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AHA today urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow all hospitals to elect to receive periodic interim payments or accelerated payments immediately, and with minimal administrative barriers.

“These payments would provide ongoing revenues to providers to keep cash flow moving and compensate for procedures that are currently delayed, but will take place after the medical surge has subsided,” AHA said in a letter (LINK) to CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “While approval for these payments is typically at the discretion of the Medicare Administrative Contractors, we request that CMS advise its contractors to offer maximum flexibility in approving requests for these unique payment timeframes and flexibility in administrative requirements.”

Periodic interim payments allow hospitals to receive regular, estimated payments for Part A services. Accelerated payments are upfront payments that providers may receive if they experience financial difficulties due to certain process delays