Collapse to view only § 510.605 - Waiver of certain telehealth requirements.

§ 510.600 - Waiver of direct supervision requirement for certain post-discharge home visits.

(a) General. CMS waives the requirement in § 410.26(b)(5) of this chapter that services and supplies furnished incident to a physician's service must be furnished under the direct supervision of the physician (or other practitioner) to permit home visits as specified in this section. The services furnished under this waiver are not considered to be “hospital services,” even when furnished by the clinical staff of the hospital.

(b) General supervision of qualified personnel. The waiver of the direct supervision requirement in § 410.26(b)(5) of this chapter applies only in the following circumstances:

(1) The home visit is furnished during the episode to a beneficiary who has been discharged from an anchor hospitalization or anchor procedure.

(2) The home visit is furnished at the beneficiary's home or place of residence.

(3) The beneficiary does not qualify for home health services under sections 1835(a) and 1814(a) of the Act at the time of any such home visit.

(4) The visit is furnished by clinical staff under the general supervision of a physician or non-physician practitioner. Clinical staff are individuals who work under the supervision of a physician or other qualified health care professional, and who are allowed by law, regulation, and facility policy to perform or assist in the performance of a specific professional service, but do not individually report that professional service.

(5) No more than 9 visits are furnished to the beneficiary during the episode.

(c) Payment. Up to 9 post-discharge home visits per CJR episode may be billed under Part B by the physician or nonphysician practitioner or by the participant hospital to which the supervising physician has reassigned his or her billing rights.

(d) Other requirements. All other Medicare rules for coverage and payment of services incident to a physician's service continue to apply.

[80 FR 73540, Nov. 24, 2015, as amended at 86 FR 23575, May 3, 2021]

§ 510.605 - Waiver of certain telehealth requirements.

(a) Waiver of the geographic site requirements. Except for the geographic site requirements for a face-to-face encounter for home health certification, CMS waives the geographic site requirements of section 1834(m)(4)(C)(i)(I) through (III) of the Act for episodes being tested in the CJR model, but only for services that—

(1) May be furnished via telehealth under existing requirements; and

(2) Are included in the episode in accordance with § 510.200(b).

(b) Waiver of the originating site requirements. Except for the originating site requirements for a face-to-face encounter for home health certification, CMS waives the originating site requirements under section 1834(m)(4)(C)(ii)(I) through (VIII) of the Act for episodes being tested in the CJR model to permit a telehealth visit to originate in the beneficiary's home or place of residence, but only for services that—

(1) May be furnished via telehealth under existing requirements; and

(2) Are included in the CJR episode in accordance with § 510.200(b).

(c) Waiver of selected payment provisions. (1) CMS waives the payment requirements under section 1834(m)(2)(A) so that the facility fee normally paid by Medicare to an originating site for a telehealth service is not paid if the service is originated in the beneficiary's home or place of residence.

(2) CMS waives the payment requirements under section 1834(m)(2)(B) of the Act to allow the distant site payment for telehealth home visit HCPCS codes unique to this model.

(d) Other requirements. All other requirements for Medicare coverage and payment of telehealth services continue to apply, including the list of specific services approved to be furnished by telehealth.

[80 FR 73540, Nov. 24, 2015, as amended at 82 FR 57104, Dec. 1, 2017]

§ 510.610 - Waiver of SNF 3-day rule.

(a) Waiver of the SNF 3-day rule—(1) Performance year—(i) Performance years 2 through 5. For episodes being tested in performance years 2 through 5 of the CJR model, CMS waives the SNF 3-day rule for coverage of a SNF stay for a beneficiary who is a CJR beneficiary on the date of discharge from the anchor hospitalization, but only if the SNF is identified on the applicable calendar quarter list of qualified SNFs at the time of the CJR beneficiary's admission to the SNF.

