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SNAP Asks PA Congressional Delegation to Help Fight Cuts to 340B Program (Letter)

SNAP asked members of PA’s congressional delegation to sign a bipartisan letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Azar asking the Secretary to prevent pharmaceutical companies from denying access to discounted prescription drugs made available through the federal section 340B prescription drug discount program.

2021-05-27T14:13:55+00:00September 9th, 2020|Advocacy|Comments Off on SNAP Asks PA Congressional Delegation to Help Fight Cuts to 340B Program (Letter)
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COVID-19 Update: Friday, September 4

The following is the latest coronavirus information from the state and federal governments as of 1:30 p.m. on Friday, September 4.

Pennsylvania Update

Independent Fiscal Office

The Independent Fiscal Office reports that Pennsylvania collected $2.55 billion in General Fund revenue for August, an increase of $355.5 million (16.2 percent) over August 2019 collections.  The IFO estimates that roughly $235 million of the $355.5 million increase was associated with extended tax due dates related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Personal income tax revenue, sales, use, and hotel occupancy revenue, and corporate net income tax revenue all exceeded estimates.  See the IFO’s full August report here.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has revised its guidance for skilled nursing facilities with a recommended testing plan for facilities not experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak, safe access for compassionate care, access to the facility for resident advocates, and a revised timeline for lifting restrictions after a mitigated outbreak.  See a news release describing the new guidance and go here to see the guidance itself.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • In the past three days the number of COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania surpassed 135,000 and the number of COVID-19 deaths rose past 7700.
  • Thursday marked the first time since late July that the state registered more than 1000 new cases in a single day.
  • Despite this, the number of Pennsylvanians currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is, with one exception, lower than it has been since before June.
  • Fewer of these patients are on ventilators today than at any time in the past three months.
  • More than 9800 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • More than 21,300 residents of long-term-care facilities and 4600 people who work in those facilities have contracted COVID-19 in 942 such facilities in 61 of the state’s 67 counties.
  • 26 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are  22 percent of adult ICU beds, 15 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 38 percent of pediatric beds, and 41 percent of airborne isolation rooms.

Department of State

Because of the challenges of finding continuing education opportunities to fulfill professional requirements during the COVID-19 emergency, the Department of State has authorized the granting of continuing education credits for nursing home administrators, physical therapists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, speech language pathologists, and audiologists who serve as poll workers in this November’s election.  See the Department of State notice here.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund

  • Reminder: Applications are currently open for Phase 2 general distribution funding for Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), dental providers, certain Medicare providers, and assisted living facilities.  All groups have until September 13, 2020 to submit their tax identification number for validation and apply for funding from the phase 2 general distribution.  Go here for more information.
  • HHS announced that assisted living facilities may apply for funding under the Provider Relief Fund phase 2 general distribution allocation. Go here to see HHS’s announcement.
  • HHS has announced some of the details of an upcoming $2 billion Provider Relief Fund performance-based incentive payment distribution to nursing homes. HHS will measure nursing homes against a baseline level of infection in the community where individual facilities are located.  Learn more from HHS’s announcement of this distribution.
  • HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with new and modified questions.
    • Changes marked 9/1/2020 can be found on pages 22, 23, 29, and 32. The new information focuses largely on the newly announced distribution for assisted living facilities, criteria for eligibility, and applying to participate in the distribution.
    • One change, marked 9/2/2020 and on page 23, describes how HHS identified assisted living facilities that are eligible to receive distributions from the Provider Relief Fund.
    • Five changes, marked 9/3/2020 and found on pages 2, 9, and 17, address HHS requests for additional financial information, how to report Provider Relief Fund grants on Medicare cost reports, and the responsibility of parent organizations to send to their subsidiaries grants intended for those subsidiaries.

Find all of these changes in the Provider Relief Fund FAQ.

