The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 3:45 p.m. on Monday, July 6.

Department of Health

• The Department of Health issued a health alert regarding the changing epidemiology of COVID-19 case demographics as increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases are associated with travel and social gatherings.  The alert advises clinicians to inquire about patients’ recent travel and ask them to develop a list of people with whom they were in close contact from the period 48 hours before the onset of COVID-19 symptoms.
• Perhaps with this in mind, the department has issued a warning for travelers stating that “If you have traveled, or plan to travel, to an area where there are high amounts of COVID-19 cases, it is recommended that you stay at home for 14 days upon return to Pennsylvania.”  The warning lists 15 such states with high numbers of COVID-19 cases.  This is a warning, however, and not a requirement.
• Last week Secretary Levine signed an order that Pennsylvanians must wear masks whenever they leave home; find that order here.  The department has now followed up that effort with an FAQ about the mask order; find that FAQ here.
• The Department of Health has issued guidance on how provider surveys will be conducted in counties that have moved to the yellow and green phases of the governor’s reopening plan. Find guidance for hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, and abortion facilities here and guidance for home care and home health agencies, hospices, birth centers, and pediatric extended care centers here.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• After an alarming increase last week in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the state, those numbers have now stabilized and declined.  Despite this overall positive news comes one troubling item:  according to a department news release, “The number of new cases in Allegheny County increased by 218 overnight.”
• The number of new deaths has fallen dramatically.
• Despite the still-higher number of new cases, the number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with the disease continues to decline and today is lower than at any time in June.

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.)

The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1.  There will be no update on Friday because of the 4^th of July holiday.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional legislation passed by the General Assembly to limit or terminate Governor Wolf’s exercise of emergency authority when he issued a “Proclamation of Disaster Emergency” in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The decision stresses that the court addressed only the constitutional question and not whether either the exercise of emergency authority or its termination constituted sound public policy.

Department of Health

• Department of Health Secretary Levine signed an order that masks must be worn whenever anyone in Pennsylvania leaves home. The order, which the Secretary is authorized to issue under the state’s Disease Prevention and Control Act, takes effect immediately.  Go here to see Governor Wolf’s announcement about the new order and here to see the order itself.
• The Department of Health distributed 3162 doses of the drug remdesivir to 80 Pennsylvania hospitals; remdesivir is used to treat patients in the hospital with COVID-19. The state received the drug today from the federal government.  See an announcement about the shipment here.
• The department has introduced an online form for long-term-care facilities to report the results of the required baseline universal testing of residents and staff. Testing must be completed by July 24 and results should be submitted within 48 hours of completing the baseline testing.
• The department has introduced an online early warning monitoring dashboard that provides information on state-wide and county COVID-19 prevalence to track increases in the disease on a weekly basis. Data included in the dashboard will include, on a county-by-county basis:
  • difference in confirmed cases (last seven days vs. previous seven days);
  • incidence rate (last seven days and previous seven days) per 100,000 residents;
  • COVID-19 test positivity rate (last seven days and previous seven days);
  • difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last seven days and the previous seven days;
  • difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators in the last seven days and previous seven days; and
  • percent of hospital emergency department visits in the last seven days and previous seven days due to COVID-like-illness.

Go here to see the department’s announcement about the new dashboard and here to see the dashboard itself.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The number of new COVID-19 cases reported today was greater than for all but one day in June and the number of newly reported deaths is the highest in six days.
• Despite the increase in the number of new cases, the number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with the disease continues to decline and today is lower than at any time in June and is less than half of what it was a month ago (634 people hospitalized today, 1302 hospitalized on June 1).
• More than 21,000 residents and employees of 699 long-term-care facilities in 52 of the state’s 67 counties have tested positive for 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.)

The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 3:30 p.m. on Monday, June 29.

Pennsylvania Update

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf issued a statement expressing support for mitigation efforts launched by Allegheny County in the wake of a recent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in that county.

