The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 2:45 p.m. on Friday, July 24.

Department of Health

With much Department of Health staff working remotely with limited access to mail, the department has requested that all communications to its Division of Acute and Ambulatory Care be made electronically to RA-DAAC@pa.gov with no additional copies sent via regular mail.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The number of new COVID-19 cases reported today is the highest in more than two months.
• Philadelphia and Allegheny County together account for 35 percent of those new cases but the number of non-Philadelphia, non-Allegheny County cases remains very high.
• The number of new deaths reported remains in line with recent figures.
• As does the number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, which is higher than it was more than three weeks ago but the same as it has been for the past three days.
• The number of COVID-19 patients requiring mechanical assistance to breathe is not rising at all.
• Nearly 19,000 residents and staff members in 813 long-term-care facilities in 60 counties have tested positive for COVID-19.
• Residents of those facilities continue to account for 68 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the state.
• More than 7800 health care workers in the state have tested positive for COVID-19.
• 34 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are 36 percent of adult ICU beds, 27 percent of pediatric ICU beds, and 66 percent of airborne isolation rooms.
• More than 151,000 COVID-19 tests were administered in Pennsylvania during the past seven days.
• 639 Pennsylvanians have now tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
• Pennsylvania now has 36 confirmed cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), up just one case in the past week, with another 16 possible cases under investigation.

Department of Human Services

• DHS has posted an FAQ on the allowable uses of Pennsylvania Emergency Coronavirus Relief Funds (federal CARES Act money allocated to the state and directed to health care providers by the state through Pennsylvania Act 24 of 2020) and the manner in which fund recipients will be required to account for their use of this money.  The purpose of this funding is to pay for necessary expenses, lost revenue from COVID-19 business interruption for non-public entities, and COVID-19-related hazard or incentive pay incurred between March 1, 2020, and November 30, 2020.  DHS has not yet released the COVID-19 cost reporting form it will use to capture costs incurred by entities that received these payments.  Find the FAQ here.
• DHS announced that it has resumed annual on-site inspections of its licensed settings but may apply alternative techniques such as videoconferencing for annual inspections that do not require an on-site presence.
• DHS will host a COVID-19 update call for stakeholders on Wednesday, July 29 at 4:00 PM.  Interested parties can register for the call 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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The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 22.

Department of Health

• The Department of Health issued a news release describing its recent efforts to develop the state’s capacity to perform contact tracing for individuals diagnosed with COVID-19.
• In the face of COVID-19-related challenges to making routine visits to doctors’ offices, the department has suspended for two months its regulation that children have certain vaccinations before they can attend public school or participate in early childhood education programs. See the department’s notice here.
• The department has issued updated guidance on the discontinuation of isolation for persons with COVID-19 not in health care settings.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Pennsylvania yesterday remains on par with the past week except for Monday’s major spike.
• The number of new deaths reported today was the highest in the past week.
• Over last weekend Pennsylvania quietly climbed above 100,000 total COVID-19 cases and 7000 deaths from the virus.
• The state’s current seven-day average of 871 new cases is more than twice what it was in mid-June and higher than it has been at any time in the past two months.
• For more perspective, the state has experienced:
  • June 25-July 1: 4,051 new cases, an average of 578 per day
  • July 2-8: 4,906 new cases, an average of 700 per day
  • July 9-15: 5,517 new cases, an average of 788 per day
  • July 16-22: 5,731 new cases, an average of 818 per day
• The rising numbers are led by growing numbers of cases in southwestern Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia area.
• The number of new cases in Allegheny County has been rising lately and is 1535 percent greater than it was this time a month ago.
• Philadelphia’s seven-day average of 138 new cases a day is up from its seven-day average of 110 new cases a day the previous week.
• The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 has risen above the 700 mark for the first time in nearly a month.
• But the number requiring mechanical assistance to breathe is not rising at all.
• 37 percent of the beds in Pennsylvania’s acute-care hospitals are currently unoccupied, as are 40 percent of adult ICU beds, 57 percent of pediatric beds, 26 percent of pediatric ICU beds, and 66 percent of airborne isolation rooms.

