CMS Issues Letter Regarding Cost-Sharing In Emergency Rooms.On August 15, 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), previously known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that administers the Medicare program and (CMS (1) See content management system and color management system. (2) (Conversational Monitor System) Software that provides interactive communications for IBM's VM operating system. ) issued a State Medicaid Directors Letter (SMDL SMDL Standard Music Description Language SMDL Super Multi Drive Dual Layer (DVD drive) SMDL SANKHYA Machine Description Language SMDL Structured Minimum Description Length ) regarding a change in the law with respect to cost-sharing for non-emergency services furnished to low-income patients in emergency rooms and to announce the implementation of a grant program for non-emergency services. More specifically, the SMDL addressed changes in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA DRA Delta Regional Authority DRA Developmental Reading Assessment (educational test) DRA Division of Ratepayer Advocates (California) DRA Data Research Associates DRA Directory and Resource Administrator ) and the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA TRHCA Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 ) that allowed States to "impose higher cost-sharing for non-emergency services furnished in a hospital emergency department without a waiver". This cost-sharing may be imposed only after providing EMTALA EMTALA Emergency Medical Treatment & Active Labor Act, see there screening examination and stabilization, and only if there is an appropriate alternate non-emergency service provider who can treat the patient without imposing the higher cost-sharing authorized by TRHCA. The SMDL also includes a list of individuals and conditions under which the increased cost sharing may not be applied. To help States ensure the availability of "alternate non-emergency service providers", the SMDL announced that CMS would be implementing Section 1903(y) of the Social Security Act to distribute $50 million in grants over a four-year period beginning in 2007 to "provide payment to States for the establishment of alternate nonemergency service providers or networks of providers." The grants will be preferentially directed toward States that "establish, or provide for, alternate non-emergency services providers or networks of providers" that serve rural or underserved areas or are collaborating with local community hospitals. In distributing these grants, CMS "will consider as a special circumstance whether the grant funding is necessary" to facilitate the implementation of the cost-sharing program outlined above. The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. Mr Charles Luband Powell Goldstein LLP One Atlantic Center One Atlantic Center, also known as the IBM Tower, is a skyscraper located in Midtown Atlanta. It is the third-tallest in Atlanta, reaching a height of 820 feet (250 m) with 50 stories of office space. Fourteenth Floor 1201. West Peachtree Street, NW Atlanta GA 30309 UNITED STATES Tel: 4045726700 Fax: 4045726999 E-mail: emeszaros@pogolaw.com URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. : www.pogolaw.com Click Here for related articles (c) Mondaq Ltd, 2007 - Tel. +44 (0)20 8544 8300 - http://www.mondaq.com |
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