On March 1, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released Change Request 8214, which outlines rules related to the extension of the Low Volume Adjustment (LVA) and Medicare Dependent Hospital (MDH) regulations, as authorized by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 . The Federal Register notification related to these extensions, CMS 1588-N, was released on March 4, 2013, and officially published March 7, 2013. Hospitals will need to move quickly to take full advantage of the LVA extension, and they may be surprised by some of the requirements of the MDH extension
Recently issued IRS Notice 2011-52 addresses community health needs assessment (CHNA) requirements added to the Internal Revenue Code by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). While CHNA requirements are not effective until tax years beginning after March 23, 2012, the IRS is issuing guidance for hospital organizations wishing to start the process now. Guidelines in the notice refer to any CHNA made widely available to the public and any implementation strategy adopted on or before a date six months after the IRS issues further guidance