Regional Response Health Collaboration Program

The Department of Health and Department of Human Services are holding an informational webinar on Friday, July 24^th from 9:00-10:00am EST to present an overview of the Regional Response Health Collaboration Program (RRHCP) available for long-term care providers state-wide.  Interested parties can log into the webinar here or call in at 844-621-3956.  The event password is DHS2020 and the event number and access code is 145 274 9024.

This new resource will give nursing homes and personal care and assisted-living facilities direct access to local support by health systems.  The health systems that are part of the RRHCP will have regional call centers with 24/7 access for providers to have direct access to clinical consultation and technical assistance, assistance with universal testing, access to expertise in infection control, and the ability to deploy rapid response teams in case of emergency in conjunction with the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, and Pennsylvania Emergency Response Management.

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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The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Monday, July 20.

Governor Wolf

Last week Governor Wolf announced new mitigation efforts to attempt to stem the rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases in the state.  A new FAQ document on these targeted mitigation efforts is now available online.

Department of Health

• The department updated its previous health alert on return-to-work criteria for health care personnel. Changes reflect new CDC guidance, including a move away from a test-based strategy to determine when to allow personnel to return to work.
• Another updated health alert provides guidance for transmission-based precautions in health care facilities, to reflect the move away from a test-based strategy. A test-based strategy is no longer recommended except as noted in the alert because it can result in prolonged isolation of patients who continue to shed detectable COVID-19 RNA but are no longer infectious.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• In the past three days Pennsylvania’s new case count has continued to be in the low to mid 700s.  The new death count remains relatively modest.
• On Monday Allegheny County reported 172 new cases.
• 7545 Pennsylvania health care workers have now contracted COVID-19.
• Due to the increases in COVID-19 cases among younger age groups, the department sent an alert to health care providers about the changes to the case demographics.  The following regions have seen significant increases among 19-24 year-olds in each month from April to July (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

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The following is the latest information from Pennsylvania’s state government as of 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 17.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has introduced a Hand Hygiene Toolkit that consists of a  memo,  poster,  and  audit  tool,  tracking,  and  guidance  documents.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• Today’s new COVID-19 case count is the highest since the virus’s resurgence in Pennsylvania late last month.
• Nearly 40 percent of yesterday’s new cases came from Philadelphia and Allegheny counties.
• The growing number of new cases is not resulting in significant increases in the number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized for COVID-19 or breathing with the help of a machine although both of those numbers are very slowly rising.
• Pennsylvania now has 35 confirmed cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), with another 17 possible cases under investigation.
• 7400 Pennsylvania health care workers have now contracted COVID-19.
• Currently unoccupied are 38 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 36 percent of their ICU beds, 54 percent of their pediatric beds, 26 percent of their pediatric ICU beds, and 67 percent of their airborne isolation rooms.
• 638 Pennsylvanians have tested positive on COVID-19 serology tests.

Department of Community and Economic Development

Governor Wolf announced that the state will make available $50 million in grants through a new COVID-19 PA Hazard Pay Grant Program funded by CARES Act money and administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development to help employers provide hazard pay to workers in life-sustaining occupations during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The program seeks to help employers provide hazard pay to retain current employees.  This reimbursement-based grant is for employers that will be offering hazard pay over the eligible program period.  Grant funds may be used for hazard pay for direct, full-time, and part-time employees earning less than $20 an hour, excluding fringe benefits and overtime.  Funds may only be used for hazard pay for eligible employees for the 10-week period from August 16, 2020 through October 24, 2020.  Applicants may apply for up to $1,200 per eligible full-time equivalent employee.  The hazard pay must be paid to the eligible employee over the 10-week period of August 16, 2020 through October 24, 2020 as a $3/hour hazard pay increase to their regular pay rate. Employers may apply for a grant to provide hazard pay for up to 500 eligible full-time equivalent employees per location ($600,000 maximum grant per location).  No employer may receive more than $3 million of the funding under the COVID-19 Hazard Pay Grant Program.  Health care organizations are eligible.  For further information, see the Wolf administration’s announcement about the program, visit the Department of Community and Economic Development’s program web page, and review the program guidelines.

