PA Safety Net Admin, Author at Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

COVID-19 Update: Monday, March 1

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania state government as of 3:30 p.m. on Monday. March 1.

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf has revised the state’s COVID-19 mitigation orders. Highlights of his revised order are:

Revised maximum occupancy limits for indoor events to allow for 15 percent of maximum occupancy, regardless of venue size.
Revised maximum occupancy limits for outdoor events to allow for 20 percent of maximum occupancy, regardless of venue size.
The elimination of out-of-state travel restrictions.

Learn more about the governor’s order from the following resources:

a news release from the governor’s office
the governor’s order for mitigation, enforcement, and immunity protections
FAQs for the mitigation order changes
the Acting Secretary of Health’s revised order on gatherings
the governor’s revised order on travel
the Acting Secretary of Health’s order rescinding travel restrictions

Department of Health

The Department of Health has updated guidance on the storage and transportation conditions required for the Pfizer vaccine based on new recommendations from the FDA.

Department of Health – by the numbers

The number of new COVID-19 cases has been less than 2000 for the past two days – the first time this has happened since early fall.
The daily death toll continues its steep decline.
More than 24,000 health care workers in Pennsylvania have contracted COVID-19, as have nearly 80,000 residents and employees of 1567 long-term-care facilities across the state. The continual increase in these numbers since the start of the pandemic has slowed dramatically.
The governor’s weekly COVID-19 early warning dashboard shows that for the week from February 19 through February 25 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate fell to 6.3 percent; it was 6.5 percent the week before that. This marked the tenth consecutive week the rate fell.
26 Pennsylvania counties – down from 40 a week ago – remain in substantial levels of community transmission of COVID-19: Adams, Beaver, Bucks, Carbon, Centre, Clinton, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Pike, Potter, Union, Wayne, and York. Four counties – one more than a week ago – are in low levels of community transmission: Cameron, Forest, Fulton, and Sullivan. The remaining counties, including Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, are in moderate levels of community transmission.
The numbers of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19, in hospital ICU units because of COVID-19, and on ventilators because of COVID-19 continue to decline.
Currently, 25 percent of adult ICU beds in the state are unoccupied, as are 21 percent of medical/surgical beds, 14 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 32 percent of pediatric beds, and 39 percent of airborne isolation units.As of March 1 the state’s vaccine dashboard shows that 948,000 Pennsylvanians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 739,000 have received both doses of a vaccine. These numbers do not include Philadelphia, which operates its own COVID-19 vaccination program.
The vaccine dashboard shows vaccine totals by county.

General Assembly

Pennsylvania House of Representatives majority leader Kerry Benninghoff announced that the House will investigate the Wolf administration’s handling of nursing homes and other senior and long-term-care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House Government Oversight Committee will lead the investigation.

Around the State

Spurred by concern that their counties are not receiving appropriate allocations of COVID-19 vaccines, officials of seven western Pennsylvania counties – Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland – met remotely last week to discuss the possibility of creating a regional health department. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tells the story.
The city of Philadelphia has eased some of its COVID-19 restrictions, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Among them: permitting spectators at sporting events, reopening senior centers for the first time in nearly a year, permitting food and drinks to be consumed in movie theaters and more customers in retail establishments, and expanded limits on indoor and outdoor dining, and attendance at religious services.
Philadelphia’s biggest problem with COVID-19 vaccines now is its ability to administer them and not the supply, the city’s health commissioner told KYW radio.
COVID-19 has taken a financial and emotional toll on Pennsylvania’s hospitals, the Erie Times-News reports.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

PA Safety Net Admin2021-03-02T06:00:30+00:00March 2nd, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off

COVID-19 Update: Friday, February 26

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, February 26.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health updated its guidance on hospitals’ responses to COVID-19 with information on how hospitals that have been approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to participate in the Acute Hospital Care at Home program may provide acute care inpatient services to patients in their homes.

The Department of Health has updated its guidance for return-to-work criteria for health care personnel and its transmission-based precautions used by health care facilities to care for patients with confirmed or probable COVID-19. Both updates reflect recent changes from the CDC.

