Important CMS Updates for 2021

We hope this communique finds you, your Staff, and your Family healthy and strong. Congratulations again on the continued robust recovery of your patient treatment volume.

Two Medicare-related updates:

First: Medicare is once again reimbursing claims, Sequestration won’t be applied until 1/1/22

Medicare paused reimbursing any claims since April 1, 2021 because the 2% sequestration order expired on 4/30/21 and Congress could not extend the order because they were on recess.

Last week, Congress extended the order “not to apply the 2% sequestration cut until 1/1/22. As such, all Medicare claims submitted since April 1 will now be fully paid. You can plan on seeing these reimbursements the first week in May.

(For clarity, this discussion about the 2013, 2% sequester and has nothing to do with the 2.6% reduction in Medicare payments that took effect on 1/1/21 (the former 9% reductions that were lowered to 2..6%). These are two different topics, discussing two separate reimbursement cuts.)

Second update: Medicare extends Outpatient Rehab participation in telehealth until 12/31/21

Also, CMS’s exception allowing outpatient rehab to provide (and to charge Medicare for) therapy services via telehealth had an expiration of today, April 15th. CMS has extended this exception until 12/31/2021 as well. Current telehealth rules remain in effect for Medicare through this calendar year.

Stay well.