Recovery financial information for providers

Under its public health emergency authority, the Department of Health and Human Services has relaxed various regulations to make it easier for providers to respond to the healthcare needs of their communities. The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services has posted frequently asked questions regarding waived Medicare regulations, such as the three-day hospital stay prior to skilled nursing facility admission, the critical access hospital bed limit, the use of psychiatric unit beds for acute care, and other questions (www.cms.hhs.gov/katrina/MedicareFFS.pdf).

For fiscal intermediary of contractor help with other Medicare issues, CMS urges the use of the standard toll-free contact numbers, if possible. Those can be found for each state by going to www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/tollnums.asp.

If issues are unresolved at the fiscal intermediary level, help is also available through the CMS regional offices. For Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, contact the Atlanta Region IV office: (404) 562-7390, (404) 562-7374, or (404) 562-7242. For Louisiana and Texas, contact the Dallas Region VI office: (214) 767-6401, (214) 767-8123, or (214) 767-0250.

Due to the relocation effort, states outside the disaster area may need to reach key contacts at the state medical assistance offices. The web addresses for those offices are:

* Alabama (www.medicaid.state.al.us)

* Florida (www.fdhc.state.fl.us)

* Louisiana (www.dhh.louisiana.gov/ offices/page.asp?id=92&detail=5152)

* Mississippi (www.dom.state.ms.us)

HHS has issued a two-page bulletin clarifying patient data issues, such as the appropriateness and need for sharing data with relief organizations (www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/KATRINAnHIPAA.pdf).

To see CMS's Hurricane Katrina information web page for more specifics and other helpful links, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/katrina.

For additional useful links, go to the HFMA's Hurricane Relief Resources and Information web page at www.hfma.org/hurricane.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Healthcare Financial Management Association.

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