Department of Health – by the numbers

Although today’s new COVID-19 case count is the highest in the past week, the daily numbers continue their general decline.
The daily death toll has only been in double digits for the past eight days – the first time that has happened since the fall.
More than 24,000 health care workers in Pennsylvania have contracted COVID-19, as have nearly 80,000 residents and employees of 1566 long-term-care facilities across the state. The continual increase in these numbers since the start of the pandemic has slowed considerably.
For the week from February 12 through February 18 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate fell to 6.5 percent; it was 8.0 percent the week before that. This marked the ninth consecutive week the rate fell.
40 Pennsylvania counties – down from 51 a week ago – remain in substantial levels of community transmission of COVID-19: Adams, Beaver, Berks, Bradford, Bucks, Carbon, Centre, Chester, Clinton, Columbia, Cumberland, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, Forest, Franklin, Greene, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Lycoming, McKean, Mifflin, Monroe, Montour, Northampton, Northumberland, Perry, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Snyder, Union, Wayne, and York. Three counties have low levels of community transmission: Cameron, Fulton, and Sullivan; this figure is the same as it was last week. The remaining Pennsylvania counties, including Allegheny County, are experiencing moderate levels of community transmission.
The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19, in hospital ICU units because of COVID-19, and on ventilators because of COVID-19 continues to decline.
Currently, 21 percent of adult ICU beds in the state are unoccupied, as are 16 percent of medical/surgical beds, 11 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 28 percent of pediatric beds, and 36 percent of airborne isolation units.
As of February 28 the state’s vaccine dashboard shows that 928,000 Pennsylvanians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 649,000 have received both doses of a vaccine. These numbers do not include Philadelphia, which operates its own COVID-19 vaccination program.
The vaccine dashboard shows vaccine totals by county.

General Assembly

The Senate has unanimously passed House Bill 326, which would authorize the National Guard to assist with COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Within 45 days of the bill becoming law, the National Guard would be able to work with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to establish and operate COVID-19 vaccination sites across the state. The governor’s office has indicated support for the bill.

Around the State

After having its vaccine call center overwhelmed with calls from people seeking COVID-19 vaccines, Delaware County awarded a $700,000 contract to a customer service vendor to expand its call capacity. The Delaware County Daily Times reports.
A number of organizations around the state are opening vaccination sites, including Penn State Health, in Reading, State College, Camp Hill, and Hershey; Wellspan Health, in York; the city of Philadelphia; FEMA, also in Philadelphia; and Giant Eagle and the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia’s health commissioner has urged the city’s hospitals to launch mass vaccination sites, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

Federal Update

Congress

The House Budget Committee has passed a COVID-19 relief bill. The following is a summary of the bill’s major spending, how it differs from the previous proposals submitted to the Budget Committee by other House committees, and what the bill does not do.

Major Spending Categories

The bill, which calls for $1.9 trillion in federal spending and tax credits, proposes:

$350 billion for emergency aid to states, local, and tribal governments.
$195 billion for state governments, with most of it distributed based on states’ share of unemployed workers.
$130 billion for local governments.

Proposed Health Care-Related COVID-19 Response Spending

The bill proposes:

$46 billion for a national strategy for COVID-19 testing, mitigation, and surveillance.
$10 billion for producing emergency medical equipment and supplies, including testing materials, personal protective equipment, and drugs and devices.
$7.6 billion for a public health workforce that includes epidemiologists, investigators, and contract-tracers.
$7.6 billion for community health centers.
$17 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
$6.1 billion for the Indian Health Service.
$7.5 billion for the promoting, distributing, administering, and tracking COVID-19 vaccines.
$5.2 billion for COVID-19 vaccine research, manufacturing, and purchase and for the purchase of therapeutics and other products needed to treat COVID-19 and its variants.
$1.75 billion for community mental health block grants.
$1.75 billion for substance abuse prevention and treatment block grants.

Medicaid Provisions

The House bill includes several specific Medicaid provisions, including:

An increase of the federal medical assistance percentage – FMAP, the rate at which the federal government matches state Medicaid spending – to 95 percent for Medicaid expansion states.
A 100 percent federal match for Medicaid’s COVID-19 vaccine costs.
An increase of FMAP to 85 percent for Medicaid programs that employ community-based mobile crisis intervention services.
Extension of the 100 percent FMAP for two years for Medicaid services provided by urban Native American health organizations and native Hawaiian health care systems.
A requirement that Medicaid cover COVID-19 vaccines and treatment without cost-sharing until one year has passed after the end of the public health emergency.
Inclusion of outpatient drugs used to treat COVID-19 patients in Medicaid’s drug rebate program.

Changes From Previous Draft Legislation

The House bill includes several changes from legislation proposed last week:

The original draft legislation proposed giving states an option for five years to expand Medicaid eligibility to pregnant women postpartum for 12 months. The length of time of this option has been extended to seven years.
A provision that would have made prison inmates eligible for Medicaid 30 days prior to their release was eliminated.
A proposed $1.8 billion for testing, contact-tracing, and monitoring of COVID-19 in congregate living settings has been eliminated.

