Tag: SUPPORT Act

CMS Proposes Modifications to Requirements for Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances

We want to know what you think! Please submit any comments on this to Theresa Forster of the NAHC staff at tmf@nahc.org As part of the calendar year (CY) 2022 physician payment rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) promulgated significant regulations implementing Section 2003 of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery…

Proposed Physician Payment Rule Addresses Attending Physician Services Provided by RHCs, FQHCs

–CMS Proposes Part D EPCS Exceptions that Exclude Hospice Waiver The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued its proposed CY2022 physician payment rule  and, as is frequently the case, the rule addresses some issues relevant to hospice care (as well as other matters).  This article will discuss two hospice issues: Proposed implementing…

NAHC Supports Waiver of Electronic Prescribing Requirements for Part D-covered Controlled Substances Prescribed for Hospice Patients

The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act), enacted in 2018 to help combat the nation’s opioid epidemic, includes a requirement that prescriptions for controlled substances covered under Medicare Part D drug plans be electronically transmitted by a health care practitioner in accordance with an electronic…

CMS to Host Pain Management Study Listening Session

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold pain management study webinar on Thursday, August 27, 2020 from 1:30-3:00PM Eastern for clinicians and state and national associations that represent health care providers Significant legislation signed into law in late 2018 (The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities…

GAO Report Examines Hospice Disposal of Controlled Substances

A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on disposal of controlled substances found substantial challenges for hospices, but also some key best practices that point the way toward new industry standards. According to the GAO report, challenges include the costs of certain disposal methods, a lack of a witness to the disposal process, and inconsistencies…

CMS Schedules Listening Session on Opioid Prescriber Accountability

In October 2018, President Trump signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act into law; in doing so, he enacted sweeping legislation designed to address the nationwide scourge of opioid abuse.  Among the numerous provision of interest to the hospice community included in the new law was authority for hospices, under specific circumstances, to allow…

CMS Open Door Forum on Open Payments Expansion under the SUPPORT Act

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold a Special Open Door Forum on the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act and its impact on the Open Payments program. The Special Open Door Forum will be conference call only and held on Thursday, August…

States Grapple with the Opioid Epidemic and Pain Management

Florida bill would make it easier to prescribe for hospice patients The opioid epidemic claims about 115 lives per day in the United States, a rate that has grown by 4000 percent since 1999. Nearly half of these opioid-related fatalities involve a prescription drug, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In March…

CDC Clarifies Applicability of Opioid Prescribing Guidelines, Excepts End-of-Life and Palliative Care

The Centers for Disease Control has released a letter clarifying that its 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain was not intended to apply to cancer treatment, palliative care, or end of life care. Recent efforts by policymakers to stem the nationwide epidemic of opioid abuse  culminated in the enactment of the 2018 SUPPORT…