American Medical Association

The American Medical Association has updated codes and guidelines for office and other outpatient evaluation and management (E/M) services. Some of the changes were introduced earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 emergency.  The AMA has recommended to CMS that it implement these changes on January 1, 2021.  Learn more in this AMA news release.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

  • CMS has updated the article “Quarterly Update for Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule and Laboratory Services Subject to Reasonable Charge Payment” in its online publication MLN Matters to reflect an update that includes additional COVID-19 codes. Some of those codes took effect on August 10 and others take effect on October 1.
  • CMS has updated the article “Update to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) Diagnosis Codes for Vaping Related Disorder and Diagnosis and Procedure Codes for the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)” in its online publication MLN Matters to include new procedure codes.

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food and Drug Administration

The FDA has issued guidance to health care providers on the use of convalescent plasma for treating patients with COVID-19.

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

(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at   info@pasafetynet.org.)

2020-09-08T06:00:08+00:00September 8th, 2020|COVID-19, DSH hospitals|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Friday, September 4
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COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, September 1

The following is the latest coronavirus information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 1.

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf has signed a second renewal of his 90-day disaster declaration for the COVID-19 pandemic.  This declaration provides for increased support for state agencies involved in the continued response to the virus and recovery during reopening, including expediting supply procurement and lifting certain regulations to allow for efficient and effective mitigation.  The disaster declaration also has facilitated waivers and extensions to support Pennsylvanians, Pennsylvania businesses, and Pennsylvania caregivers during the pandemic.  Learn more from the governor’s news release announcing the signing and see the emergency declaration itself.

Governor Wolf asked the General Assembly to pass legislation for paid sick and family leave for workers who need to miss work for an illness or to take care of a loved one.  Such leave could be used to recover from an illness, such as COVID-19, for medical appointments, to care for a family member, or to seek help from abuse or violence.

Department of Human Services/Department of Health

Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller and Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine announced that all assisted living residences, personal care homes, and private intermediate-care facilities in the state have completed universal baseline COVID-19 testing.  One hundred percent of the 1363 DHS-licensed personal care homes, assisted living residences, and private intermediate-care facilities in Pennsylvania completed universal baseline testing by the August 31 deadline.  This effort was assisted by the Regional Response Health Collaborative (RRHC) Program launched in late July to provide clinical support, technical assistance, and education to long-term-care facilities as they work to prevent and mitigate spread of COVID-19.  Learn more from this Wolf administration news release.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The weekly COVID-19 status report released by Governor Wolf and the Department of Health found 353 fewer new cases of COVID-19 during the week of August 21-27 than during the week of August 14-20.
  • The rate of positive tests declined from 3.4 percent to 3.2 percent, the fifth consecutive week the rate has declined.
  • Counties that still have troubling positive test rates are Columbia (13.5 percent), Armstrong (8.3 percent), Perry (6.9 percent), Northumberland (6.7 percent), Potter (5.9 percent), Beaver (5.7 percent), Dauphin (5.3 percent), Fulton (5.3 percent), and York (5.0 percent).
  • The past week saw 20 percent fewer COVID-19 deaths in Pennsylvania than the previous week.
  • The state’s contact tracing efforts found that 50 percent of the people who had new cases of COVID-19 and who also reported visiting a business during the previous two weeks said they visited a restaurant, 12 percent said they had visited a bar, 12 percent said they visited a gym or fitness center, and nine percent said they visited a salon or barber shop.
  • More than 9600 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 and on ventilators declined slightly in the past week.
  • 24 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are  25 percent of adult ICU beds, 17 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 37 percent of pediatric beds, and 43 percent of airborne isolation rooms.

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

(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at   info@pasafetynet.org.)