The governor announced that Lebanon County will move to the green reopening phase on July 3 – the last Pennsylvania county to do so.

Department of Human Services

DHS has updated its interim reopening guidance for personal care homes, assisted living residences, and private intermediate-care facilities during the COVID-19 crisis.  See a Wolf administration news release announcing the updated policies.

Department of Health

Secretary Levine has issued an order that every long-term-care facility in the state must test residents and staff for COVID-19 at least once by August 31.  The order requires that such testing be performed by laboratories approved by the Department of Health and that facilities report all of their results in a timely manner through a system to be designated by the Department of Human Services.  For further information see the order, an FAQ about the order, a list of CLIA-approved labs that are authorized to perform such testing, and the Department of Health’s testing guidelines.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The number of new COVID-19 cases remains higher than it was in the middle of the month but declined slightly in the past two days.  The number of newly reported deaths has decreases significantly in recent days.
• The number of health care workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 now exceeds 6500.
• Nearly 21,000 residents and employees of 689 long-term-care facilities in 52 of the state’s 67 counties have tested positive for COVID-19.
• To date, 69 percent of all COVID-19-related deaths in Pennsylvania have been among residents of long-term-care facilities.
• 634 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized 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.)

The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 3:30 p.m. on Friday, June 26.

Pennsylvania Update

The Wolf Administration

Governor Wolf and Secretary of Health Levine signed amended green phase orders for 12 counties to move to the green phase of reopening at 12:01 a.m. this morning, June 26.  The counties are Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and Susquehanna.  Learn more from the Wolf administration’s news release on this change and see the governor’s amended order authorizing the change and the Secretary of Health’s amended executive order to the same effect.

Department of Human Services

As a result of increased federal matching funds from the COVID-19 response, DHS anticipates ending the fiscal year with excess state share funds from the collection of the quality care assessment and it is statutorily required to return all but $10 million of those funds to the participating hospitals by either reducing the assessment rate used in the following year or proportionately refunding the hospitals.  To reconcile these excess funds, DHS has published a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin explaining that it will assess hospitals in FY 2020-2021 at 3.05 percent of net inpatient revenue and 1.59 percent of net outpatient revenue instead of the planned rates of 3.23 percent and 1.73 percent, respectively.

Department of Human Services/Office of Long-Term Living

On April 30, DHS’s Office of Long-Term Living published the document “Temporary Changes to the Community HealthChoices 1915 (c) Waiver-Revised,” which provided flexibilities for service coordinators and providers as they worked with participants who may have been facing disruption in services due to COVID-19.  This week, OLTL published “Transition Plan to Phase Out Temporary Changes to the Community HealthChoices 1915(c) Waiver,” which addresses the phasing out of the earlier temporary changes when program participants can be safely served and providers and service coordinators are taking proper precautions.  The latter document includes a spreadsheet describing how DHS intends to phase out Community HealthChoices waiver provisions based on a county’s red, yellow, green, or resurgence phase of the reopening plan.  This guidance is intended to be implemented at the county level.

OLTL has posted notices about CARES Act funding for various types of programs and providers that it regulates.  Individual notices have been posted for:

• home and community-based services providers;
• Community HealthChoices managed care organizations and Living Independence for the Elderly (LIFE) organizations;
• nursing facility providers; and
• licensed personal care home and licensed assisted living residences.

The notices identify the types of providers eligible for funding and address what, if anything, eligible providers need to do to receive payments and how and when these payments will be made.

