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CMS’s Verma Visits Western PA

COVID-19 was the primary subject on the minds of health care executives who met with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma in western Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Among the issues discussed at a health care forum were the concerns of hospital administrators about rising COVID-19 case counts and their worries over the adequacy of supplies of available hospital beds, drugs, and personal protective equipment in the near future; steps like enhanced access to telehealth that CMS has made available for Medicare beneficiaries to help them during the pandemic; the work – and continued existence – of the Regional Response Health Collaboratives that support long-term-care facilities fighting COVID-19 outbreaks and the possibility that those collaboratives may expire in December; and more.

Learn more about Ms. Verma’s visit to Pennsylvania in the Pittsburgh Business Times article “Hospital, nursing home execs tell CMS administrator they need more help.”

2020-10-29T06:00:49+00:00October 29th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on CMS’s Verma Visits Western PA

Health Secretary Discusses Status of COVID-19 in PA

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine, M.D., held a news conference on Monday to discuss the status of the COVID-19 public health emergency in the state and answer questions from reporters.

During the news conference, Secretary Levine discussed the recent increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the state, the age groups that are seeing increases, the status of COVID-19 in schools, the state’s prospects for containing the virus’s spread, the changing nature of the virus’s impact on those who contract it, the upcoming holiday season, and more.  Read about what Secretary Levine had to say in this Pennsylvania Capital-Star article and another account of her news conference in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

2020-10-28T06:00:31+00:00October 28th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on Health Secretary Discusses Status of COVID-19 in PA

COVID-19 Update: Monday, October 26

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 3:45 p.m. on Monday, October 26.

Pennsylvania Update

Governor Wolf

Governor Wolf has written to President Trump asking him to work with Congress to provide funding to enable the state to continue its Regional Response Healthcare Collaborative Program (RRHCP) for which current funding expires on December 31.  The RRHCP is a partnership between the state’s departments of Human Services and Health and the Pennsylvania Emergency Managemental Agency through which selected Pennsylvania health systems work with long-term-care facilities that are vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing assistance with preparation, prevention, response, and education.

Department of Health

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 case count has now surpassed 195,000.  The daily total has been in four figures every day this month except for one, which has not happened since the early months of the pandemic.  This includes the three highest single-day new case counts since the pandemic began.
  • With today’s latest figures, the death count now nears 8700.  Daily death counts are now generally lower than they were in the spring.
  • Overall, more than 30,000 residents and employees of long-term-care facilities have contracted COVID-19.  Those figures encompass 1049 facilities in 63 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
  • More than 12,000 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The state-wide positivity rate for COVID-19 tests is now five percent, up from 4.2 percent last week; 30 counties are currently above five percent.  Counties with what the state calls “concerning” positivity rates including Huntingdon (12 percent), Bradford (11.2 percent), Lawrence (9.0 percent), Lebanon (8.7 percent), and Westmoreland (8.4 percent).
  • According to the state’s weekly data dashboard, Berks, Bradford, Centre, Elk, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Lebanon, Luzerne, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, and Westmoreland counties are in a “substantial” level of community transmission.  Allegheny County is now in a low level of community transmission.
  • The rate of response to contact tracing efforts is not very good, but Secretary Levine reports that among those who have recently been diagnosed with COVID-19 and who responded to inquiries about their recent whereabouts, 55 percent said they had visited a restaurant in the past two weeks and 13 percent said they had visited a bar.
  • Over the past two weeks more than 2000 cases have been diagnosed among school-aged children.  This reflects a change in the nature of who is contracting COVID-19:  while the numbers are up in all age groups, such cases are more common in people under the age of 50 than they were in the spring and early summer.
  • Labs are reporting an average of 34,000-35,000 test results a day.
  • The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is more than twice what it was on October 1.
  • Secretary Levine said that the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients generally lags behind case count trends by about two weeks and can therefore be expected to continue rising in the coming weeks.
  • The number of COVID-19 patients currently breathing with the help of a ventilator also is up significantly this month.
  • But Secretary Levine explained that far fewer hospitalized COVID-19 patients are assisted by ventilators now than they were during the pandemic’s early days.  Back in the spring, roughly 30 percent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Pennsylvania were assisted by ventilators; now, only about 10 percent are.
  • She attributed this decline to how much providers have learned over the past few months about how to care for COVID-19 patients.  Both treatment and therapeutics have improved since the spring.  Patients continue to get very sick but the health care delivery system is better equipped to treat them.
  • 25 percent of hospital adult ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 22 percent of medical/surgical beds, 36 percent of pediatric beds, 13 percent of pediatric ICU beds, and 40 percent of airborne isolation unit beds.  These figures are similar to what they were a week ago.