2020-09-02T06:00:24+00:00September 2nd, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, September 1
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COVID-19 Update: Friday, August 28

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 2:00 p.m. on Friday, August 28.
Governor Wolf
Governor Wolf announced that the state is awarding $10 million in grants to 23 recipients to support the rapid advancement of vaccines, treatments, and therapies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Find a list of grant recipients here.
Governor Wolf announced that the state will distribute more than $117 million in CARES Act funding to child care providers across Pennsylvania.
Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained generally steady for the past two weeks, although today’s figure is the highest in nearly two weeks.
  • COVID-19 death totals continue to fluctuate from day to day.
  • More than 9500 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 is higher than it was a week ago.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians on ventilators has generally been declining but is up in recent days.
  • More than 25,000 residents and staff of 925 long-term-care facilities in 61 of the state’s 67 counties have now contracted COVID-19.
  • 22 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are  24 percent of adult ICU beds, 13 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 36 percent of pediatric beds, and 43 percent of airborne isolation rooms.

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
(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at   info@pasafetynet.org.)

2020-08-31T15:36:29+00:00August 31st, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Friday, August 28
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CMS Provides Guidance on Medicaid DSH Calculations

State Medicaid program accounting for hospital uncompensated care when calculating hospital-specific Medicaid disproportionate share limits is the subject of new guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

In the guidance, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services explains that because of several court rulings, states can decide for themselves whether to offset third-party payer payments from costs in their Medicaid DSH calculations for periods prior to June 2, 2017 but that beginning with that date,  CMS will enforce its own interpretation of the policy.

In new guidance, CMS presents two methodologies for accounting for its mid-year policy change and reminds stakeholders about its new methodology for calculations after June 2, 2017. Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services and its Office of Medical Assistance Programs have not yet indicated how they will respond to the options CMS has presented.

Learn more from this Medicaid notice and from its accompanying CMS informational bulletin “Treatment of Third Party Payers (TPP) in Calculating Uncompensated Care Costs (UCC).”

2020-08-31T19:55:39+00:00August 27th, 2020|Federal Medicaid issues, Pennsylvania Medicaid, Pennsylvania Medicaid policy|Comments Off on CMS Provides Guidance on Medicaid DSH Calculations
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COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, August 25

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25.

Governor Wolf

  • Governor Wolf has presented his fall legislative agenda.  Among his proposals, he called for $225 million for hazard pay for frontline workers; $10 million for a personal protective equipment reimbursement program for small businesses; and $250 million for child care for families with school-age children in need of care because of blended or remote in-person instruction models.  Learn more about these and other aspects of the governor’s proposal here.
  • Senate and House Republican leaders responded to the governor’s accusation that they have ignored the public health crisis and thwarted Democratic legislators’ efforts to fight for progress to protect families and business.  Senate majority leader Corman  R (Centre, Huntingdon, Mifflin, and Juniata) called the governor’s fall agenda a “political document” and stated that Governor Wolf, a Democrat, is more interested in providing political cover for Senate and House Democrats in the upcoming election than he is in governing and working with the legislature.  House majority leader Benninghoff (R-Centre and Mifflin) labeled the governor’s agenda disingenuous and unaffordable.
  • Governor Wolf announced that Pennsylvania will apply to participate in the federal Lost Wages Assistance program to gain funding for an additional $300 a week in supplemental payments for some Pennsylvanians receiving unemployment benefits.
  • The governor’s office posted his weekly COVID-19 status update.  Highlights include:
    • A decline in the state’s positivity rate for COVID-19 tests, from 4.0 percent to 3.4 percent, marking the fourth consecutive week that rate has declined.
    • A 20 percent decline in new COVID-19 cases from the previous week.

The weekly report also includes information about the state’s contact tracing efforts.  Learn more here, in the governor’s news release.  A separate Department of Health news release also addresses the state’s contact tracing work.

