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COVID-19 Update: June 10, 2020

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, June 10 as of 3:00 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

General Assembly

Harrisburg, PA capital buildingThis week the General Assembly passed a concurrent resolution that seeks to end the governor’s COVID-19 emergency disaster declaration; on June 4 the governor extended that declaration for an additional 90 days.  During a press conference today, Governor Wolf said he will defend in court his right to veto the resolution.  The measure’s proponents believe the resolution, having passed both chambers, is effective and does not require the governor’s consideration.

Department of Health

The Department of Health has issued an order requiring hospitals to implement measures to protect their staff and patients.  The policies and procedures must, at a minimum, include distribution of respirators to hospital staff providing direct patient care to COVID-19-positive and suspected cases and hospital staff assigned to provide direct patient care in COVID-19 units.  Respirator distribution must occur prior to the beginning of the hospital staff member’s shift and respirators must be replaced as soon as practical if the hospital is notified by a staff member that their mask has become soiled, damaged, or otherwise ineffective.  The policies and procedures also must include access to testing upon request for staff members who have been exposed to patients with or suspected of having COVID-19, measures for notifying staff members who have been in contact with such patients, and a requirement that all hospital visitors over the age of two wear masks.  See a news release summarizing the order here.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Today’s new COVID-19 case and death counts are comparable to what they have been in recent days.
  • More than 5800 Pennsylvania health care workers have contracted COVID-19.
  • 986 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 and 206 of them are on ventilators.
  • 40 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 39 percent of their ICU beds, 57 percent of their pediatric beds, and 30 percent of their pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied.

Department of Human Services

CMS has approved a section 1135 waiver request from DHS’s Office of Medical Assistance Programs.  The waiver permits the state to temporarily allow payments for section 1905(a) personal care services to be rendered by legally responsible individuals and gives the state the ability to modify deadlines for face-to-face encounters required for home health services.  These waivers will remain in effect until the official end of the current public health emergency.

DHS’s Office of Medical Assistance Programs has written to local education agencies participating in its School-Based ACCESS Program to inform them of temporary flexibilities in the program’s usual practices and requirements that it has authorized in response to the COVID-19 emergency.

DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs has published an announcement that provides additional guidance to individual support planning teams on the criteria for requesting a cap exception for the Person/Family Directed Support and Community Living Waivers.  It also has posted a  template for applying for such waivers.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

On Tuesday HHS announced that it will be distributing $15 billion to clinicians and facilities that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and/or Medicaid and CHIP managed care organizations that have not yet received any general distribution grants from the Provider Relief Fund.

This funding is intended to supply relief to Medicaid and CHIP providers experiencing lost revenues or increased expenses due to COVID-19.  Examples of providers serving Medicaid/CHIP beneficiaries that may be eligible for this funding include pediatricians, obstetrician-gynecologists, dentists, opioid treatment and behavioral health providers, assisted living facilities, and other home and community-based services providers.

Providers that believe they may be eligible for this funding may submit their annual patient revenue information to a new provider relief portal to seek a distribution equal to at least two percent of their reported gross revenues from patient care; that portal is supposed to be established today but was not up at the time this update was written.

Learn more from:

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Food and Drug Administration

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.)

2020-06-11T06:00:55+00:00June 11th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 10, 2020

COVID-19 Update: June 9, 2020

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, June 9 as of 4:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

The Wolf Administration

The Wolf administration announced that the Department of Health, working with Quest Diagnostics, will open five new COVID-19 testing sites in Walmart parking lots in areas of the state with limited access to testing.  See the announcement here.

Department of Human Services

DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs has posted an announcement providing guidance to community and life-sharing home providers about how to apply the Department of Health’s new COVID-19 testing guidance.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The new COVID-19 case count remains in the general vicinity of where it has been for the past week but the death count, which had declined significantly in recent days, has returned to last week’s higher level.
  • With these latest deaths the state death total since the start of the pandemic has now climbed over 6000.
  • Nearly 5800 health care workers have now contracted COVID-19.
  • 1032 Pennsylvania’s are currently hospitalized with COVID-19; 224 of them are on ventilators.
  • 40 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds are currently unoccupied, as are 57 percent of pediatric beds, 39 percent of adult ICU beds, and 30 percent of pediatric ICU beds.  In addition, 66 percent of hospitals’ isolation rooms are unoccupied.