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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The following is the latest information from the state and federal government as of 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15.

Pennsylvania Update

SNAP Advocacy

SNAP has endorsed a federal House bill, HR 7606, that would delay implementation of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicaid fiscal accountability regulation (MFAR) until the Government Accountability Office has an opportunity to assess its impact on individual states and identify the Medicaid transparency issues that need to be addressed.  SNAP called on CMS to withdraw this proposed rule in a January letter.  The MFAR Transparency Act, sponsored by representatives Roger Williams (R-TX) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), also would prevent implementation of MFAR without specific authorization from Congress.  See SNAP’s letter to the bill’s sponsors here.

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf announced new mitigation efforts to attempt to stem the rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases in the state.  These guidelines impose new limits on bars, restaurants, private catered events, nightclubs, other events and gatherings, and gyms and fitness facilities and include a renewed call for businesses to perform as much work remotely as possible.  Learn more from this announcement from the governor’s office, the governor’s executive order, and an order from the Secretary of Health.

Department of Health

The Department of Health issued a memo to hospitals discussing the state’s plan to help hospitals comply with new federal data reporting guidelines.  The department is working with its data vendor to update the data reporting system so that the department will be able to take over reporting on behalf of all Pennsylvania hospitals.  In the interim, hospitals must continue reporting daily to the state’s data vendor to comply with the department’s mandatory reporting order and also must use the federal TeleTracking system or other approved method to submit their data directly to the federal government if they want to continue to have their data considered in federal COVID-related distributions of resources and support.  As a reminder, on July 10 the Department of Health revised its reporting order, including a reduction of the state’s mandatory reporting frequency from three times a day to once a day at 8 a.m.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• In the past two days Pennsylvania’s new case count has again climbed very high in comparison to the numbers for the past six weeks.  The new death count remains relatively modest.
• More than one-third of yesterday’s new cases came from Philadelphia and Allegheny counties, with nearly twice as many from Allegheny as from Philadelphia.
• The growing number of new cases is not resulting in significant increases in the number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized for COVID-19 or breathing with the help of a machine.
• Currently unoccupied are 34 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 38 percent of their ICU beds, 59 percent of their pediatric beds, 37 percent of their pediatric ICU beds, and 63 percent of their airborne isolation rooms.  Many of these numbers have been fluctuating a few points a day over the past week.

Department of Human Services

DHS has selected the health systems and academic medical centers that will participate in Pennsylvania’s Regional Response Health Collaboration Program (RRHCP), which will directly support COVID-19 continued readiness and response planning in long-term residential care facilities, seek to improve quality of care related to infection prevention, expand COVID-19 testing, and work to facilitate continuity of care and services provided by long-term care facilities in an attempt to mitigate the risk of spread of COVID-19 to staff or residents.  Learn more about the program and see a list of the organizations chosen to participate in the program in this DHS announcement.

Department of Community and Economic Development

The Department of Community and Economic Development has announced the launch of the “COVID-19 Pennsylvania Discoveries:  Responding to SARS-CoV-2 Through Innovation & Commercialization Program.”  The program seeks to support the rapid advancement of safe, effective, and commercially available vaccines, treatments, and therapeutics in response to COVID-19.  It is a $10 million grant program, individual awards are limited to $1 million (matching funds are required), and proposals are due by July 24.  Eligible applicants include colleges and universities, businesses, non-profit research institutions, economic development organizations, and academic medical centers.  To learn more about the program and the application and proposal processes, see this program guidelines document.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