Department of Health

  • The Department of Health has unveiled “CATE” (Community-Accessible Testing and Education”), a recreational vehicle that has been equipped as a mobile COVID-19 testing and education unit that will travel the state offering free COVID-19 tests and education in medically underserved communities in 16 counties.  Established and operated by the organization Latino Connection, staffed by the Welsh Mountain Health Centers, and funded in part by the state, Highmark, and Independence Blue Cross, CATE has more than 30 stops scheduled during September, the first half of them in the Philadelphia area and then moving westward across the state.  Appointments are not needed and CATE’s tests will be performed by the state’s lab in Exton, which is producing results in 24 to 48 hours.  Learn more about CATE, its origins, and its scheduled stops in this Department of Health news release and by visiting the CATE web site.
  • At a news conference Secretary Levine reported that the major backlog of COVID-19 test results has eased.  LabCorp and Quest are now reporting results in two to three days and hospitals and smaller labs are now generally turning around tests in 24 to 48 hours, as is the state’s own lab.  The biggest challenge to access to testing, she said, continues to be access to the reagents used for testing.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has been declining for the past two weeks.  As noted above, the total of new cases declined 20 percent last week in comparison to the previous week.
  • The state’s total number of COVID-19 cases just surpassed 130,000.
  • COVID-19 death totals fluctuate considerably from day to day, with the total number of deaths now surpassing 7600.
  • Nearly 9400 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 has declined slowly but steadily over the past month but has spiked modestly in recent days.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians on ventilators also has been declining, although more slowly than the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19.
  • More than 25,000 residents and staff of 922 long-term-care facilities in 61 of the state’s 67 counties have now contracted COVID-19.
  • 22 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are  26 percent of adult ICU beds, 23 of pediatric ICU beds, 38 percent of pediatric beds, and 43 percent of airborne isolation rooms.

Department of Human Services

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

 

2020-08-26T06:00:16+00:00August 26th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, August 25
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COVID-19 Update: Friday, August 21

The following is the latest information from the state and federal governments as of 2:30 p.m. on Friday, August 21.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health 

Earlier this week, the Department of Health announced a pilot program for a new COVID-19 exposure mobile app.  In an effort to support the commonwealth’s contact tracing efforts, COVID Alert PA will be available for smartphone downloads beginning in September.  The department is partnering with a number of institutions to develop the mobile app, which will alert users when they have come in close contact with a COVID-19-positive person.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained relatively steady for the past three weeks.
  • The department continues to report that the number of cases among people between the ages of 19 and 24 exceeds those among people between the ages of 50 and 64 and those 65 years of age and older.  The number of cases among those between 19 and 24 is nearly 38 percent of the total positive tests.
  • More than 9,200 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The number of COVID-19-caused deaths in Pennsylvania is 7,558. Of these deaths, 5,121 have been nursing facility or personal care home residents.
  • The number of long-term-care facility residents and staff who have contracted COVID-19 now surpasses 24,930.  These cases have occurred in 910 such facilities in 61 of the state’s 67 counties.

 Department of Human Services

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) announced that it has received approval from CMS to allow certain services provided under the Consolidated, Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS), Community Living Waivers (ID/A Waivers) and the Adult Autism Waiver (AAW) waivers to be provided in hospital settings regardless of the reason for hospitalization. ODP will be submitting waiver amendments soon to ensuret hat these changes remain effective after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 

  • CMS had updated its COVID-19 emergency declaration blanket waivers and flexibilities for health care providers. CMS has postponed the September 1, 2020 deadline to submit applications for wage index reclassification to the Medicare Geographic Classification Review Board. The deadline has been pushed back until 15 days after the public display date of the FY 2021 IPPS/LTCH final rule by the Office of the Federal Register. See page 10 for details.
  • CMS has updated its memorandum on key components for  COVID-19 management in dialysis facilities. This update clarifies CMS guidance on dialysis facility patients residing in long-term-care facilities, home dialysis services, and essential procedures for dialysis patients.  View checklist for dialysis facilities here.

Food and Drug Administration

The FDA has issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for emergency use of a commercial test to detect nucleocapsid protein antigen to COVID-19 directly from nasal swab specimens collected from individuals who are suspected of COVID-19 by their health care provider within the first 12 days of the onset of symptoms. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

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

(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at info@pasafetynet.org.)

2020-08-24T06:00:14+00:00August 24th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Friday, August 21
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COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, August 18

The following is the latest coronavirus information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 18.