Department of State

The Department of State announced that it will count telemedicine services provided during the COVID-19 emergency toward the clinical experience requirements for licensure as a behavior specialist.

Federal Update

On Tuesday morning the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it will distribute $10 billion to hospitals located in COVID-19 hotspots that have cared for especially large numbers of COVID-19 patients.  It also will distribute $25 billion in CARES Act Provider Relief Fund money to safety-net providers, including $10 billion specifically for safety-net hospitals.  (Some of the language in this memo is taken directly from HHS’s news release.)

The $10 Billion Distribution to COVID-19 Hotspot Hospitals

On Monday HHS sent messages to all hospitals asking them to update information on their COVID-19 positive-inpatient admissions for the period January 1, 2020, through June 10, 2020.  This information will be used to determine a second round of funding to hospitals in COVID-19 hotspots and is due to HHS through its teletracking portal no later than 9:00 pm (eastern) on Monday, June 15.

The data reporting is similar to what hospitals previously submitted from the start of the pandemic to April 10.  The data to be reported will be cumulative, through June 10.  At this point, HHS has not decided what the threshold will be to receive payments; it will make this decision after it receives the data.

There is one major difference between the next distribution and the previous one:  this time, HHS wants data submitted, and will make distributions based on, individual facilities and not Medicare provider numbers or tax identification numbers.  HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund web page to reflect today’s developments; find that page here.  HHS also has made extensive changes in the Provider Relief Fund’s FAQ to reflect the planned distribution of funds to COVID-19 hotspot hospitals; those changes are identified within the FAQ, which you can find here.

The $10 Billion Allocation for Safety-Net Hospitals

HHS will distribute $10 billion in Provider Relief Funds to safety-net hospitals that serve vulnerable patients in recognition of “the incredibly thin margins these hospitals operate on.”  This payment is being sent directly to these hospitals via direct deposit.

These payments will be made to hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of Medicaid patients or provide large amounts of uncompensated care.  Qualifying hospitals will have:

  • A Medicare disproportionate payment percentage of 20.2 percent or greater.
  • Average uncompensated care of $25,000 per bed or more.  For example, a hospital with 100 beds would need to provide $2.5 million in uncompensated care in a year to meet this requirement.
  • Profitability of three percent or less, as reported to CMS in its most recently filed cost report.

Recipients will receive a minimum distribution of $5 million and a maximum distribution of $50 million.

If your hospital meets the criteria for safety-net hospital payments you will receive them through direct deposit.  If you wish to receive hotspot payments, however, you must submit relevant data through HHS’s teletracking portal; the deadline for data submission is June 15 at 9:00 pm (eastern).

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.)

2020-06-10T06:00:15+00:00June 10th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 9, 2020

COVID-19 Update: June 8, 2020

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 8 as of 2:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

The Wolf Administration

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The weekend’s COVID-19 new case count continued its downward trend while the death count declined significantly.
  • More than 5700 health care workers have contracted COVID-19.
  • 1174 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 257 of them are on ventilators.
  • The state has seen 20 confirmed cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Another 14 possible cases are currently being investigated.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has updated its “COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers” document.  Added since the last version are a new section, on page 14, on altered time lines for Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, along with two modifications:  one on page 10, addressing site-neutral payments for long-term care hospitals, and another on page 13, in support of care for patients in long-term care hospital patients.

CMS – Stakeholder Engagement 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.  Conference lines are limited so CMS encourages interested parties to join via audio webcast.

Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page here.

COVID-19 Office Hours Call

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 workforce, and make greater use of telehealth.

Tuesday, June 9 at 5:00 (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4892554

Audio Webcast link:  Go here.

