9/7 CMS Webinar on Medicaid/CHIP Renewals for Native American & Alaska Native Populations

CMS will present a September 7, 2023 webinar on Medicaid and CHIP Renewals: Reaching Out to American Indian and Alaska Native Populations. RSVP at https://cms.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_-uRUL8P0QFW2_iRCvfqT8g. For more information and toolkits, including links to English and Spanish resources on Reaching Kids and Families, Disenrolled patients, and Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, Black American, Aging & Disability, and Rural Populations, see https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/unwinding-and-returning-regular-operations-after-covid-19/medicaid-and-chip-renewals-outreach-and-educational-resources/index.html.

No Surprises Act re Medical Expenses

CMS has published new web pages explaining the No Surprises Act, which aims to help protect healthcare consumers from billings that substantially exceed estimates, and from being overcharged by out-of-network providers. Find the portal to these pages in English at https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights and in Spanish at https://www.cms.gov/derechos-facturas-medicas. Find the following additional resources at:

• New Protections for Consumers: https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/know-your-rights
• Payment Dispute Webpage: https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/dispute-a-bill
• Submit a Complaint: https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/submit-a-complaint
• Find an Action Plan: https://www.cms.gov/medical-bill-rights/help/plan
• Resources for providers can still be found at:  https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises  

6/14 CMS National Stakeholder Call to Action on Medicaid and CHIP Renewals

CMS will host a June 14, 2023 National Stakeholder Call on Medicaid and CHIP Renewals at 10 am Pacific Time, introducing newly published resources on keeping people covered as states restart routine Medicaid and CHIP renewals. The call is open to all national, state, and local stakeholders. Resources include:

• CMS Press Release
• CMS Letter to Governors
• State Strategies to Minimize Terminations
• All Hands On-Deck Factsheet for Medicaid Renewals
• Call to Action instructions for people with Medicaid and CHIP coverage, for the Public and Private Sector, for States, for Members of Congress and State/Local Elected Officials, for the Health Care Community, for Grocery stores, Retailers, and Small Community Businesses, for Advocates, Civil Rights Groups, Faith Communities, Senior Centers, and other Community Organizations, for Unions, for Employers, and for Philanthropic funders
• A Communications Toolkit is provided at https://www.medicaid.gov/resources-for-states/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/unwinding-and-returning-regular-operations-after-covid-19/index.html

CMS avers that all parties must do everything in their power to help people stay covered. Register for the Call at https://cms.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_tySvAeHDQJG7XWnL1W8J3A.

3/9 AAKP Transplant Patient Roundtable

In conjunction with World Kidney Day, AAKP will present a three-hour online March 9, 2023 National Kidney Patient Consumer Roundtable on Timely Issues Impacting Kidney Transplant Patients, Drug Innovation, and Living Organ Donors. Key discussion topics will include

• Covid-19: Ongoing Concerns for Immunosuppressed Kidney Transplant Patients as the National Public Health Emergency Ends on May 11th
• Opportunities and Barriers for Accelerating Innovations in Transplant Therapies and Drugs
• Issues Impacting Living Organ Donation and Living Donor Protections

Find details and the agenda at https://files.constantcontact.com/3ba3e021401/f2d112c3-de56-4faa-8ae0-fd067bfe70d6.pdf, and register at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AAKPRoundtable.

Expanded Oregon Medicaid ESRD Coverage

For Oregon Nephrology Social Workers: On January 1, 2022 the Oregon Health Authority expanded coverage in the Citizenship Waived Medical (CWM) plan to include outpatient dialysis and coverage for antirejection medications for kidney transplantation. This is a big win for undocumented patients.  Review your patient’s insurance coverage and contact your local Oregon Medicaid Office for more information, call 800-273-0557 or see https://www.oregon.gov/oha/HSD/OHP/Pages/cco-Plans.aspx. The full legalese for the current regulation, with updated coverages, can be found at https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/viewSingleRule.action?ruleVrsnRsn=286645. 

2/1 CMS Request for ESRD Treatment Feedback

CMS is soliciting feedback from ESRD stakeholders on anything and everything they would like to see improved about ESRD treatment. Submit your comments by February 1, 2022 at https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/CMS-2021-0184-0001, choosing “End Stage Renal Disease Facilities – HPA20” as your response to the “What is your comment about?” question.

Find the CMS Request for Information at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/12/03/2021-26146/request-for-information-health-and-safety-requirements-for-transplant-programs-organ-procurement. The full title of the Request includes not just transplant programs and OPOs, but “and End-Stage Renal Disease Facilities.” This Request page includes specific questions about transplant programs and their Conditions of Participation (“COPS”), patient rights, organ donations, tissue transplants, general kidney health, home dialysis, alternative types and settings for dialysis, alternative models of care, processes and policies for organs and donors, and nephrology joint ventures, including whether a nephrologist’s partial ownership of a dialysis facility should be disclosed to patients, and whether that ownership has “an impact on resource use, patient care, and/or choice of modality.”

1/27 SSA Ticket to Work Webinar

The Social Security Administration will present a January 27, 2021 Work Incentive Seminar Event webinar on Choosing a Service Provider That’s Right for You. The webinar will cover the free services and support available to eligible people with disabilities and share how you can evaluate the available service providers. Find more information and register at https://choosework.ssa.gov/wise.

HDC Blog Post re Patient Power

Home Dialysis Central has published a new blog post on The Power of the Patient Voice that cites many examples of how influential the voices of patients have been in CMS policies and regulations, especially those around home dialysis.  Find the post at https://homedialysis.org/news-and-research/blog/369-the-power-of-the-patient-voice.  In it they mention the ESRD PPS Proposed Rule on Medicare coverage and regulations that CMS publishes every year, and that Home Dialyzors United will next month remind all dialysis patients of your right to comment, and how to do it.  If you’d like to read ahead, find a link to the 2021 PPS Proposed Rule at https://nwrnbulletins.wordpress.com/2020/07/10/9-4-comments-due-re-proposed-changes-to-qip/.

CMS Training on Medicare for People with ESRD

The CMS National Training Program includes a wide variety of webinars, slide decks, recorded videos, and CE offerings on a spectrum of Medicare-related topics.  Browse their list of topics at https://cmsnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/browse-topics?q=browse-topics&name=E.  One of their slide decks is called Medicare for People with ESRD, with sections on eligibility, enrollment, coverage, options, and  additional resources.  Find Medicare for People with ESRD at https://cmsnationaltrainingprogram.cms.gov/?combine=ESRD%20Networks&q=global-search.

NW16 11/6 CNSW Fall Meeting Portland

The CNSW OR-SW WA Chapter will host a half-day Fall Clinical Nephrology Social Work Meeting on November 6, 2019 in Portland OR.  Speakers will present on disability rights, the Senior Loneliness Line, and the 2-1-1 Helpline.  There will be no CEUs offered for this meeting, but lunch is included, the speakers are excellent, and the networking opportunity is priceless.  Find details, agenda, and registration information at https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nwrn.org/files/CNSW/CNSW1119.pdf.