap to be prepared for the associated flexibilities and waivers also ending. Providers are being urged to prepare now.
Many have already returned to pre-pandemic practices, especially in Case Management, as it was the right thing to do for their patients. The flexibilities were deemed no longer necessary to provide care.
What does this mean for hospital Case Management?
The following rules/requirements will be restored:
- 3-Midnight requirement for SNF placements
- Discharge Planning Requirements include:
- Requirement to provide quality and resource measures as part of the discharge planning process and supporting documentation
- Inclusion of a list of options in the discharge plan
- Inform patients of their right to choose their post-acute provider
- Disclosure of financial interest in post-acute providers
Included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) blog were fact sheets summarizing the status of Medicare and Medicaid COVID waivers and exceptions by provider type. The fact sheets include information about which waivers and flexibilities have already been terminated, made permanent, or will end at the end of the COVID-19 PHE. Unless expressly stated, all exceptions expire at the end of PHE.
To access the blog post and fact sheets, visit: https://www.cms.gov/blog/creating-roadmap-end-covid-19-public-health-emergency