COVID Home Health and Hospice Call

Tuesday, June 9 at 3:00 – 3:30 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7359947

Audio Webcast Link:  Go here.

COVID Nursing Homes Call

Wednesday, June 10 at 4:30 (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 9782909

Audio Webcast Link:  Go here.

COVID Dialysis Organizations Call

Wednesday, June 10 at 5:30 (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6553907

Audio Webcast Link:  Go here.

COVID Nurses Call

Thursday, June 11 at 3:00 (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2863547

Audio Webcast Link: Go here.

Food and Drug Administration

National Institutes of Health

The NIH has issued a news release describing a study that identifies a potential approach to treating severe respiratory distress in patients with COVID-19.

Congressional Research Service

The Congressional Research Service has published a brief new report called “HIPAA, Telehealth, and COVID-19” that takes a high level look at the interplay among these three considerations from a legal perspective.

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.)

2020-06-09T06:00:45+00:00June 9th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 8, 2020

COVID-19 Update: June 5, 2020

Coronavirus update for Friday, June 5 as of 2:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

Pennsylvania State MapThe Department of Health and Department of Human Services have issued issued guidance for nursing homes, personal care homes, and other long-term and congregate care facilities as counties enter the green phase of reopening.  To prevent further COVID-19 outbreaks within these vulnerable populations, continuing restrictions in long-term and congregate care facilities will remain in place at least 28 days after an individual facility’s county enters the green phase.  Go here to see the Wolf administration’s announcement, here to see the guidance for nursing homes, and here to see the guidance for personal care homes, intermediate care facilities, assisted living residences, and other providers licensed by DHS.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Yesterday’s new case and death totals were slightly lower than those of the previous day.
  • The number of health care workers who have contracted COVID-19 now exceeds 5600.
  • 1174 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 257 of them are on ventilators – the same figures as the previous day.
  • 45 percent of acute-care beds, 38 percent of ICU beds, and 24 percent of pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of hospital isolation rooms.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

In the past week CMS issued six section 1135 waiversto give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  It issued waivers to Alaska (two waivers), Arizona, Mississippi, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food and Drug Administration

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.)

 

2020-06-08T09:43:54+00:00June 8th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 5, 2020

COVID-19 Update: June 4, 2020

Coronavirus update for Thursday, June 4 as of 2:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

SNAP Advocacy

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logoToday SNAP wrote to Pennsylvania senators Robert Casey and Pat Toomey to ask them to pursue legislation with five major COVID-19-related policy initiatives that Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals need:

  1. A 14-point increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP).
  2. An additional $100 billion for hospitals.
  3. Another delay in implementation of Affordable Care Act-mandated cuts in Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) allotments.
  4. Prevention of implementation of the Medicare fiscal accountability regulation (MFAR).
  5. Reduced interest rates and a longer payback period for Medicare payments advanced to hospitals through the CARES Act’s Accelerated and Advance Payment Program.

See SNAP’s letter here.

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf announced that the Office of State Fire Commissioner will be working to enact recent legislation to provide $50 million in direct financial relief to fire and emergency medical service (EMS) companies hurt by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.  $6 million of this money is targeted for EMS companies.

Governor Wolf and Secretary of Health Levine signed amended yellow phase orders to include 10 counties (including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties) moving to the yellow phase at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, June 5 and signed amended green phase orders to include 16 counties moving to the green phase at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow.  With these orders, there are no counties in the red phase. In total, on June 5, there will be 34 counties in the green phase and 33 in the yellow phase.  See the announcement here.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Yesterday’s new case and death totals are very similar to those of the previous day.
  • The number of health care workers who have contracted COVID-19 now exceeds 5600.
  • 1174 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and 257 of them are on ventilators.
  • 45 percent of acute-care beds, 38 percent of ICU beds, and 24 percent of pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of hospital isolation rooms.