Key Issues Not Addressed in the House Bill

The House bill does not:

Add any money to the Provider Relief Fund.
Extend the current moratorium on Medicare sequestration.
Address forgiveness for money provided to hospitals under the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program.

What’s Next?

The House is expected to begin deliberating on this bill this afternoon and to vote on it late tonight. It is expected to pass with no Republican votes, after which it will go to the Senate.

The bill is not expected to survive in its current form in the Senate, where it will surely be modified. The bill the House passes will include an increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour but the Senate parliamentarian has already advised that such a measure is inappropriate in reconciliation, so that provision will be removed in the Senate. It is not yet clear when the Senate might vote on the bill, what changes it might make, or what its prospects ultimately are in that chamber. We should have a better idea about that next week.

Provider Relief Fund

HHS has made four additions and modifications in its Provider Relief Fund FAQ. New questions on rural health clinics and Medicare cost reporting can be found on pp. 14 and 16 and a modified question on Medicare cost reporting can be found on page 17; all are marked “2/24/2021.”

A fourth change, a new question also marked 2/24/2021, can be found on page 16 and addresses Medicaid DSH payments and Provider Relief Fund money.

Question:

Are there any restrictions on how hospitals that receive Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments can use Provider Relief Fund General and Targeted Distribution payments?

Answer:

Yes. Providers may not use PRF payments to reimburse expenses or losses that have been reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse. Therefore, if a hospital has received Medicaid DSH payments for the uncompensated costs of furnishing inpatient and/or outpatient hospital services to Medicaid beneficiaries and to individuals with no source of third party coverage for the services, these expenses would be considered reimbursed by the Medicaid program and would not be eligible to be covered by money received from a General or Targeted Distribution payment. For more information on the calculation of the Medicaid hospital-specific DSH limit, see https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resource-center/downloads/covid-19-faqs.pdf.

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS’s Office of the Inspector General has posted a message to stakeholders discussing its role and continuing work in overseeing the integrity of the delivery of telehealth services.

HHS and CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

HHS Clinical Rounds Peer-to-Peer Virtual Communities of Practice

HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response sponsors COVID-19 Clinical Rounds Peer-to-Peer Virtual Communities of Practice that are interactive virtual learning sessions that seek to create a peer-to-peer learning network in which clinicians from the U.S. and abroad who have experience treating patients with COVID-19 share their challenges and successes. These webinar topics are covered every week:

EMS: Patient Care and Operations (Mondays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
Critical Care: Lifesaving Treatment and Clinical Operations (Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
Emergency Department: Patient Care and Clinical Operations (Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)

Go here for information about signing up to participate in the sessions and go here for access to materials and video recordings of past sessions.

CMS Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information about the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the health care community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer participants an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls

Tuesday, March 16 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4177586

Audio Webcast link: go here

Tuesday, April 6 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2769397

Audio Webcast link: go here

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has updated its guidance on operational considerations for COVID-19 community isolation centers: facilities for COVID-19 patients who do not need hospitalization but may not be able to isolate safely at home.
The CDC has updated its guidelines for collecting, handling, and testing clinical specimens for COVID-19 with new information about capillary fingerstick specimen collection.

Food and Drug Administration

The FDA announced that it is permitting undiluted frozen vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be transported and stored at conventional temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for a period of up to two weeks. This reflects an alternative to the preferred storage of the undiluted vials in an ultra-low temperature freezer between -80ºC to -60ºC (-112ºF to -76ºF). Learn more from the FDA’s announcement of this new guidance and from its revised fact sheet for providers.

PA Safety Net Admin2021-03-01T06:00:17+00:00March 1st, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off

PA Publishes State Health Assessment

Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has published its 2020 state health assessment.

The document, The State of Our Health: A Statewide Health Assessment of Pennsylvania, generally describes the health status of Pennsylvanians today, addresses current health care challenges the state faces, and identifies areas for improvement.

Cast in an overarching framework of health equity and social determinants of health, the assessment is built around eight themes:

access to care
environmental health
mental health
maternal and infant health
substance use
injury and violence prevention
chronic diseases
infectious diseases and immunizations

PA Safety Net Admin2021-02-24T06:00:35+00:00February 24th, 2021|social determinants of health|Comments Off

COVID-19 Update: Monday, February 22

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the federal and state government as of 4:30 p.m. on Monday, February 22.