Department of Health

The Department of Health and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) are partnering with CVS Health to offer COVID-19 testing services to skilled nursing facilities statewide, free of charge.  Learn more in this Department of Health news release.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The last two days have seen the highest new case count in the past two weeks while new deaths remain slightly lower than for much of the past two weeks.
• Nearly 6400 health care workers have contracted COVID-19.
• 661 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 126 of them are on ventilators; both are the lowest totals this month.
• The state has seen 27 confirmed cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Another 17 possible cases are currently being investigated.
• 632 Pennsylvanians have tested positive on COVID-19 serology tests.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. The latest changes are marked “6/22/2020.”  Most refer to the planned Provider Relief Fund distribution of $15 billion to Medicaid and CHIP providers.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• CMS has posted an FAQ on implementation of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
• CMS has issued guidance to hospitals on visits to patients who are COVID-19 negative.
• CMS has clarified previous guidance that Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) will not calculate the average length of stay for long-term-care hospitals (LTCHs) for purposes of applying the LTCH 25-day length-of-stay requirement for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.
• CMS has updated its emergency declarations blanket waivers for health care providers. See CMS’s emergency blanket waiver document here, its announcement about its changes here, and its memo to state Medicaid officials and nursing home stakeholders here.
• CMS has published a fact sheet for qualifying clinicians and groups to apply for exceptions to meeting merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) program requirements based on circumstances out of their control, such as the COVID-19 emergency. See CMS’s quality payment program web page for further information.
• CMS has revised its billing instructions under its skilled nursing facility benefit period waiver.
• CMS has issued an FAQ on nursing home visitation.
• CMS issued a proposed rule that calls for routine updates to the home health payment rates for calendar year (CY) 2021. It also includes a proposal to make permanent the regulatory changes related to telecommunications technologies in providing care under the Medicare home health benefit beyond the expiration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.  See CMS’s announcement and the proposed rule itself.
• In the past week CMS issued two section 1135 waiversto give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  It issued waivers to Montana and New York.

Food and Drug Administration

• The FDA has issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for seven new commercial diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Find them here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
• The FDA has issued an EUA for a new commercial serology tests for COVID-19. Find it here.
• The FDA has updated its list of EUAs for ventilators and ventilator accessories.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

The CDC has updated and expanded its list of who is at increased risk for getting severely ill from COVID-19.

Department of Labor

The Labor Department has posted an online tool to help workers determine whether they are eligible for paid sick leave due to COVID-19.

Government Accountability Office

The GAO has issued a new report, COVID-19: Opportunities to Improve Federal Response and Recovery Efforts, that describes the federal response to the pandemic, reaches conclusions about that response, and offers recommendations for improving the government response to such crises.

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.)

The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24.

Department of Human Services

• DHS has issued four CHIP policy clarifications:  They cover:
  • billing guidance for alternative sites developed in response to the COVID-19 emergency;
  • directions on how to bypass prior authorization requirements for CT scans of the chest for COVID-19 patients;
  • guidance on how pharmacies may override early refill alerts for medications; and
  • guidance for providers on accepting self-attestation on applications and renewals and enrolling children prior to initial premium payments during the COVID-19 emergency.
• DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs has posted an announcement that provides information about diagnoses and conditions associated with elevated risk for severe illness when an individual is infected with COVID-19.

Department of Health

Secretary Levine sent a letter to providers seeking to ensure that critical COVID-19 patient data on sexual orientation and gender identity is being collected at the point of care.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The number of Pennsylvanians newly diagnosed with COVID-19 remains higher than it was a week ago, as does the daily number of people who have passed away from the disease.
• But the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19, and the number on ventilators, continues to decline.  Yesterday, only six COVID-19 patients in the state were on ventilators.
• The number of available hospital beds, ICU beds, and isolation rooms remains as it has been for the past several weeks.

Insurance Department

Yesterday, Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman announced that the Insurance Department has  submitted a notice  to the Pennsylvania Bulletin outlining guidance for insurers that encounter providers engaging in inappropriate billing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.  On June 12, DHS published a Medical Assistance Bulletin advising providers that they may not charge Medical Assistance beneficiaries for personal protective equipment used in connection with medical or dental services.  According to an Insurance Department press release, the notice is in response to reports that “providers, particularly dental providers, are charging patients outside of the insurer-provider contracts.”

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.)

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 22 as of 4:30 p.m.