Department of Human Services/Office of Long-Term Living

Department of Aging

  • The Department of Aging has published guidance for the reopening and operation of adult daily living centers during the COVID-19 crisis in counties that have transitioned to the green phase.
  • The department has created an older adult daily living center reopening checklist for facilities reopening in green phase areas.
  • The department also has created a staff and participant COVID-19 wellness check screening tool for older adult daily living centers that are reopening.
  • The department also clarified that OLTL is requiring LIFE Centers to follow adult daily living center guidance for reopening.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food and Drug Administration

  • The FDA has introduced a new web-based resource, Testing Supply Substitution Strategies, that includes detailed information to help support labs performing authorized COVID-19 tests.
  • The FDA has updated the question-and-answer appendix in its guidance Conduct of Clinical Trials of Medical Products during COVID-19 Public Health Emergency with new information about compliance for electronic systems used to generate electronic signatures on clinical trial records.
  • The FDA has issued an alert to providers about the temporary absence of the “paralyzing agent” warning statement on the vial caps of the neuromuscular blocking agents vecuronium bromide and rocuronium bromide, both of which are often used for patients requiring medical ventilation.
  • The FDA has issued emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for five new commercial diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Find them here, here, here, here, and 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.)

 

2020-09-01T18:36:23+00:00June 5th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 4, 2020

COVID-19 Update: June 3, 2020

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, June 3 as of 12:00 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health has announced that nursing homes located in green counties will continue operating under restrictions for 28 days after the beginning of the green phase in those counties. Those facilities should continue to follow the department’s operations guidance updated on May 12.

The Department of Health issued an update to its dental health care guidance removing the prohibition on non-urgent and non-emergent dental procedures.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Yesterday’s new case and death figures were slightly lower than those of the previous day.
  • More than 18,300 long-term-care residents and workers have contracted COVID-19.
  • As have more than 5500 health care workers.
  • 1302 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, with 257 of them on ventilators.
  • 45 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 38 percent of their ICU beds, and 24 percent of their pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of their isolation rooms.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Department of Health and Human Services

  • HHS has updated its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ.  See additions on pages 5, 14, and 20.  Providers should review these additions carefully.
  • HHS announced that the next deadline for submitting data to inform the agency’s distribution of its supply of remdesivir is Monday, June 8 at 8 p.m. (eastern).  HHS is requesting the same data as last month’s remdesivir request:  the number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and of those hospitalized, the number requiring placement in ICUs.  Hospitals should submit the data using the HHS TeleTracking web portal. ​
  • HHS has provided $250 million to help health care systems treating patients and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.  According to an HHS news release, the money will support hospitals and other health care entities to train workers, expand telemedicine and the use of virtual health care, procure supplies and equipment, and coordinate across jurisdictions and facilities.  Most of this money is going to state hospital associations for distribution.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food and Drug Administration

Department of Labor

The Department of Labor has issued an alert with information about how to keep stockroom and loading dock workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.  See an announcement about the alert and the alert itself.

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.)

 

 

2020-06-04T06:00:13+00:00June 4th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 3, 2020

COVID-19 Update: June 2, 2020

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 2 as of 2:45 p.m.

The following is the latest information from the state and federal governments as of 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health has updated its guidance on risk assessment and work restrictions for health care personnel that it originally issued in early March.  This update simplifies the determination of risk exposures warranting work restriction.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Yesterday’s new case count was higher than the previous day and the death count soared.
  • More than 18,300 long-term-care residents and workers have contracted COVID-19.
  • As have more than 5500 health care workers.
  • 1302 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, with 270 of them on ventilators.
  • 45 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 38 percent of their ICU beds, and 24 percent of their pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of their isolation rooms.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Food and Drug Administration

The Joint Commission

The Joint Commission has announced that it will resume regular surveys and reviews in this month, with its methodology modified in some respects to reflect the need to practice social distancing.

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.)

 

 

 

2020-06-03T06:00:06+00:00June 3rd, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 2, 2020

COVID-19 Update: June 1, 2020

Coronavirus update for Monday, June 1 as of 3:00 p.m.