Pennsylvania Update

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf has renewed his declaration of a state of emergency in Pennsylvania because of COVID-19. See the announcement of the renewal and the renewal declaration itself, which covers a period of 90 days.

Department of Health – by the numbers

The number of new daily cases continues to decline
In the past week the number of COVID-19 deaths has fallen significantly.
More than 24,000 health care workers in Pennsylvania have contracted COVID-19, as have nearly 79,000 residents and employees of long-term-care facilities across the state. The continual increase in these numbers since the start of the pandemic has slowed considerably.
For the week from February 12 through February 18 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate fell to 6.5 percent; it was 8.0 percent the week before that. This marked the ninth consecutive week the rate fell.
The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 is just 60 percent of what it was at the beginning of February; the number in hospital ICUs is 64 percent of what it was at the beginning of the month; and the number on ventilators is 57 percent of what it was three weeks ago.
Currently, 24 percent of adult ICU beds in the state are unoccupied, as are 21 percent of medical/surgical beds, nine percent of pediatric ICU beds, 32 percent of pediatric beds, and 40 percent of airborne isolation units.
As of February 22 the state’s vaccine dashboard shows that 916,000 Pennsylvanians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 541,000 have received both doses of vaccine. These numbers do not include Philadelphia, which operates its own COVID-19 vaccination program.
The vaccine dashboard shows vaccine totals by county.

Department of Human Services

DHS has posted a COVID-19 vaccine FAQ.

Department of State

The Department of State has authorized licensed pharmacists to delegate authority to administer COVID-19 vaccines to other licensed health care practitioners whose scope of practice includes the administration of injectable vaccines, such as LPNs, RNs, physicians, and physician assistants. Under ordinary circumstances pharmacists may only oversee other pharmacists and pharmacy interns involved in providing immunizations and may not delegate the task of immunization. This waiver applies solely to COVID-19 vaccines and lasts only for the duration of the governor’s disaster emergency declaration plus an additional 90 days thereafter, unless terminated sooner.

General Assembly

Efforts are under way in the state legislature to introduce bills creating a system of centralized registration for COVID-19 vaccines in Pennsylvania. Learn more from memos seeking co-sponsors for such legislation that are currently circulating in the state House and the state Senate.

Around the State

Last week’s snow delayed the shipment of vaccines around the state, including to Lehigh County and Allegheny County.
A 24-hour walk-in vaccination event in Philadelphia, open only to residents of selected zip codes, vaccinated more than 4000 people, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports
COVID-19 hospitalizations are declining in Allegheny County. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review explores why.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has updated its FAQ on Medicare COVID-19 billing issues with 13 new questions addressing vaccines, monoclonal antibody treatments, and ambulatory surgery centers functioning as acute-care hospitals during the public health emergency. The questions, all labeled “2/19/2021,” can be found on pages 27-28, 135-137, and 152-153.

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with an updated question about how applicants should set up an account of behalf of multiple subsidiaries as part of applying for a Phase 3 distribution. Find the updated question on page 42.

HHS and CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

HHS Clinical Rounds Peer-to-Peer Virtual Communities of Practice

HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response sponsors COVID-19 Clinical Rounds Peer-to-Peer Virtual Communities of Practice that are interactive virtual learning sessions that seek to create a peer-to-peer learning network in which clinicians from the U.S. and abroad who have experience treating patients with COVID-19 share their challenges and successes. These webinar topics are covered every week:

EMS: Patient Care and Operations (Mondays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
Critical Care: Lifesaving Treatment and Clinical Operations (Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
Emergency Department: Patient Care and Clinical Operations (Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)

Go here for information about signing up to participate in the sessions and go here for access to materials and video recordings of past sessions.

CMS Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information about the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the health care community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer participants an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls

Tuesday, February 23 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2528725

Tuesday, March 16 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4177586

Audio Webcast link: go here

Tuesday, April 6 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2769397

Audio Webcast link: go here

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has updated its toolkit for communicating with essential workers about the importance of receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC has updated its FAQ about COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC has updated its resources for communicating with different audiences about COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC has updated its data on COVID-19 variant cases in the U.S.
The CDC has updated its COVID-19 resources for people with disabilities.
The CDC has updated its COVID-19 resources for older adults.
The CDC has updated its collection of resources about COVID-19 for people with selected medical conditions

Food and Drug Administration

The FDA has published guidance for industry on the development of monoclonal antibody products targeting COVID-19, including emerging variants of COVID-19.

