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Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
Today, June 30, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it plans to further extend a grace period previously granted to Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities, including those facilities operated by Tribes and Tribal organizations under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA). The grace period permits IHS and Tribal facilities to continue to claim the Medicaid reimbursements rate (including at the IHS All Inclusive Rate) for services provided outside of the "four walls" of the facility. CMS had previously granted a grace period extension to 9 months after the end of the public health emergency (PHE), or February 2024. CMS will now extend the grace period through February 2025.
CMS plans to issue a CMS Informational Bulletin in the future. CMS also intends to explore a more permanent regulatory fix to this issue, in response to the request from the CMS Tribal Technical Advisory Group (TTAG), and plans to discuss the issue further at the upcoming in-person TTAG meeting on July 26-27 in Washington, DC. USET SPF has and will continue to support a permanent solution to this issue, along with other priorities of the CMS TTAG. We will continue to monitor this issue and provide updates when they are available.
For more information, please contact Ashton Martin, USET SPF Health Policy Analyst, at amartin@usetinc.org.
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