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

State Update

PA House Republican Leadership Elections

Following the retirement of House Speaker Mike Turzai earlier this month, the House met today and elected former Majority Leader Bryan Cutler (Lancaster County) as Speaker.  The House Republican caucus also elected as majority leader Kerry Benninghoff (Centre County), who previously was majority whip, and chose Donna Oberlander (Armstrong, Clarion, and Forest counties), previously chair of the caucus’s policy committee, as their new majority whip.  As of this writing, the role of policy committee chair is vacant.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has updated its report on its mitigation activities for long-term-care facilities.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• New case counts have been higher during the past four days.  The average number of new cases in the past four days was more than 35 percent greater than the average number for the five days before that.  Death totals, on the other hand, have declined significantly.
• 746 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with 153 of them on ventilators.  Both of these figures have generally decreased in recent weeks although the hospitalization figure has risen slightly in recent days.
• 40 percent of Pennsylvania hospitals’ acute-care beds are currently unoccupied, as are 39 percent of their ICU beds, 30 percent of their pediatric ICU beds, and 17 percent of their isolation rooms.  These figures have remained virtually unchanged in recent weeks.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS has added new questions and answers and modified others in its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. Providers should review these changes carefully; they are marked 6/19/2020 and 6/21/2020.

CARES Act Provider Relief Fund – Medicaid and SCHIP-Only Distribution Webcasts

On its Provider Relief Fund web page, HHS has posted the following notice:

HHS expects to distribute $15 billion to eligible Medicaid and CHIP providers through the Provider Relief Fund.  Join our webcast to learn more about the application process.  Please pre-register to reserve a spot on your preferred date:

Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 2 PM ET

Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 2 PM ET

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• CMS has added new questions and modified others in its compendium document “COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) Billing.” Providers should review these changes carefully.
• CMS has updated its instructions to Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) and Medicare Advantage Plans to cover COVID-19 laboratory tests for nursing home residents and patients. See an announcement about the new instructions here.
• CMS has posted a new FAQ on COVID-19 surveillance testing. This informed is intended for laboratories.
• Last week CMS issued eight section 1135 waivers to give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  It issued waivers to Alaska, Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Washington.

CMS Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to 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 attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.  Call details are below.  Conference lines are limited so CMS encourages interested parties to join via audio webcast, either on your computer or smartphone web browser. Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page, which you can find here.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls

Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and health care systems to increase hospital capacity, expand their health care workforce, and make greater use of telehealth in Medicare.

Tuesday, June 23 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820;

Access Passcode:  5775248

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Home Health and Hospice

Tuesday, June 23 at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820;

Access Passcode:  3676539

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Nursing Homes

Wednesday, June 24 at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820;

Access Passcode:  3089577

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Dialysis Organizations

Wednesday, June 24 at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820;

Access Passcode:  6494855

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Nurses

Thursday, June 25 at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820;

Access Passcode:  9496814

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Food and Drug Administration

• On Tuesday, June 23 at 12 noon (eastern) the FDA, along with the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), will host a seminar on importing respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The FDA has issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for four new commercial COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Find them here, here, here, and here.
• The FDA has issued an EUA for a new commercial COVID-19 serology test. Find it here.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

The CDC has updated its guidance for nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities to take steps to assess and improve their preparedness for responding to 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.)

Coronavirus update for Friday, June 19 as of 3:00 p.m.

A Note About SNAP’s COVID-19 Updates

Beginning the week of June 15, SNAP will prepare COVID-19 updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with additional updates as needed on subjects that are especially timely or important.  SNAP members and update subscribers will continue to receive their updates near the close of the business day and those updates will continue to be posted in this space the morning of the following business day.