Wolf Administration

The Wolf Administration has awarded $50 million in hazard pay grants for front-line workers in life-sustaining industries.  The program, funded through CARES Act money appropriated to the Department of Community and Economic Development, was announced in mid-July in an effort to keep front-line workers working across the commonwealth.  Click here to read the full press release and here to view a list of grant recipients.

 Department of Health 

Department of Health – by the numbers 

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained relatively steady for the past two weeks:  fewer than late July and more like the beginning of last month.
  • The department continues to report that the number of cases among people between the ages of 19 and 24 exceeds those among people between the ages of 50 and 64 and those 65 years of age and older.  The number of cases among those between 19 and 24 is rising in every part of the state.
  • More than 8,997 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The number of COVID-19-caused deaths in Pennsylvania is nearing 7,500.
  • The number of long-term-care facility residents and staff who have contracted COVID-19 now exceeds 24,700.  These cases have occurred in 899 such facilities in 61 of the state’s 67 counties. 

Department of Human Services 

The Department of Human Services has temporarily suspended certain regulatory requirements for the continued and uninterrupted delivery of behavioral health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Go here for a complete list of the regulatory suspensions issued by the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to date.

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

(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at   info@pasafetynet.org.)

2020-08-19T06:00:16+00:00August 19th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, August 18
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COVID-19 Update: Friday, August 14

The following is the latest coronavirus information from the state and federal governments as of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, August 14.

Pennsylvania Update

Wolf Administration

The Wolf administration’s COVID-19 Response Task Force for Health Disparity, created in April and led by Lieutenant Governor Fetterman, has presented its report to the governor.  The report includes recommendations on health disparities addressing housing, criminal justice, food insecurity, health disparity, education and economic opportunities.  Learn more from “Pennsylvania COVID-19 Response Task Force: Health Disparity:  Policy Recommendation Report.”

Department of Health

The Department of Health has published its July report summarizing its inspections of nursing homes.  The department’s surveyors conducted 330 nursing home inspections, 295 of them resulting from complaints; 227 of those complaints were COVID-19-related.  Learn more from the department’s news release describing its July inspections and its inspection report.

The departments of Health and Aging warned Pennsylvanians about contact tracing scams.  Learn more from their news release on such scams.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained relatively steady for the past two weeks:  fewer than late July and more like the beginning of last month.
  • The department reports that the number of cases among people between the ages of 19 and 24 now exceeds those among people between the ages of 50 and 64 and those 65 years of age and older.  The number of cases among those between 19 and 24 is rising in every part of the state.
  • More than 8600 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The number of COVID-19-caused deaths in Pennsylvania over the past four days has been higher than at any time in the past six weeks.
  • The number of long-term-care facility residents and staff who have contracted COVID-19 now approaches 24,500.  These cases have occurred in 890 such facilities in 61 of the state’s 67 counties.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 and those breathing with the help of mechanical assistance have remained relatively steady over the past week.
  • 20 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are  25 percent of adult ICU beds, 12 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 39 percent of pediatric beds, and 42 percent of airborne isolation rooms.
  • Pennsylvania has experienced 42 confirmed cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).  Another 19 cases are currently under investigation and 12 suspected cases were found not to be MIS-C.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund

HHS announced that it will distribute $1.4 billion in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund grants to nearly 80 free-standing children’s hospitals.  Qualifying children’s hospitals must be either an exempt hospital under CMS’s Medicare inpatient prospective payment system or be a HRSA-defined Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education facility.  Eligible hospitals will receive 2.5 percent of their net revenue from patient care.  Qualifying free-standing children’s hospitals will begin receiving grants next week.  Learn more from this HHS news release.