PA Safety Net Admin2021-02-23T08:41:04+00:00February 23rd, 2021|Uncategorized|Comments Off

Medicaid Enrollment Rises in PA

Medicaid enrollment among adults in Pennsylvania was up 13 percent in December over the previous December and up 14 percent in January over the previous January for adults, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and disabled individuals.

The increase has been driven by rising COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment that has cost many people their health insurance along with their jobs.

Learn more about the rising numbers – and the people behind them – in the Philadelphia Inquirer story “Medicaid enrollment soars as Americans lose jobs to pandemic: ‘I never thought I’d experience this.’”

PA Safety Net Admin2021-02-22T10:54:55+00:00February 22nd, 2021|Uncategorized|Comments Off

COVID-19 Update: Wednesday, February 17

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state government as of 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 17.

Department of Health

The Department of Health announced that some vaccine providers have inadvertently been administering second-dose Moderna vaccines as first doses. As a result, the requests the state has received for second-dose Moderna vaccines this week significantly exceeded the state’s allocation; 200,000 such Moderna second doses were requested. To address this issue and ensure that patients receive a second dose within the time frame recommended by CDC guidelines (minimum of 21 to 28 days and maximum of 42 days), the Department of Health is adjusting the timing of the second dose. In addition, it will decrease first-dose allocations to meet the increased second-dose demand. According to Acting Secretary Alison Beam, the administration of approximately 100,000 doses may be delayed. This only applies to the Moderna vaccine and does not apply to Philadelphia County. The situation and the state’s response to it are described in greater detail in this news release.
To help providers adjust to this problem, The Department of Health has updated formal guidance on the timing interval between COVID-19 vaccines, including instructions for vaccine providers to document instances when two doses of different vaccines are administered for any reason.
The Department of Health has issued an order that seeks to increase the rate of COVID-19 vaccinations in the state. Among other things, the order requires vaccine providers to administer 80 percent of the vaccine first doses they receive within seven days of receipt and to report regularly on their progress in administering those vaccines; to report to the state on their receipt of additional vaccines; and to establish online and telephone systems through which Pennsylvanians can make appointments to receive vaccines. Learn more from the Department of Health’s news release on the action, its order on vaccine administration, and its FAQ on the order.
Pharmacy partners are hosting three on-site clinics at all long-term-care facilities enrolled in the federal Pharmacy Partnership for Long-Term Care Program. The Department of Health has posted an FAQ to help facility administrators and providers prepare for residents and staff who may get their first COVID-19 vaccine dose at the third and final clinic.
The Department of Health has issued quarantine recommendations for individuals exposed to COVID-19 after receiving a vaccination.
The Department of Health has terminated its March 26, 2020 order requiring ambulatory surgical facilities to make daily reports of specific data on supplies and equipment.
The Department of Health is temporarily suspending the requirement for new employees of long-term-care facilities to have a two-step tuberculosis skin test prior to beginning employment so that the skin test will not interfere with planning for the employee’s COVID-19 vaccination or delay employment. See the additional information posted on the Department of Health message board.

Department of Health – by the numbers

The number of new daily cases has continued to decline in recent days but today the state passed the 900,000 mark for total COVID-19 cases.
The daily death toll remains high but shows clear signs of declining. More than 23,000 Pennsylvanians have now died from the virus.
More than 24,000 health care workers in Pennsylvania have contracted COVID-19, as have more than 78,000 residents and employees of long-term-care facilities across the state.
For the week from February 5 through February 11 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate fell to 8.0 percent; it was 8.6 percent the week before that. This marked the eighth consecutive week the rate fell.
51 counties are currently in “substantial levels of community transmissions,” the lowest number this winter and down from 59 a week ago. Three counties are now in low levels of community transmission, up from just one a week ago, and 15 are in moderate levels of community transmission, up from seven a week ago. Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, the two largest in the state, continue to experience high levels of community transmission.
The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 is just 40 percent of what it was at the beginning of the year; the number in hospital ICUs is 40 percent of what it was at the beginning of the year; and the number on ventilators is 39 percent.Currently, 21 percent of adult ICU beds in the state are unoccupied, as are 17 percent of medical/surgical beds, nine percent of pediatric ICU beds, 26 percent of pediatric beds, and 35 percent of airborne isolation units.
As of February 17 the state’s vaccine dashboard shows that 877,000 Pennsylvanians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 436,000 have received both doses of vaccine. These numbers do not include Philadelphia, which operates its own COVID-19 vaccination program.
The vaccine dashboard shows vaccine totals by county.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

PA Safety Net Admin2021-02-18T06:00:47+00:00February 18th, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off

COVID-19 Update: Thursday, February 11

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 11.