(ii) Performance years 6 through 8. (A) For episodes being tested in performance years 6 through 8 of the CJR model, CMS waives the SNF 3-day rule for coverage of a SNF stay within 30 days of the date of discharge from the anchor hospitalization for a beneficiary who is a CJR beneficiary on the date of discharge from the anchor hospitalization, but only if the SNF is identified on the applicable calendar quarter list of qualified SNFs at the time of the CJR beneficiary's admission to the SNF.

(B) For episodes being tested in performance years 6 through 8 of the CJR model, CMS waives the SNF 3-day rule for coverage of a SNF stay within 30 days of the date of service of the anchor procedure for a beneficiary who is a CJR beneficiary on the date of service of the anchor procedure, but only if the SNF is identified on the applicable calendar quarter list of qualified SNFs at the time of the CJR beneficiary's admission to the SNF.

(2) Determination of qualified SNFs. CMS determines the qualified SNFs for each calendar quarter based on a review of the most recent rolling 12 months of overall star ratings on the Five-Star Quality Rating System for SNFs on the Nursing Home Compare website. Qualified SNFs are rated an overall of 3 stars or better for at least 7 of the 12 months.

(3) Posting of qualified SNFs. CMS posts to the CMS website the list of qualified SNFs in advance of the calendar quarter.

(b) Financial liability for non-covered SNF services. If CMS determines that the waiver requirements specified in paragraph (a) of this section were not met, the following apply:

(1) CMS makes no payment to a SNF for SNF services if the SNF admits a CJR beneficiary who has not had a qualifying inpatient stay or anchor procedure.

(2) In the event that CMS makes no payment for SNF services furnished by a SNF as a result of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the beneficiary protections specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section apply, unless the participant hospital has provided the beneficiary with a discharge planning notice in accordance with § 510.405(b)(3).

(3) If the participant hospital does not provide the beneficiary with a discharge planning notice in accordance with § 510.405(b)(3)—

(i) The SNF must not charge the beneficiary for the expenses incurred for such services;

(ii) The SNF must return to the beneficiary any monies collected for such services; and

(iii) The participant hospital is financially liable for the expenses incurred for such services.

(4) If the participant hospital provided a discharge planning notice to the beneficiary in accordance with § 510.405(b)(3), then normal SNF coverage requirements apply and the beneficiary may be financially liable for non-covered SNF services.

(c) Other requirements. All other Medicare rules for coverage and payment of Part A-covered services continue to apply except as otherwise waived in this part.

[82 FR 622, Jan. 3, 2017, as amended at 86 FR 23575, May 3, 2021]

§ 510.615 - Waiver of certain post-operative billing restrictions.

(a) Waiver to permit certain services to be billed separately during the 90-day post-operative global surgical period. CMS waives the billing requirements for global surgeries to allow the separate billing of certain post-discharge home visits described under § 510.600, including those related to recovery from the surgery, as described in paragraph (b) of this section, for episodes being tested in the CJR model.

(b) Services to which the waiver applies. Up to 9 post-discharge home visits, including those related to recovery from the surgery, per CJR episode may be billed separately under Part B by the physician or nonphysician practitioner, or by the participant hospital to which the physician or nonphysician practitioner has reassigned his or her billing rights.

(c) Other requirements. All other Medicare rules for global surgery billing during the 90-day post-operative period continue to apply.

§ 510.620 - Waiver of deductible and coinsurance that otherwise apply to reconciliation payments or repayments.

(a) Waiver of deductible and coinsurance. CMS waives the requirements of sections 1813 and 1833(a) of the Act for Medicare Part A and Part B payment systems only to the extent necessary to make reconciliation payments or receive repayments based on the NPRA that reflect the episode payment methodology under the final payment model for CJR participant hospitals.

(b) Reconciliation payments or repayments. Reconciliation payments or repayments do not affect the beneficiary cost-sharing amounts for the Part A and Part B services provided under the CJR model.

[80 FR 73540, Nov. 24, 2015, as amended at 82 FR 622, Jan. 3, 2017]