Newsroom

WHA Information Center (WHAIC) will post articles that are related to data submissions and data use.

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  Biden-Harris Administration Issues Guidance to States on Required Medicaid and CHIP Coverage for COVID-19-Related Treatment

  October 22, 2021

  The Biden-Harris Administration is ensuring that 144 million people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have access to COVID-19 treatments.  Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance to states about the statutory requirement for states to cover COVID-19-related treatment without cost-sharing in Medicaid and CHIP for many seniors, low-income adults, pregnant women, children, and people with disabilities who receive health coverage through these programs. 



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  Renewal of Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists

  October 19, 2021

  As expected, the Public Health Emergency (PHE) has been extended.  The PHEs can only be declared/extended each 90 days.  This will allow the PHE to extend until mid-January 2022.  Many of the waivers are effective throughout the year which the PHE ends - which will now be through December 31, 2022.



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  Keeping HIM Education Relevant to Workforce Needs

  October 05, 2021

  The primary focus of health information management (HIM) educators is preparing a modern workforce through the delivery of curricula content to meet the needs of the healthcare industry. From the inception of the accreditation of educational programs in HIM (formerly medical records) in the 1930s, AHIMA has established standards and competencies for accredited programs in HIM to achieve this goal.



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  How Social Determinants of Health Documentation Impacts Health Equity

  August 18, 2021

  Advanced practice clinical documentation integrity (APCDI) plays an important role in ensuring accurate social determinants of health (SDoH) documentation. The government and private sector are addressing the importance of SDoH data to assess and alleviate healthcare disparities and inequities.



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  Important News for Coders: Quantifying the Sequelae Following Acute COVID-19

  August 17, 2021

  The healthcare community's understanding of post-COVID-19 conditions is progressing and will undoubtedly evolve as people continue to contract the virus. However, collecting accurate data and gauging severity can be challenging, as the data collected must rely on self-reporting in many instances. So the Oct. 1 implementation of a new code for COVID sequelae comes not a moment too soon.



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  What We Urge You To Do To Protect Against the Threat of Ransomware

  June 21, 2021

  The number and size of ransomware incidents have increased significantly, and strengthening our nation’s resilience from cyberattacks – both private and public sector – is a top priority of the President’s.



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  COVID Hospitalizations in Wisconsin Hit New Low

  June 01, 2021

  The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) COVID-19 dashboard registered the lowest number of COVID hospitalizations—186—since the association first started collecting data related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous low of 192 was on April 2, 2020, when the dashboard first went live in the earliest stage of the pandemic.



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  ForwardHealth: COVID-19 Vaccine Billing and Reimbursement

  May 18, 2021

  For dates of service on and after December 11, 2020, ForwardHealth will begin coverage of administration of the COVID-19 vaccine to BadgerCare Plus and Medicaid members. Providers may submit claims to ForwardHealth for these dates of service beginning January 11, 2021.



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  Emergency COVID Response Strained Hospitals, Delayed Regular Care

  April 27, 2021

  WHAIC recently developed a 2020 COVID lookback.  The lookback illustrates through data, analysis, and objective narrative the impacts of COVID on Wisconsin hospitals, health systems and their patients last year.  It is important to put 2020 into some context and understand what our health care system has endured as the state addresses current and ongoing challenges, learns from experience, and looks forward.



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  Biden-Harris Administration Increases Medicare Payment for Life-Saving COVID-19 Vaccine

  March 15, 2021

  Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is increasing the Medicare payment amount for administering the COVID-19 vaccine. At a time when vaccine supply is growing, CMS is supporting provider efforts to expand capacity and ensure that all Americans can be vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible.



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  Medicare Part B Payment for COVID-19 Vaccines and Certain Monoclonal Antibodies during the Public Health Emergency

  December 15, 2020

  CMS has released a set of toolkits for providers, states and insurers to help the health care system prepare and assist in swiftly administering these products once they become available.  These resources are designed to increase the number of providers that can administer the products and ensure adequate reimbursement for administration in Medicare, while making it clear to private insurers and Medicaid programs their responsibility to cover these products at no charge to beneficiaries.