Pennsylvania Update

The Wolf Administration

Governor Wolf has created a COVID-19 Vaccine Joint Task Force with administration representatives and “…members from each legislative caucus who can share vaccine information and communicate issues and solutions expediently on behalf of and to the broader General Assembly.” According to a news release from the governor’s office, “Task force members will represent their caucus’s point-of-view and work to streamline conversations to focus and drive issues of importance. Wolf Administration members will serve as task force members with the subject matter expertise to listen, collaborate and provide information, answers and suggestions to solve problems in a timely manner.” Members of the task force are co-chairs Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam and director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Randy Padfield; for the Senate Democratic caucus, Senator Art Haywood; for the House Democratic caucus, Representative Bridget Kosierowski; for the Senate Republican caucus, Senator Ryan Aument; and for the House Republican caucus, Representative Tim O’Neal.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has updated its guide to getting the COVID-19 vaccine, which now includes a “Your Turn” feature to help Pennsylvanians learn when they will be eligible to receive a vaccine.

Department of Health – by the numbers

The number of new daily cases has continued to decline in recent days.
The daily death toll remains very high although it, too, is generally declining.
The numbers of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19, in ICU beds because of the virus, and on ventilators are all about 60 percent of what they were three weeks ago.
Currently, 21 percent of adult ICU beds in the state are unoccupied, as are 16 percent of medical/surgical beds, 11 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 26 percent of pediatric beds, and 34 percent of airborne isolation units. As is usually the case, these numbers tend to decline later in the week.
As of February 11 the state’s vaccine dashboard shows that 791,000 Pennsylvanians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 335,000 have received both doses of vaccine. These numbers do not include Philadelphia, which operates its own COVID-19 vaccination program.
The vaccine dashboard shows vaccine totals by county.

Department of State

To expand the number of health care professionals who can administer COVID-19 vaccines, the Department of State has temporarily suspended certain licensure requirements to enable practitioners from other states to administer COVID-19 vaccines without licensure in Pennsylvania provided that they hold a license in good standing in their home jurisdiction and meet the requirements of the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act

Around the State

Despite the declining number of new COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania, on Tuesday Allegheny County reported more new cases – 405 – than it had on any day during the previous two weeks, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
More the norm is the situation in Westmoreland County, which has been a COVID-19 hotspot in recent months but is now averaging only about 30 percent of the new cases it was a month ago, the Tribune-Review adds.
During the week of February 3, Montour County led Pennsylvania in COVID-19 vaccines administered per 1000 population with 79, followed by Cameron County (56 per 1000 population), Lackawanna (50), Northumberland (45), and Columbia (45). Pulling up the rear in the state were Pike County (14), Bradford County (13), Fulton County (10), and Potter County (6). The information, from Lancaster Online, does not include Philadelphia, which operates its own vaccination and data collection program. The following is a complete list:

County	Shots per 1,000 people Feb. 3-9
Montour	79
Cameron	56
Lackawanna	50
Northumberland	46
Columbia	45
Centre	42
Luzerne	41
Forest	41
Butler	38
Clarion	38
Mercer	37
Lehigh	37
Northampton	36
Sullivan	36
Armstrong	35
Mifflin	34
Union	34
Juniata	32
Huntingdon	31
Jefferson	31
Schuylkill	31
Lycoming	31
Clinton	30
Wayne	30
Blair	29
Clearfield	29
Westmoreland	29
Allegheny	28
Crawford	28
Wyoming	28
Carbon	27
Cambria	27
Snyder	27
Elk	26
Delaware	26
Montgomery	26
Franklin	26
Lancaster	25
Susquehanna	25
Lawrence	25
Greene	25
Cumberland	23
Erie	23
Bucks	23
Fayette	22
Chester	22
Washington	21
Indiana	21
York	21
Tioga	21
Warren	21
Somerset	19
McKean	19
Berks	19
Monroe	18
Lebanon	17
Venango	17
Dauphin	16
Beaver	16
Bedford	16
Adams	15
Perry	15
Pike	14
Bradford	13
Fulton	10
Potter	6

The National Football League has offered the stadiums of all of its teams to serve as mass vaccination sites. This idea has been received with limited enthusiasm in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