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS is giving $6.5 million to two commercial diagnostic laboratories to expand capacity to conduct up to four million additional COVID-19 tests a month.  That capacity increase should be seen in early October.  Learn more from this HHS news release.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

The CMS online publication MLN Matters features the article “Quarterly Update for Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule and Laboratory Services Subject to Reasonable Charge Payment” for clinical diagnostic laboratories that seek reimbursement for services provided to Medicare patients.  The article includes policy updates on payments for COVID-19 specimen collection, ordering requirements for tests, coverage for serology tests, payments for tests processed with high-throughput technologies, and more as well as fees and new billing codes.  Find it here.  The American Medical Association also has published a special report on new COVID-19 CPT coding.  Find it here.

Food and Drug Administration

  • The FDA has established a new web page with information about importing certain medical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic.  It describes procedures for importing devices that have been issued emergency use authorizations and for devices for which an enforcement discretion policy has been published in guidance.
  • The FDA recently cleared for marketing in the United States a surgical gown (K200977) and three polymer patient examination gloves (K201530, K201531, K193666).  These gloves and gowns are intended to be worn for medical purposes to provide a barrier against potentially infectious materials and other contaminants, including for use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The FDA has issued emergency use authorization for commercial equipment that provides continuous renal replacement therapy to treat low weight and low blood volume patients or patients who have acute renal failure, fluid overload, or both as a result of COVID-19 and who cannot tolerate a larger extracorporeal circuit volume in an acute-care environment.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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

(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at   info@pasafetynet.org.)

2020-08-17T06:00:23+00:00August 17th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Friday, August 14
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COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, August 11

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11.

Pennsylvania Update

Wolf Administration

Harrisburg, PA capital buildingIn a message to families in anticipation of a new school year, the Wolf administration stressed the importance of children receiving their required childhood vaccinations but reminded Pennsylvanians that the Department of Health has temporarily suspended its requirements for children’s immunizations for two months after the beginning of the school year or the beginning of enrollment in an early childhood education program.  See the Wolf administration’s news release on this subject here and Department of Health notice about the temporary policy suspension here.

Department of Health

  • The Department of Health addressed a provider question about direct care worker exposure to a COVID-19-positive patient in last week’s weekly wrap-up document, stating that anyone who has had prolonged close contact (within six feet for at least 15 minutes) with an individual who tests positive should be considered potentially exposed regardless of the personal protective equipment worn by either the worker or the patient.
  • A posting on the department’s message board provided guidance for hospitals on how to comply with the requirement for an annual public meeting of the governing body in 28 Pa. Code §103.3(10)(iii) during the public health emergency.  That posting explained that

For purposes of a compliance with 28 Pa. Code §103.3(10)(iii), the Department has interpreted the term “attend” to include virtual attendance by the general public and the governing body through the use of audio-video technology.  A hospital choosing to conduct its annual public meeting virtually must still publicize the meeting information well in advance of the meeting and establish a mechanism to document attendance at the meeting.  A hospital does not need approval from the Department to conduct a virtual meeting under 28 Pa. Code §103.3(10)(iii) but must be able to provide documentation of the advance notice and attendance upon request.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has remained relatively steady for the past week:  fewer than late July and more like the beginning of last month.  Today’s new cases brought the state-wide count to more than 120,000 since the beginning of the pandemic.
  • The number of COVID-19-caused deaths has generally been down except for two days in the past week that had the highest death totals since July 1.  Yesterday the state’s total death count from COVID-19 surpassed 7300.
  • A report issued jointly by Governor Wolf and the Department of Health late last week noted that the state-wide positive COVID-19 test rate declined to 4.1 percent from 4.6 percent last week.  Counties with concerning positive test rates include Union (11.8 percent), Indiana (7.9 percent), Fayette (7.7 percent), Fulton (7.4 percent), Huntingdon (6.7 percent), Erie (6.2 percent), Mercer (6.2 percent), Lawrence (6.0 percent), Northumberland (6.0 percent), York (5.8 percent), Clearfield (5.7 percent), Luzerne (5.4 percent), Juniata (5.3 percent), Lancaster (5.3 percent), Beaver (5.2 percent), Delaware (5.2 percent), and Mifflin (5.0 percent).
  • The number of long-term-care facility residents and staff who have contracted COVID-19 recently rose past the 24,000 mark.
  • As has been the case for more than two months, 68 percent of the state’s COVID-19 deaths have been among elderly residents of long-term-care facilities.
  • The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 and breathing with the help of mechanical assistance continues to decline slowly.
  • 22 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are  24 percent of adult ICU beds, 15 percent of pediatric ICU beds, 41 percent of pediatric beds, and 43 percent of airborne isolation rooms.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund

