Reingruber Alert: Medicare COVID-19 Updates & MDS Impacts

3/31/2020 - By Claudia Reingruber, CPA

We are closely following the evolution of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and have created a central location for sharing information to assist the healthcare industry. View our COVID-19 Resources for the Healthcare Community.

Changes to SNF Quality Reporting (QRP) and Value Based Purchasing (VBP) Programs

  • Data from January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 (Q1-Q2) does not need to be submitted to CMS for purposes of complying with Quality Reporting Program (QRP) requirements.
  • For the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value-Based Purchasing Program, qualifying claims will be excluded from the claims-based SNF 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Measure (SNFRM; NQF #2510) calculation for Q1-Q2 January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020.
  • CMS recognizes that quality measure data collection and reporting for services furnished during this time period may not be reflective of their true level of performance on measures such as cost, readmissions and patient experience during this time of emergency and seeks to hold organizations harmless for not submitting data during this period.
  • This is being done to reduce the data collection and reporting burden on providers responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Click here for additional information 

MDS Transmission Requirements under the 1135 Waiver

  • CMS is waiving 42 CFR 483.20 to provides relief to SNF's on the timeframe for Minimum Data Set assessments and transmission requirements.

Delayed Release of MDS 3.0 v.1.18.1

  • CMS is delaying the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 v1.18.1 release, which had been scheduled for October 1, 2020 in response to concerns regarding the proposed changes to the MDS 3.0 item sets and more specifically the removal of the Section G items from OBRA assessments.
  • Click here for Additional information


Visit our COVID-19 RESOURCE HUB for ongoing updates and information. Due to the ever-changing nature of this event, you should always consult the appropriate professionals.

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If you have questions about your particular circumstances, please contact our team or call (800) 477-7458.

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