HHS Announces New COVID Relief Funding and Extension of First PRF Reporting Deadline

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced $25.5 billion in new funding for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources for providers who serve rural Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or Medicare patients, and an additional $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 for a broad range of providers who can document revenue loss and expenses associated with the pandemic. The application will open on September 29, 2021.

ASA ANNUAL COMMERCIAL FEE SURVEY – 2021 data due by JULY 9th

ASA needs your input!  Please complete the survey as managed care negotiations are going to be so important in the coming months. Deadline is July 9th. 

The ASA has completed the Commercial Payer Survey each year. This year it is more important since the data will likely be used by anesthesia practices once the No Surprise Medical Billing law is implemented on Jan. 1, 2022.  

Click the link below to complete the survey for your practice(s).

HHS Announces Surprise Medical Billing Rule

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury, and the Office of Personnel Management, issued “Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I,” an interim final rule that will restrict excessive out of pocket costs to consumers from surprise billing and balance billing. Surprise billing happens when people unknowingly get care from providers that are outside of their health plan’s network and can happen for both emergency and non-emergency care. Balance billing, when a provider charges a patient the remainder of what their insurance does not pay, is currently prohibited in both Medicare and Medicaid. This rule will extend similar protections to Americans insured through employer-sponsored and commercial health plans.

Medicare 10% Reduction in Reimbursement for Anesthesia has been reduced to 3%, effective 01/01/2021

The approximate 10 percent reduction in the anesthesia conversion factor (CF) scheduled to take effect on Jan 1, 2021 has been modified.  A statement published by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) provided the following take on the CAA: The scheduled cut to the anesthesia conversion factor will be reduced to a 3% cut rather than… Continue reading »

National Surprise Medical Billing proposal is an improvement.

CHICAGO – The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is pleased that a number of ASA’s priorities were addressed in the most recent COVID-19 stimulus bill; some improvements to the final surprise medical bill provisions and partial relief from the previous draconian Medicare cuts scheduled for January 1, 2021. “I believe our specialty will be better off in… Continue reading »