• HHS has implemented new data reporting requirements for hospitals that took effect today. In some respects, these requirements differ significantly from recent practices.  Go here to see the detailed HHS document “COVID-19 Guidance for Hospital Reporting and FAQs For Hospitals, Hospital Laboratory, and Acute Care Facility Data Reporting.”
• HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration has posted a fact sheet on the Provider Relief Fund’s next distribution for Medicaid and CHIP providers. The fact sheet includes information about eligibility criteria and application requirements.  Applications are due July 20.
• HHS has made three additions to its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. All are marked “7/14/2020.”  Providers should go here and review the changes carefully.
• HHS announced a large-scale procurement of rapid point-of-care diagnostic test instruments and tests to be distributed to nursing homes in COVID-19 hotspot areas. This initiative has been described as a one-time procurement of devices and tests targeted to facilitate on-site testing among nursing home residents and staff.  Distribution will begin next week.  Learn more from this HHS announcement.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• The CMS online publication MLN Matters has published the article “Quarterly Update for Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule and Laboratory Services Subject to Reasonable Charge Payment.” Providers can learn about COVID-19 codes 87426, 0223U and 0224U.
• CMS and the CDC are holding a national webinar on “Establishing an Infection Prevention Program in a Nursing Home, With an Emphasis on COVID-19” on Thursday, July 16 at 4:00 (eastern). Advance Registration Required:  Register here.  This webinar is open to nursing home leaders, clinical and administrative staff members, and others interested in nursing home infection prevention in the era of COVID-19.

Food and Drug Administration

• The FDA has added dexamethasone sodium phosphate to the lists of drugs for temporary compounding by outsourcing facilities and pharmacy compounders during the COVID-19 public health emergency. These updates help address shortages and access concerns affecting some drugs urgently needed for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
• The FDA has issued emergency use authorizations (EUA) for three commercial diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Find them here, here, and here.
• The FDA has issued EUAs for two commercial serology tests for COVID-19. Find them here and here.
• The FDA has added a new device to its list of authorized ventilator accessories: a CPAP mask that has been modified by combining it with an N95 mask.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• The CDC has updated its Guidance for Healthcare Workers about COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Testing.
• The CDC has updated its instructional materials about how to use different types of personal protective equipment.
• The CDC has updated its information about how to get CDC COVID-19 diagnostic tests and supplies.
• The CDC has updated its interim infection prevention and control recommendations for health care personnel during the COVID-19 emergency.

Internal Revenue Service

• The IRS has ruled that for-profit hospitals will be required to pay income taxes on the grants they receive from the CARES Act’s Provider Relief Fund. To learn more, see an IRS FAQ on taxation of Provider Relief Fund grants.

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 the state and federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, July 13.

