Hospital and provider groups cheer new CMS flexibility on telehealth, capacity and ACO losses

Hospital groups largely cheered a raft of regulatory changes made by the Trump administration to expand telehealth and waive penalties for expanding capacity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the changes Thursday, which include making it easier for hospitals to establish drive-thru and parking lot testing facilities and helping accountable care organizations (ACOs) mitigate major losses sparked by COVID-19.
The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) was pleased that CMS will adjust its financial methodology to account for the impact of COVID-19 costs.
This will ensure that ACOs are “treated equitably regardless of the extent to which their patient populations are affected by the pandemic,” CMS said.
ACOs agree to take on a certain amount of financial risk and must repay Medicare for any losses they generate but get a share of any savings. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused costs to soar, and revenues at ACOs have plummeted due to the cancellation of elective procedures.