Federal Update

The White House

The White House has announced the membership of its COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. See this White House fact sheet to learn more about the task force, its objectives, and its members.
The White House has announced the introduction of a community health center vaccination program next week, with doses of vaccines to be sent directly to such facilities, and an increase in the supply of vaccines to be shared with states, tribes, and territories. Learn more from a White House fact sheet.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act requires Medicare Part B to cover beneficiary cost-sharing for provider visits when a COVID-19 diagnostic test is administered or ordered. CMS has updated the list of codes (note: this link leads to a zip file that can be downloaded) that physicians and non-physician practitioners can use with the Cost-Sharing (CS) modifier. Go here to learn more.
CMS has revised the MLN Matters article “Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) Response to the Public Health Emergency on the Coronavirus (COVID-19)” to clarify billing instructions in the skilled nursing facility benefit period waiver – provider information section.
CMS has modified the previously extended deadline for third quarter 2020 submission of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) data and extended the submission deadline for electronic clinical quality measures for acute-care hospitals and prospective payment system-exempt cancer hospitals. Learn more about how this affects specific reporting requirements and their changing deadlines.

HHS and CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

HHS Clinical Rounds Peer-to-Peer Virtual Communities of Practice

HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response sponsors COVID-19 Clinical Rounds Peer-to-Peer Virtual Communities of Practice that are interactive virtual learning sessions that seek to create a peer-to-peer learning network in which clinicians from the U.S. and abroad who have experience treating patients with COVID-19 share their challenges and successes. These webinar topics are covered every week:

EMS: Patient Care and Operations (Mondays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
Critical Care: Lifesaving Treatment and Clinical Operations (Tuesdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)
Emergency Department: Patient Care and Clinical Operations (Thursdays, 12:00-1:00 PM eastern)

Go here for information about signing up to participate in the sessions and go here for access to materials and video recordings of past sessions.

CMS Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information about the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the health care community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer participants an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls

Tuesday, February 23 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2528725

Audio Webcast link: go here

Tuesday, March 16 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4177586

Audio Webcast link: go here

Tuesday, April 6 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2769397

Audio Webcast link: go here

Food and Drug Administration

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for bamlanivimab and etesevimab administered together for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age or older weighing at least 40 kilograms [about 88 pounds]) who test positive for COVID-19 and who are at high risk for progressing to severe COVID-19. The authorized use includes treatment for those who are 65 years of age or older or who have certain chronic medical conditions. Learn more from:
- the emergency use authorization letter issued by the FDA to the manufacturer of the two monoclonal antibodies
- an FDA fact sheet for providers
- an FDA FAQ on use of the two drugs in combination
- an FDA fact sheet for patients, providers, and caregivers

The FDA has issued a final guidance document presenting its policy for temporary compounding of certain alcohol-based hand sanitizer products during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has published a checklist with steps health care workers should take in preparation for the transport and arrival of patients with confirmed or possible COVID-19.
The CDC has updated its interim infection prevention and control guidance for health care workers during the COVID-19 emergency.
The CDC has again updated its recommended strategies for optimizing supplies of N95 respirators.
The CDC has introduced several documents that seek to encourage the use of masks to protect against COVID-19 and to use masks more effectively. Those documents are:
- an updated summary of why and how to wear masks
- information about the results of new research on how to improve the fit of cloth and medical procedures masks to improve their ability to reduce exposure to COVID-19
- a consumer-oriented document that offers updated information about using masks more effectively. This is the document that suggests wearing two masks as an option for greater protection.
- Another consumer-oriented, updated guidance document on wearing masks.

PA Safety Net Admin2021-02-12T06:00:08+00:00February 12th, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off

COVID-19 Update: Monday, February 9

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:30 P.M. on Monday, February 8, 2021.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has issued a health advisory with updates on the current COVID-19 variants and public health measures to take when a variant case is suspected or identified.
The Department of Health has published an update on COVID-19 vaccinations in Pennsylvania.
The Department of Health has published a summary of its contact tracing activity during the last week of January.
Last April the state legislature passed a COVID-19 bill that included a provision permitting direct support professionals who support individuals with intellectual disabilities/autism to accompany those individuals when they are hospitalized. On one of its message boards the Department of Health explains that “It has come to the Department’s attention that some facilities may not be adhering to this guidance… We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.” The department posted a brief description of the issue and the results of a survey documenting the extent of the problem.
Last April the state legislature passed a COVID-19 bill that included a provision permitting direct support professionals who support individuals with intellectual disabilities/autism to accompany those individuals when they are hospitalized. On one of its message boards the Department of Health explains that “It has come to the Department’s attention that some facilities may not be adhering to this guidance… We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.” The department posted a brief description of the issue and the results of a survey documenting the extent of the problem.

