NCSBN Letter to CMS Outlines Regulatory Priorities Post COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
On June 18, 2020, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) submitted a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) outlining NCSBN’s regulatory priorities once the federal Public Health Emergency has ended. CMS is considering the future of blanket waivers for healthcare providers that the agency issued over the past few months in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those waivers include allowances for audio-only telehealth visits and non-physician providers to bill for some telehealth services. CMS also took steps to remove scope of practice restrictions, waiving the physician supervision requirement for CRNAs and allowing NPs and CNSs to deliver certain services independently. CMS also waived their requirement that practitioners be licensed in the patient’s location in order to receive reimbursement. NCSBN’s letter outlines which waivers NCSBN would like to see remain in place at the conclusion of the Public Health Emergency and which waivers should expire.
NCSBN’s letter follows a presidential executive order released in May that aims to address regulatory burdens that could harm the economic recovery following COVID-19. The executive orders directs government agencies to look at the waivers that were issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine if the waivers should remain in place once the public health emergency has ended.