Pennsylvania State MapPennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health issued updated guidance on testing in long-term-care facilities, including nursing homes, assisted living, and personal care homes. This guidance supersedes the universal testing guidance released on May 12, which applied only to nursing homes.

The department released frequently asked questions about reporting requirements for skilled nursing facilities.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Yesterday’s new COVID-19 case count was the state’s lowest since March 24 and the death count remains low for the third day in a row.
  • More than 18,000 residents and employees of long-term-care facilities have tested positive for COVID-19 and the number of facilities with infected residents or staff has increased by four, to 608, since last Friday.
  • More than 5400 health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 1302 Pennsylvanians are currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
  • 277 of them are on ventilators.
  • 38 percent of state hospitals’ acute-care beds, 45 percent of their ICU beds, and 24 percent of their pediatric ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of their isolation beds.

Department of Education

The Department of Education has offered guidance for medical, nursing, and allied health training programs on when and how to resume training for health care practitioners and allied health practitioners as the state reopens.

Independent Fiscal Office

The state’s Independent Fiscal Office published its May 2020 revenue update, which reports a $502.6 million revenue shortfall in collections compared to August projections.  The report attributes 100 percent of the shortfall to fallout from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Federal Update

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS has added to and modified its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ.  Find additions on pages 2, 4, 5, 8, 23, 24, and 25 and modifications on pages 8, 9, and 19.  The latest changes are identified as added or modified on 5/26 or 5/29.  Providers should review these changes carefully.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has issued new guidance to clarify when providers must use modifier CR (catastrophe/disaster-related) and/or condition code DR (disaster-related) when submitting claims to Medicare.  The guidance applies to short-term hospitals, long-term hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and others.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services – 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.  Call details are below.  Conference lines are limited so CMS encourages interested parties to join via audio webcast.  Calls recordings and transcripts also are posted on the CMS podcast page here.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (Tuesdays at 5:00 – 6:00 PM eastern)

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 healthcare systems to increase hospital capacity, expand their health care workforce, and promote greater use of telehealth in Medicare.

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4474407

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (Fridays at 12:30 – 2:00 PM eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force.  Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Code: 6583696

Web Link:  go here.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food and Drug Administration

  • The FDA is making its previously developed FDA MyStudies app available to investigators as a free platform to securely obtain patients’ informed consent for eligible clinical trials when face-to-face contact is not possible or practical due to COVID-19 control measures. FDA MyStudies is now referred to as COVID MyStudies in the Apple App store and in the Google Play store.
  • The FDA has approved emergency use authorization for a new commercial home diagnostic test for COVID-19.
  • The FDA has approved emergency use authorizations for three new commercial laboratory serology tests for COVID-19. Find those authorizations here, here, and 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.)

2020-06-02T06:00:07+00:00June 2nd, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: June 1, 2020

COVID-19 Update: May 29, 2020

Coronavirus update for Friday, May 29 as of 2:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

Wolf Administration

  • The Wolf administration announced that 16 more counties will move to the green phase next Friday, June 5. This includes Allegheny County.
  • Today, eight counties moved from red to yellow, joining 49 others already in the yellow phase, and 18 went from yellow to green.
  • All counties currently in the red phase are still scheduled to move to the yellow phase next Friday.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Friday’s new COVID-19 case and death counts are similar to Thursday’s.
  • Three more long-term-care facilities now report cases of COVID-19 among patients or staff.
  • Nearly 5300 health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 604 people have now tested positive on serology tests.
  • 1445 Pennsylvanians are hospitalized because of COVID-19.
  • 298 of them are on ventilators.
  • 45 percent of acute-care beds, 38 percent of adult ICU beds, and 24 percent of pediatric beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of Pennsylvania hospitals’ isolation rooms.