Department of Health – by the numbers

The number of new daily cases has continued to decline in the past week but remains more than twice the daily highs recorded in the spring.
The daily death toll remains very high, although not as high as three weeks ago.
For the week from January 29 through February 4 the state’s overall COVID-19 test positivity rate fell to 8.6 percent; it was 9.3 percent the week before that. This marked the seventh consecutive week the rate fell.
For the first time in several months, three counties have positivity rates less than five percent and no counties have positivity rates greater than 20 percent.
59 counties are currently in “substantial levels of community transmissions,” the smallest number this winter. One county – Cameron – is in a low level of community transmission and seven are in moderate levels of community transmission: Armstrong, Bedford, Cambria, Elk, Indiana, Westmoreland, and Wyoming.
The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 is just 60 percent of what it was in mid-January; the number in hospital ICUs, 63 percent; and the number on ventilators, 59 percent.
Currently, 23 percent of adult ICU beds in the state are unoccupied, as are 19 percent of medical/surgical beds, 16 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 31 percent of pediatric beds, and 35 percent of airborne isolation units.
As of February 8 the state’s vaccine dashboard shows that 726,000 Pennsylvanians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 287,000 have received both doses of vaccine. These numbers do not include Philadelphia, which operates its own COVID-19 vaccination program.
The vaccine dashboard shows vaccine totals by county.

Department of State

The Department of State has issued a waiver that permits licensed volunteers under the State Board of Medicine, the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine, and the State Board of Nursing to administer vaccinations in settings that fall outside the definition of “approved clinic,” including community-based primary-care clinics and clinics in medically underserved areas and state and federally qualified health centers. See the waiver announcement here.
The Department of State has suspended certain state licensing requirements to enable physicians and nurses whose Pennsylvania licenses lapsed, expired, or were inactive within the last five years to administer COVID-19 vaccines. They will be permitted to do so without reactivating or renewing their licenses provided that they meet the specific qualification requirements and that, at the time of their licenses’ expiration, they were active and in good standing.
The Department of State has issued a waiver so that medical students, functioning as “clinical clerks” and not necessarily in hospitals to which they have been assigned, may “…assist in administering COVID-19 vaccinations…” when doing so under carefully defined supervision.
The Department of State has expanded a previous, temporary measure permitting licensed pharmacists and registered pharmacy interns to administer COVID-19 vaccines to persons younger than 18 years of age to enable those individuals to administer COVID-19 vaccines to individuals who are 16 and 17 years old as well. See the department’s notice here.
The Department of State’s Board of Dentistry announced that it will continue to temporarily waive the live-patient aspect of the dental hygienist clinical examination and accept instead the results of an alternative, the ADEX Manikin (non-patient) Examination.

Around the State

Elderly residents of rural Pennsylvania counties face challenges in getting COVID-19 vaccines. Spotlight PA reports.
A bill in the state legislature proposes engaging the Pennsylvania National Guard in the effort to advance the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the state. The Allentown Morning Call tells the story.
Alison Beam, nominated by Governor Wolf to be the state’s next Secretary of Health, met last week with the editorial board of the Harrisburg Patriot-News to discuss the state of Pennsylvania’s effort to administer COVID-19 vaccines. Watch a video of that meeting.

Resources to Consult

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services

Main COVID-19 Page

COVID-19 Provider Resources

Press Releases

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Main COVID-19 Page

PA Health Alert Network

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

PA Safety Net Admin2021-02-09T09:44:34+00:00February 9th, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off

SNAP Asks PA Delegation for Help From COVID-19 Relief Bill

The next federal COVID-19 relief bill should include more resources for the Provider Relief Fund, SNAP has told members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logo The bill also should include additional targeted funding for safety-net hospitals, help with staffing, an extension of the current moratorium on the Medicare sequestration, and forgiveness for safety-net hospitals for loans they received under the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program.

This was the message the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania conveyed last week in a letter to members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation. See that letter here.

PA Safety Net Admin2021-02-05T17:20:29+00:00February 5th, 2021|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Federal Medicaid issues, Medicare|Comments Off

SNAP Asks PA Delegation for Help in Next COVID-19 Relief Bill (Letter)

SNAP has asked members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to pursue more resources for the Provider Relief Fund, additional targeted funding for safety-net hospitals, help with staffing, an extension of the moratorium on the Medicare sequestration, and forgiveness for safety-net hospitals for loans they received under the Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment Program in the COVID-19 relief bill Congress is currently pursuing.

PA Safety Net Admin2021-05-27T15:08:15+00:00February 5th, 2021|Advocacy|Comments Off

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