  • Eligible providers may now apply for Provider Relief Fund phase 2 general distributions. These are providers that are being given another opportunity to receive Provider Relief Fund payments after missing the June 3, 2020 deadline to apply for funding equal to two percent of their total patient care revenue from the $20 billion portion of the $50 billion phase 1 general distribution; this group also includes Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), dental providers with low Medicare revenues, and hospitals that received payments in the phase 1 distribution but returned them.  In addition, providers that experienced a change in ownership, making them ineligible for phase 1 funding, also may apply.
    • Providers can go here to learn more about this phase 2 distribution and eligibility.
    • Providers can submit the required financial data on the Provider Relief Fund application and attestation portal. The deadline for submitting data is August 28.
    • Providers can go here to register for a webinar on this distribution to be held on Thursday, August 13 at 3:00 (eastern).
  • HHS has shared information about its next CARES Act-authorized nursing home Provider Relief Fund distribution. This $5 billion distribution will include approximately $2.5 billion to support increased testing, staffing, and personal protective equipment needs and to establish COVID-19 isolation facilities, with the balance to be linked to nursing home performance.  HHS expects to make the first $2.5 billion distribution in mid-August and the performance-based distributions throughout the fall.  Learn more from this HHS news release.
  • HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with 16 new questions, 15 of which address eligibility for phase 2 general distributions from the Provider Relief Fund and how to apply for those distributions. These questions can be found on pages 22, 23, 24, 29, and 31 of the FAQ; these and other new questions are all dated 8/10/2020.  Another question about eligibility, dated 8/7/2020, can be found on page 2.

Department of Health and Human Services

  • HHS has posted the July through December COVID-19 testing plans of all states, territories, and localities. Find those testing plans here.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

  • CMS announced a new Community Health Access and Rural Transformation Model (CHART) that will seek to improve the quality, accessibility, and value of care in rural areas. The agency intends to invest up to $75 million in seed money to enable up to 15 rural communities to participate in the program, which will involve tools such as an accountable care organization (AC) transformational track, the extension of COVID-19-inspired telemedicine waivers after the pandemic is over, a reduction of the minimum required supervision level for hospital outpatient therapeutic services, and an increase in wage indexes for low-wage hospitals, including many rural hospitals.  Learn more here.
  • CMS has updated its “COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Billing” document with a new question about the broader impact of its waiving of certain Medicare and Medicaid utilization review requirements. See page 22, question 23 for further details.

CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to its 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 attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19

Friday, August 21 at 12:30 – 2:00 PM eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 5956858

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Call

Tuesday, August 25 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 8579003

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Home Health and Hospice Call

Tuesday, August 25 at 3:00 – 3:30 PM eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820 Access Passcode: 6782346
Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Nursing Homes Call

Wednesday, August 12 at 4:30 – 5:00 PM eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7857618

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Wednesday, August 26 at 4:30 – 5:00 PM eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 5718509
Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Dialysis Organizations Call

Wednesday, August 12 at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1027088

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Wednesday, August 26 at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1834329
Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Nurses Call

Thursday, August 13 at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7844289

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Thursday, August 27 at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1556623
Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Conference lines are limited, so CMS encourages interested parties to join via audio webcast.  To listen to the audio files and read the transcripts for these and past COVID-19 Stakeholder calls, visit CMS’s Podcast and Transcripts page.

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

(To receive this daily update directly, sign up for our mailing list at   info@pasafetynet.org.)

 

2020-08-12T06:00:17+00:00August 12th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, August 11
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  • 2020 Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania

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