Friday’s Daily Briefing

  • Governor Wolf and Secretary Levine took questions from reporters.
  • Governor Wolf said Pennsylvania has more testing sites (318) than any other state.
  • But the state still does not have enough testing materials.
  • Secretary Levine said Pennsylvania’s testing sites are now performing up to 13,000 tests a day.
  • She noted that the numbers decline significantly on weekends.
  • And the state is still working to expand its testing capacity.
  • She said she hoped there might eventually be point-of-care tests that can be administered by non-health care professionals and provide accurate results in 15-20 minutes.
  • She explained that the value of antibody testing is still not known.
  • Governor Wolf observed that the state is nowhere near being able to perform surveillance testing and that is far off in the future.
  • He explained that as the state gets more data and learns more about COVID-19, the standard of no more than 50 cases per 100,000 population over 14 days has become less relevant to decisions about counties moving from one phase to another.
  • He said schools will reopen in September but did not commit to all children returning to the classroom in the traditional manner.
  • He said he wants to do everything possible to avoid another shelter-in-place situation if the pandemic surges again in the fall or winter.
  • Secretary Levine said the state hopes to have several thousand people across Pennsylvania working on contact tracing.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

In the past week CMS issued five section 1135 waiversto give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  It issued waivers to Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Vermont.

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.)

2020-06-01T06:00:15+00:00June 1st, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: May 29, 2020

COVID-19 Update: May 28, 2020

Coronavirus update for Thursday, May 28 as of 2:30 p.m.

Pennsylvania Update

State Budget

Harrisburg, PA capital buildingToday the Senate passed the interim state general fund budget bill, House Bill 2387, by a vote of 44-6.  The Senate also approved a package of supplemental appropriation bills for the 2020-21 state fiscal year.  The bills will be signed in the House and the governor is expected to add his signature.  The Senate also passed an amended House Bill 2510, a fiscal code bill appropriating a portion of the $3.9 billion in federal CARES Act funding for COVID-19 relief.  The House is expected to concur in the amended fiscal code bill and the governor is also expected to sign.  Another fiscal code bill appropriating state general funds for FY 2020-21, House Bill 1083, is also expected to be enacted this week.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Today’s new COVID-19 case and death counts were similar to yesterday’s.
  • Four more long-term-care facilities now report cases of COVID-19 among patients or staff.
  • Nearly 5300 health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19.
  • 1476 Pennsylvanians are hospitalized because of COVID-19.
  • 314 of them are on ventilators.
  • 45 percent of acute-care beds, 38 percent of adult ICU beds, and 24 percent of pediatric beds are currently unoccupied, as are 53 percent of Pennsylvania hospitals’ isolation rooms.

Department of Human Services

Beginning May 28, DHS resumes annual renewal inspections in alignment with the governor’s plan to reopen parts of the state.  These inspections apply to programs and facilities regulated by DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs; Office of Children, Youth and Families; Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services; and Office of Long-Term Living/Bureau of Human Service Licensing.  Learn more here.

Department of State

The Department of State has automatically extended certain temporary licenses for occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants.  This extension applies to all temporary licenses that were valid and active as of March 6 and any temporary licenses issued during the COVID-19 emergency.  These temporary licenses will expire no earlier than 90 days following the end of the COVID-19 emergency.

Federal Update

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has updated its COVID-19 FAQs on Medicare fee-for-service billing with additional or revised answers to the following sections:

  • Expansion of Virtual Communication Services for FQHCs/RHCs – questions 11-23
  • Medicare Telehealth (please note that these FAQs do not include flexibilities that might be exercised under the CARES act) – questions 23-33
  • General Billing Requirements – questions 2 and 3
  • Diagnosis Coding under International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) – question 1
  • Chronic Care Management Services – question 1
  • Outpatient Therapy Services – questions 1-3

Department of Health and Human Services

HHS has redesigned its CARES Act Provider Relief Fund web pageThe new layout maintains the previous section for timely alerts but separates additional information about the Provider Relief Fund into the following categories that each redirect to their own, more detailed pages:  For Providers; About the Provider Relief Fund; Data, and FAQs.  The updated web page also included nuanced changes in the language describing the distribution of CARES Act money.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food and Drug Administration

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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2020-05-29T06:00:11+00:00May 29th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pennsylvania proposed FY 2021 budget|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: May 28, 2020
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