Pennsylvania Update

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf has signed an executive order authorizing state agencies to conduct administrative proceedings remotely.  Several state agencies conduct administrative proceedings, including meetings and disciplinary hearings of the 29 occupational licensing boards and commissions under the Department of State.  The order took effect immediately.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has revised its guidance for hospitals responding to COVID-19.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• After a week of continued large numbers of new COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania, the new case count announced today was less than half of each of the three previous days. Secretary Levine warned, however, that slow data reporting tends to make Monday figures low and that today’s number includes no new cases from Philadelphia.
• The number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 has now risen daily for the past week after more than a month of nearly daily declines.
• The number of Pennsylvanians on breathing machines also is down and has fallen below 100 in recent days – lower than it has been since the start of the pandemic.
• The number of new COVID-19-related deaths remains down significantly compared to recent weeks.
• The recovery rate for Pennsylvanians who contract COVID-19 is now 77 percent.
• Overall, case counts are up in 43 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties over the past week.
• In a news release issued late last week, the Wolf administration noted that “While the statewide percent-positivity rate is at 4.4%, counties with concerning percent-positivity rates include Allegheny (7.9%), Beaver (6.3%), Butler (5.5%), Clarion (14.6%), Fayette (5.2%), Greene (5.4%), Lawrence (5.8%), Lebanon (5.6%), Philadelphia (5.1%), Washington (7.2%), Westmoreland (5.4%) and York (6.3%).”
• The state-wide rate of positive cases, though, is down – currently, 4.4 percent. Secretary Levine said she would worry if it reached five percent.
• To date, residents and staff of 750 long-term-care facilities in 55 counties have accounted for more than 21,700 cases of COVID-19 in the state.
• Universal testing in such facilities is identifying many new cases but many of those new cases are residents and employees who are asymptomatic.
• 300 long-term-care facilities have now completed the universal testing mandated by the Department of Health last month.
• Overall, the proportion of Pennsylvanians over the age of 65 who test positive for COVID-19 is now declining.
• More than 7100 health care workers have contracted COVID-19.
• In the past seven days, 135,000 Pennsylvanians have been tested for COVID-19.
• In the state, an average of 15,800 tests have been performed daily over the past 30 days.
• From March 3 to date, 1,148,174 Pennsylvanians have been tested – about nine percent of the state’s population.
• When tests are performed by hospitals and local labs, results are usually available in a day or two. The national companies, such as Labcorp and Quest, are struggling under their current workload, with some results taking as long as a week.  The Department of Health has scheduled calls with the nation-wide labs to discuss this.
• The state still does not have the capacity to engage in population-wide testing. The kind of simple, nearly instant-result test needed to do such widespread testing, Secretary Levine explained, does not yet exist.
• Currently unoccupied are 40 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 42 percent of their ICU beds, 59 percent of their pediatric beds, 37 percent of their pediatric ICU beds, and 65 percent of their airborne isolation rooms.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

• HHS has announced that it will distribute another $4 billion in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund money. Of that sum, approximately $3 billion will be distributed to safety-net providers, with the agency expanding its criteria since its June distribution of safety-net provider funding to encompass some safety-net hospitals that did not meet the previous criterion that addressed hospital profitability.  Another $1 billion will be distributed to specialty rural hospitals, urban hospitals with certain rural Medicare designations, and hospitals in small metropolitan areas.  Hospitals are expected to see deposits as soon as Wednesday.
• As part of these newest distributions of CARES Act money, HHS has added extensive updates to its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ. Most of the new questions involve these latest distributions and are all marked “7/10/2020.”
• HHS also has updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ with new information about finding the status of applications or payments; the impact of changes on ownership in eligibility for payments; the eligibility of Programs of All-Inclusive Care (PACE) for payments; accounting for full-time employees by applicants for the Medicaid and CHIP distribution; and the ability of providers with tax identification numbers that have not yet been validated to apply for funds. All changes are marked “7/8/2020.”
• HHS has posted a video titled “Five Things About Nursing Homes During COVID-19” that presents five things the agency is doing to stop the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
• HHS’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced the adoption of a revised Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder Patient Records regulation that seeks to advance “…the integration of healthcare for individuals with substance use disorders while maintaining critical privacy and confidentiality protections. Under Part 2, a federally assisted substance use disorder program may only disclose patient identifying information with the individual’s written consent, as part of a court order, or under a few limited exceptions.”  Under the new rule, however, “Health care providers, with patients’ consent, will be able to more easily conduct such activities as quality improvement, claims management, patient safety, training, and program integrity efforts.”  Go here to see HHS’s announcement and go here to see HHS’s fact sheet about the new regulation.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• CMS has updated its fact sheets describing the administrative flexibilities it has extended to different types of providers during the COVID-19 emergency. All of the updated fact sheets linked below describe extended deadlines for filing Medicare cost reports.
  • hospitals
  • teaching hospitals, teaching physicians, and medical residents
  • inpatient rehabilitation facilities
  • long-term-care hospitals and extended neoplastic disease care hospitals
  • long-term care facilities (skilled nursing facilities and/or nursing facilities)
  • rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers
  • end-stage renal disease facilities
  • home health agencies
  • hospices
• CMS announced that it will deploy Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) to provide immediate assistance to nursing homes in hotspot areas identified by the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts 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.

