Trump Administration Announces Plan to Ship 150 Million Rapid COVID-19 Tests to States On September 28, 2020, President Trump announced a plan to distribute 150 million rapid coronavirus tests purchased by the federal government to states, tribes, and other jurisdictions in the coming months. Experts praised the news as a welcome endorsement of the importance...

CMS Announces a Model for Rural Health Care Access and Transformation On September 16, 2020, the CMS Innovation Center announced the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Model. As part of that rural transformation, including transforming a system built on fee-for-service and volume to one based on value, CMS is testing the CHART Model....

Blue Cross Plans Announce Settlement in Antitrust Lawsuit It was announced on September 24, 2020, that the nation’s Blue Cross plans have reached a tentative $2.7 billion settlement in a federal lawsuit filed by their customers that accuses the group of engaging in a conspiracy to thwart competition among the individual companies, according to two...

New CPT Codes for Reporting Medical Services During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Period The American Medical Association (AMA) just announced updates to the Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code set that includes two code additions for reporting medical services sparked by the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first addition, CPT code 99072,...