On Thu Mar 15, CMS announced the Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations among Nursing Facility Residents, a new effort designed to improve care for people living in nursing facilities who are enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid. The initiative aims to reduce costly and avoidable hospitalizations among nursing facility residents by funding organizations that would partner with nursing facilities to provide enhanced on-site services and supports to nursing facility residents. CMS commits up to $128 million to support a diverse portfolio of these evidence-based interventions.
The initiative will be run collaboratively by the CMS Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, both created by the Affordable Care Act to improve the quality and costs of care in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Through this initiative, CMS will partner with independent organizations to improve care for long-stay nursing facility residents. These organizations will collaborate with nursing facilities and states to provide coordinated, person-centered care with the goal of reducing avoidable hospital stays. Eligible organizations can include physician practices, care management organizations, and other public and not-for-profit entities. CMS issued a Request for Applications on Thu Mar 15; organizations interested in participating in this initiative must submit an application by Thu June 14, 2012. More information about this initiative, including the Request for Applications, is available at http://Innovation.CMS.gov/initiatives/rahnfr, or by searching for CFDA 93.621 at www.Grants.gov<http://www.Grants.gov>. The full text of this excerpted CMS press release (issued Thu Mar 15) can be found at http://www.CMS.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=4303. A media factsheet can be found at http://www.CMS.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp?Counter=4304. ________________________________ It's Not too Late to Give and Get the Flu Vaccine. Take advantage of each office visit and protect your patients against the seasonal flu. Medicare will continue to pay for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all Medicare beneficiaries through the entire flu season. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that patients, healthcare workers and caregivers be vaccinated against the seasonal flu. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get the Flu Vaccine-Not the Flu. Remember - The flu vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. CMS has posted the 2011-2012 seasonal flu vaccine payment limits at http://www.CMS.gov/McrPartBDrugAvgSalesPrice/10_VaccinesPricing.asp. Note that the flu vaccine is NOT a Part D-covered drug. For more information on coverage and billing of the flu vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational provider resources, visit http://www.CMS.gov/MLNProducts/35_PreventiveServices.asp and http://www.cms.gov/immunizations. ________________________________ Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you.