Home Health and Hospice Calls

Tuesday, July 21st at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  6080197

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls

Tuesday, July 14th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  2550919

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 21st at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  7477995

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 28th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  1492795

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Nursing Homes Call

Wednesday, July 22nd at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  1143564

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Dialysis Organizations Call

Wednesday, July 22nd at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  7692208

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Nurses Call

Thursday, July 23rd at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  7971869

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Lessons from the Front Lines

Friday, July 17th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Code: 3096434

Web Link:  go here.

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

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 test for COVID-19. Find it here.
• The FDA has issued an EUA for the emergency use of a device intended for acute use at home or in a health care setting to treat adult patients with known or suspected COVID-19 who are experiencing exacerbation of asthma-related dyspnea and reduced airflow.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• The CDC has updated its interim infection prevention and control recommendations for health care personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The CDC has updated its interim guidelines for collecting, handling, and testing clinical specimens from persons with COVID-19.
• The CDC has updated its information about transferring patients to relief health care facilities when responding to community transmission of COVID-19.
• The CDC has updated its guidance for health care facilities for COVID-19-related issues.
• The CDC has updated its FAQ on laboratory testing for COVID-19.
• The CDC has updated its strategies for optimizing supplies of personal protective equipment.
• The CDC has updated its toolkit on shared and congregate housing.

Department of Labor

• The Department of Labor announced the launch of a public awareness campaign to remind workers that it is committed to ensuring their workplace rights during the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure that employers know their responsibilities. The campaign will include public service announcements to provide employers and employees information about the new paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave benefits available under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

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 and the federal government as of 3:00 p.m. on Friday, July 10.

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf has signed an executive order that protects homeowners and renters from evictions or foreclosure until August 31 if they have not received assistance from a new program administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency or are not already receiving relief through one of several federal foreclosure moratorium programs or judicial orders.  While the first order of this kind in early May extended protections to businesses, it is unclear whether the provisions protecting businesses will be permitted to expire or whether they were also extended under this new order.  See a news release explaining the administration’s actions here and find the executive order itself here.

Department of Health – by the numbers

• The number of newly reported COVID-19 cases has been up sharply in the past week while the number of newly reported deaths remains mostly where it has been for the past month.  Today the number of new cases rose above 1000 for the first time in about two months.
• In a news release today the department noted that it “… is seeing significant increases in the number of COVID-19 cases among younger age groups, particularly 19 to 24-year-olds.  An alert was sent to healthcare providers over the weekend about the changing COVID-19 case demographics, as there are more cases in younger age groups than in those 50-64 and 65+.”
• To date, residents and staff of 737 long-term-care facilities in 55 counties have accounted for more than 21,500 cases of COVID-19 in the state, which amounts to 23 percent of the state’s overall cases.
• Long-term-care facility residents now account for 68 percent of the 6880 COVID-19 deaths in the state.
• More than 7000 health care workers have contracted COVID-19.
• 635 Pennsylvanians have tested positive on COVID-19 serology tests.
• After more than a month of steadily declining numbers, the number of Pennsylvanians hospitalized with COVID-19 has now risen for four consecutive days.
• Currently unoccupied are 36 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 40 percent of their ICU beds, 54 percent of their pediatric beds, 27 percent of their pediatric ICU beds, and 65 percent of their airborne isolation rooms.
• To date, Pennsylvania has experienced 34 confirmed cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).  Another seven suspected cases of MIS-C were determined not to be that condition and another 17 possible cases are currently being investigated.

Department of Human Services

DHS has updated its interim guidance for certified child care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Department of State

The Department of State has authorized licensed pharmacists who are authorized to administer injectables to administer influenza immunizations by injectable or needle-free delivery methods to persons three years of age or older.  This authority suspends the current minimum age for pharmacist-administered immunizations of nine years but only does so for influenza vaccinations and does not apply to COVID-19 vaccines.  See the announcement of this policy and rationale 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

(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 and the federal government as of 3:45 p.m. on Wedneday, July 8.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health has updated its FAQ on universal testing requirements for skilled nursing facilities.  It includes new guidance on the definition of “all staff” and how to treat staff who refuse testing.