Pennsylvania Update

The Wolf Administration

• On Thursday Governor Wolf issued a news release reminding Pennsylvanians that mask-wearing is required when entering any business in all counties in the state in both the yellow and green phases of reopening.  The mask requirement is part of Secretary of Health Levine’s order “Directing Public Health Safety Measures for Businesses Permitted to Maintain In-person Operations.”  See the governor’s new release here and Secretary Levine’s order here.
• On Thursday Governor Wolf and Secretary of Health Levine signed orders for eight counties to move to the green phase at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, June 19.  The affected counties are Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Monroe, Perry, Pike, and Schuylkill.  With these orders, on Friday there will be 54 counties in green and 13 counties in yellow.  See the governor’s news release here, the governor’s amended order here, and Secretary Levine’s amended order here.
• On Friday Governor Wolf announced that 12 more counties will move to the green phase of reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, June 26.  The affected counties are Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Erie, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, and Susquehanna.  See the governor’s news release about this announcement here.

Department of Health

• The Department of Health distributed 4788 doses of remdesivir to hospitals to treat patients hospitalized with COVID-19.  Go here to see the department’s announcement about this shipment and here to see a list of the 82 hospitals.
• The department announced that more than 4000 close contacts of COVID-19 cases have been identified and monitored to date through the contact tracing efforts of 500 trained contact tracers throughout the state, including 130 state health nurses.  These efforts include support from six county health departments and four municipal health departments that have primary responsibility for all efforts inside their jurisdiction.  Go here for a news release about the contact tracing effort.
• The department’s message board on Friday, June 19 included the following notice:

The Pennsylvania Department of Health and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency are pleased to announce a partnership with CVS Health to offer COVID-19 testing services to skilled nursing facilities to assist with compliance to the Secretary’s Order related to universal testing issued June 9, 2020. Using a number of data sources including current outbreak status, historic outbreak status, geography, and facility-reported testing data, the Department is providing a three-tiered priority list to CVS Health to begin making contacts to offer testing services free of charge to the facility (residents and employees).

The CVS Health Onsite Swab & Send solution includes:

• All necessary logistic services, including scheduling, records administration, test orders, and communication of results
• All specimen collection and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for CVS Health clinician testers
• Transmission to an FDA-approved reference laboratory for testing
• Responsibility for communication of test results back to skilled nursing administration

CVS Health is currently onboard to conduct 50,000 individual tests for skilled nursing residents and staff members. Testing is anticipated to begin the week of June 29 with CVS Health beginning outreach calls as early as June 22.  Please anticipate an email outreach and phone call from CVS Health, and they will confirm the necessary steps to schedule your onsite testing clinic.

If you have questions regarding this initiative, universal testing in general, or to request assistance, please contact RA-DHCOVIDTESTING@pa.gov.     

Department of Health – by the numbers

• Case counts and death totals remain generally down but the new case count for Thursday was the highest in the past week.  On Thursday the total number of Pennsylvanians who have contracted COVID-19 rose above the 80,000 mark.  Ninety-seven percent of those cases were confirmed by tests and the rest are considered “probable.”
• 728 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with 162 of them on ventilators.  Both of these figures have been declining in recent weeks.
• 40 percent of Pennsylvania hospitals’ acute-care beds are currently unoccupied, as are 39 percent of their ICU beds, 30 percent of their pediatric ICU beds, and 17 percent of their isolation rooms.  These figures have remained virtually unchanged in recent weeks.

Department of Human Services

• DHS’s COVID-19 update, published on Wednesday, includes the following notice about its Regional Response Health Collaboration Program.
• In last week’s written update, we mentioned that a Request for Applications was posted for the Regional Response Health Collaboration Program (RRHCP). The RRHCP will assume the Education Support and Clinical Coaching Program’s role in providing operational, managerial, administrative, and clinical support for long-term care facilities as they protect their residents and staff from COVID-19. Responses to this RFA are due by June 25, and the RFA is posted on eMarketplace.

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.)

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, June 17 as of 4:00 p.m.

A Note About SNAP’s COVID-19 Updates

Beginning the week of June 15, SNAP will prepare COVID-19 updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with additional updates as needed on subjects that are especially timely or important.  SNAP members and update subscribers will continue to receive their updates near the close of the business day and those updates will continue to be posted in this space the following morning.

