It’s May and here at M.S. Hall that means we are in full swing, hard at work on financial reporting projects with partners across the state. In the midst of all the busyness, take a few minutes to glance through this digest of what’s been going on in the healthcare world and what we’ve been doing to help clients navigate it.
Policy Updates and Headlines
Medicare FFS Sequestration Suspended Through December 2021
Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) claims from May 1st, 2020 through March 31st, 2021 were previously suspended by the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act. An Act to Prevent Across-the-Board Direct Spending Cuts, and for Other Purposes (H.R. 1868), signed into law on April 14th, 2021, has amended the CARES Act to extend the suspension of sequestration to December 31st, 2021.
No action is needed on behalf of providers. Medicare Administrative Contractors will release any previously held claims with a DOS on or after April 1st, 2021 and they will reprocess any claims paid with the reduction applied.
MLN Connects Newsletter announcement here:
https://www.cms.gov/outreach-and-educationoutreachffsprovpartprogprovider-partnership-email-archive/2021-04-16-mlnc#_Toc69394754
Act to Prevent Across-the-Board Direct Spending Cuts, and for other purposes found here:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1868/text
HRSA Capital Project
Just announced: $1 billion for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded health centers to support major construction and renovation projects in the US. These funds are allocated for construction and renovation projects, such as construction of new facilities, equipment purchases, renovations and expansions.
All HRSA-funded health centers are eligible for this funding.
The deadline for applications is 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 24, 2021. For more information, visit the news release here: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/04/27/hhs-announces-1-billion-dollar-from-american-rescue-plan-for-construction-and-renovation-projects-at-health-centers.html
Company & Partner Updates
Housing Trust Fund Project
This month marks the start of an exciting new partnership between M.S. Hall and key players in the Syracuse sustainable housing development space. M.S. Hall will be working with Blueprint 15 and the city of Syracuse to design a Housing Trust Fund proposal that will secure long-term investment into Central New York’s affordable housing infrastructure for years to come. M.S. Hall has also partnered with Plaka Associates and Greenstreet, two Indianapolis-based firms with deep experience in systems housing and real estate development solutions, to support these efforts. We’re thrilled to be playing a role in the development of creative, sustainable solutions to Syracuse’s toughest housing challenges, and look forward to what comes out of this year’s collaboration.
PCMH Certified: Brandi Jones
Our very own Senior Operations Specialist, Brandi Jones, achieved Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Certified Content Expert (CCE) status in September of 2020 in recognition of her growing experience and familiarity with the fundamentals of modern primary care service delivery. Read up on her specialties here, and if you have any questions or needs around care coordination, primary care gap analyses, quality improvement, policy and procedure development, or any other practice-related concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to Brandi for a conversation.
Employee Spotlight: Junyao Liu
Hi Junyao! Could you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do for M.S. Hall?
My name is Junyao Liu, and I am a Data Analyst with the Data team. I do Medicare Bad Debts, Medicaid DSH Audits, monthly HCRA reporting, and a few other “side projects” along the way.
What’s something you’ve been proud to work on in these past six months?
Medicare Reimbursable Bad Debt projects. Our work here can be especially important to hospitals during these challenging times.
You joined the M.S. Hall Team right at the start of the pandemic last year. What was it like coming on board during such an unusual time?
It was an unusual experience – I still have not met my managers or teammates in person, but we have Zoom meetings every day which have been helpful. With their help, my onboarding was very clear and organized. All in all, joining the team online went smoothly!