Department of Health – by the numbers

The number of newly reported COVID-19 cases in the state has risen significantly in the past two days.  The Department of Health attributed the first day’s increase to delayed reporting from some counties, especially Philadelphia.

Department of Human Services

Act 20, recently passed by the legislature and signed by the governor, allocates money from the federal CARES Act.  Included in that funding is $457 million for providers of long-term living programs.  DHS has posted a statement explaining how it will distribute $8 million of that sum among qualified providers of ventilator or tracheostomy nursing facility services.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS has updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund web page to remind providers that to be considered for its next distribution of CARES Act money to Medicaid and CHIP providers, interested parties must submit their gross revenues from patient care for CY 2017, 2018, or 2019 by July 20, 2020.  Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered for funding.  To learn more about this process, interested parties can read the Medicaid and CHIP provider distribution fact sheet.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• CMS has published an FAQ addressing matters involving provider burden relief.
• In March, CMS published a memo “…granting exceptions under certain Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs for acute care hospitals, Prospective Payment System (PPS)-exempt cancer hospitals, inpatient psychiatric facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospices, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term care hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, renal dialysis facilities, and Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinicians for all providers and suppliers…” participating in certain CMS quality data reporting programs.  Those exceptions have now expired.  Providers may request exceptions to the restored quality data reporting requirements using this form.
• In its online publication MLN Matters, CMS has revised past guidance with a new point-of-origin code for the transfer of patients from a designated disaster alternate care site.  The article introduces a new Point of Origin (PoO) Code “G” to indicate a “Transfer from a Designated Disaster Alternative Care Site (ACS)” due to changes related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• CMS has updated the MLN Matters article “New and Expanded Flexibilities for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE)” to clarify how Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers can apply the Cost Sharing (CS) modifier to preventive services furnished via telehealth.
• CMS has published its proposed end-stage renal disease prospective payment system for calendar year 2021.  In it the agency proposes, at least in part in response to the COVID-19 emergency, “…that certain new and innovative equipment and supplies used for dialysis treatment of patients with ESRD in the home would qualify for an additional Medicare payment.  These proposed changes would encourage the development of certain new and innovative home dialysis machines that would give beneficiaries more dialysis treatment options in the home…”  The changes include rate increases and add-on payments.  See CMS’s news release about the proposed rule here and a CMS fact sheet here and go here to see the rule itself.

CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts 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.

Home Health and Hospice Calls

Tuesday, July 21st at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  6080197

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls

Tuesday, July 14th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  2550919

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 21st at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  7477995

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 28th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:833-614-0820; Access Passcode:1492795

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Nursing Homes Call

Wednesday, July 22nd at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  1143564

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Dialysis Organizations Call

Wednesday, July 22nd at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  7692208

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Nurses Call

Thursday, July 9th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  9386539

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Thursday, July 23rd at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  7971869

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Lessons from the Front Lines

Friday, July 17th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Code: 3096434

Web Link:  go here.

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

Food and Drug Administration

• The FDA has issued to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a new test that can simultaneously diagnose COVID-19 and the flu.
• The FDA has issued EUAs for three new commercial tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19.  Find them here, here, and here.
• The FDA has issued an EUA for a new commercial serology test for COVID-19.  Find it here.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• The CDC has updated its interim guidance on testing health care personnel for COVID-19.
• The CDC has updated its FAQs about COVID-19 clinical issues.
• The CDC has updated its COVID-19 FAQ for laboratories.
• The CDC has updated its guidance on safe laboratory practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The CDC has updated its information about how to get the CDC’s COVID-19 diagnostic test and supplies.
• The CDC has updated its resources for laboratories working on COVID-19.
• The CDC has updated its information for laboratories about COVID-19.

Environmental Protection Agency

For the first time, the EPA has approved surface disinfectant products for use against the COVID-19 virus.  The EPA expects to approve similar products in the coming weeks.

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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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.)