Pennsylvania Update

The Courts

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed today to hear a lawsuit filed by Senate Republicans against  Governor Wolf seeking to enforce a resolution adopted by the General Assembly last week requiring the governor to end the COVID-19 disaster emergency proclamation that he enacted in March and extended for another ninety days on June 1.  The suit was originally filed in Commonwealth Court.

Department of Health

In communication circulated via message board but not posted on any department web site, the Department of Health explained the following:

The Department has received questions and is concerned that there are laboratories marketing their ability to run tests who are not certified in Pennsylvania.

Per the Order of the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Directing Testing at Skilled Nursing Facilities, issued June 8, 2020, Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) are required to complete a baseline universal test for SARS-CoV-2 of all residents and staff no later than July 24, 2020. In order to be compliant with this Order, a facility needs to enter into a contract with a commercial laboratory to meet testing needs of the facility. A laboratory must have a current Pennsylvania laboratory permit and be approved to perform COVID-19 testing.

A list of laboratories that have a CLIA permit in Pennsylvania can be found here.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• Case counts and death totals remain generally down and declining
• 788 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, with 169 of them on ventilators.
• 40 percent of Pennsylvania hospitals’ acute-care beds are currently unoccupied, as are 39 percent of their ICU beds, 30 percent of their pediatric ICU beds, and 17 percent of their 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.)

Coronavirus update for Friday, June 12 as of 4:00 p.m.

A Note About SNAP’s COVID-19 Updates

Beginning the week of June 15, SNAP will prepare COVID-19 updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with additional updates as needed on subjects that are especially timely or important.  SNAP members and update subscribers will continue to receive their updates near the close of the business day and those updates will continue to be posted in this space the following morning.

Pennsylvania Update

The Wolf Administration

Governor Wolf and Secretary of Health Levine signed amended green phase orders for 12 counties to move to the green phase of reopening at 12:01 a.m. on June 12.  With these orders taking effect, there will be 46 counties in green and 21 counties in yellow.

In addition, eight more counties will move to the green phase of reopening at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, June 19.

Department of Human Services

DHS has published a Medical Assistance Bulletin advising providers that they may not charge Medical Assistance beneficiaries for personal protective equipment used in connection with medical or dental services.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• Today’s COVID-19 death count is comparable to what it has been in recent days but the new case count is up slightly.
• 901 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 and 195 of them are on ventilators – both figures much lower than yesterday’s.
• 40 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 40 percent of their ICU beds, 57 percent of their pediatric beds, and 30 percent of their pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied.

State Legislature

The Senate has canceled its session for next week.  The House is scheduled to return to session on June 22.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

• As we reported previously, HHS will be distributing $10 billion in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund grants to hospitals that have served especially large numbers of COVID-19 patients. To apply for these grants, hospitals must submit data to HHS via its teletracking web site.  See below for:
  • information about the Provider Relief Fund and the grants to high-impact hospitals;
  • an FAQ about the grants and the data to be submitted; and
  • where to submit the data.

Hospitals must submit their data no later than 9:00 pm (eastern) on Monday, June 15.

• HHS’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidance on how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) privacy rule permits covered health care providers to contact their patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to inform them about how they can donate their blood and plasma containing antibodies to help other patients with COVID-19. See the announcement here and the guidance here.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

In the past week CMS issued five section 1135 waivers to give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  It issued waivers to Delaware, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

Food and Drug Administration

• The FDA posted FAQs to address questions about the design, evaluation, labeling, and marketing of hospital beds, stretchers, and mattresses during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• The FDA issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for four new commercial diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Find them here, here, here, and here.
• The FDA issued an EUA for a new serology test for COVID-19. Find it here.

National Institutes of Health

NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities is accepting applications for research to evaluate interventions that might lessen the impact of COVID-19 on populations that suffer from health disparities or other vulnerabilities to the virus.  Learn more here.

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

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