(a) Waiver of certain telehealth requirements—(1) Waiver of the geographic site requirements. Except for the geographic site requirements for a face-to-face encounter for home health certification, CMS waives the geographic site requirements of section 1834(m)(4)(C)(i)(I) through (III) of the Act for episodes being tested in TEAM solely for services that—

(i) May be furnished via telehealth under existing Medicare program requirements; and

(ii) Are included in the episode in accordance with § 512.525(e).

(2) Waiver of the originating site requirements. Except for the originating site requirements for a face-to-face encounter for home health certification, CMS waives the originating site requirements under section 1834(m)(4)I(ii)(I) through (VIII) of the Act for episodes to permit a telehealth visit to originate in the beneficiary's home or place of residence solely for services that—

(i) May be furnished via telehealth under existing Medicare program requirements; and

(ii) Are included in the episode in accordance with § 512.525(e).

(3) Waiver of selected payment provisions. (i) CMS waives the payment requirements under section 1834(m)(2)(A) of the Act so that the facility fee normally paid by Medicare to an originating site for a telehealth service is not paid if the service is originated in the beneficiary's home or place of residence.

(ii) CMS waives the payment requirements under section 1834(m)(2)(B) of the Act to allow the distant site payment for telehealth home visit HCPCS codes unique to TEAM.

(4) Other requirements. All other requirements for Medicare coverage and payment of telehealth services continue to apply, including the list of specific services approved to be furnished by telehealth.

(b) Waiver of the SNF 3-day rule—(1) Episodes initiated by an anchor hospitalization. CMS waives the SNF 3-day rule for coverage of a SNF stay within 30 days of the date of discharge from the anchor hospitalization for a beneficiary who is a TEAM beneficiary on the date of discharge from the anchor hospitalization if the SNF is identified on the applicable calendar quarter list of qualified SNFs at the time of the TEAM beneficiary's admission to the SNF.

(2) Episodes initiated by an anchor procedure. CMS waives the SNF 3-day rule for coverage of a SNF stay within 30 days of the date of service of the anchor procedure for a beneficiary who is a TEAM beneficiary on the date of service of the anchor procedure if the SNF is identified on the applicable calendar quarter list of qualified SNFs at the time of the TEAM beneficiary's admission to the SNF.

(3) Determination of qualified SNFs. CMS determines the qualified SNFs for each calendar quarter based on a review of the most recent rolling 12 months of overall star ratings on the Five-Star Quality Rating System for SNFs on the Nursing Home Compare website. Qualified SNFs are rated an overall of 3 stars or better for at least 7 of the 12 months.

(4) Posting of qualified SNFs. CMS posts to the CMS website the list of qualified SNFs in advance of the calendar quarter.

(5) Financial liability for non-covered SNF services. If CMS determines that the waiver requirements specified in paragraph (b) of this section were not met, the following apply:

(i) CMS makes no payment to a SNF for SNF services if the SNF admits a TEAM beneficiary who has not had a qualifying anchor hospitalization or anchor procedure.

(ii) In the event that CMS makes no payment for SNF services furnished by a SNF as a result of paragraph (b)(5)(i) of this section, the beneficiary protections specified in paragraph (b)(5)(iii) of this section apply, unless the TEAM participant has provided the beneficiary with a discharge planning notice in accordance with § 512.582(b)(3).

(iii) If the TEAM participant does not provide the beneficiary with a discharge planning notice in accordance with § 512.582(b)(3)—

(A) The SNF must not charge the beneficiary for the expenses incurred for such services;

(B) The SNF must return to the beneficiary any monies collected for such services; and

(C) The TEAM participant is financially liable for the expenses incurred for such services.

(6) Coverage of SNF services and discharge planning notification. If the TEAM participant provided a discharge planning notice to the beneficiary in accordance with § 512.582(b)(3), then normal SNF coverage requirements apply, and the beneficiary may be financially liable for non-covered SNF services.

(c) Other requirements. All other Medicare rules for coverage and payment of Part A-covered services continue to apply except as otherwise waived in this part.