Department of Human Services

DHS’s Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) published a memorandum in August informing behavioral health managed care organizations, county mental health/intellectual disability offices, and behavioral health providers that specified state regulatory provisions have been temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 disaster emergency declaration period.  OMHSAS has now re-issued this memorandum to update signature requirements for treatment and service plans.  The notice applies to inpatient psychiatric services, outpatient psychiatric services, intensive behavioral health services, outpatient drug and alcohol services, mental health procedures, partial hospitalization, intensive case management, psychiatric rehabilitation services, community residential rehabilitation services, and long-term structured residences.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund:  Webcast on Phase 3 General Distribution

  • Applications for the Provider Relief Fund Phase 3 general distribution are now being accepted by HHS.  HHS will hold a webcast on Monday, November 2 at 3:00 p.m. (eastern) for interested parties.  Go here to register for the webcast and to submit questions.  Providers considering applying for Phase 3 general distribution funds that did not view the previous webcast should participate in this one in anticipation of the November 6 application deadline.  Also available are a fact sheet and a presentation about the Phase 3 general distribution.

Provider Relief Fund:  Financial Reporting

Last week we reported on HHS’s updating of its most recent Provider Relief Fund financial reporting instructions that broadened how fund recipients may use those funds.  That report was accompanied by an HHS policy memorandum and amended reporting requirements.  For providers interested in how HHS is defining parent entities in this update, the amended reporting requirements document includes the following explanation:

Reporting Entity: Entity (at the Tax Identification Number (TIN) level) that received one or more PRF [Provider Relief Fund] payments, or an entity that meets the following three criteria: 1) is the parent of one or more subsidiary billing TINs that received General Distribution payments, 2) has providers associated with it that were providing diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19 on or after January 31, 2020, and 3) is an entity that can otherwise attest to the Terms and Conditions. If the entity has subsidiary TINs that received General Distribution payments, regardless of whether the subsidiary or Reporting Entity formally attested to accepting the payment within the provider portal, the Reporting Entity may report on and direct the use of General Distribution payments. However, if a subsidiary TIN received a Targeted Distribution payment, 1 the subsidiary TIN must report use of funds for that payment, and the parent organization that reports on a subsidiary’s General Distribution payment cannot also report on (or transfer) the subsidiary’s Targeted Distribution payment.

Department of Health and Human Services

  • Four weeks after HHS announced that it would distribute 150 million state-of-the-art Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 tests nationally to assist with states’ reopening efforts, states have begun to report back to HHS about how they are choosing to distribute the rapid, point-of-care tests.  Of the states that have provided preliminary reports, the BinaxNOW allocations are largely being sent to local health departments, K-12 schools and institutes of higher education, nursing homes, hospitals, and correctional facilities.  Learn more from this HHS announcement about the status of the distribution and states’ responses to it.
  • HHS’s Office of the Inspector General has updated its work plan for COVID-19-related audits, evaluations, and inspections.

CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls 

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

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Call

Tuesday, October 27 at 5:00 – 6:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  2394789

Audio Webcast link:  go here to register for the call

Nursing Homes Call

Wednesday, October 28 at 4:30 – 5:00 PM (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode:  5587022
Audio Webcast Link:  go here to register for the call

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

Food and Drug Administration

  • The FDA has approved the antiviral drug Veklury (remdesivir) for treatment of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization for use in adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older and weighing at least 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds).
  • The FDA has consolidated its existing resources for stakeholders to easily find information about drug and biologics development and manufacturing, including for products to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent COVID-19 and for other critically needed products to treat symptoms of COVID-19 or to provide supportive care to those with COVID-19.  Go here to find the consolidated guide to these resources.

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

 

 

2020-10-27T06:00:20+00:00October 27th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Monday, October 26

Update on Regional Response Health Collaboratives

A recent Wolf administration news release offered an update on the work of the state’s Regional Response Health Collaboratives.

Pennsylvania State MapCreated in July to help long-term-care facilities address their struggles responding to the COVID-19 emergency, the state has six RRHCs led by 11 Pennsylvania health systems.  The RRHCs were created to provide clinical, operational, technical, and educational support to long-term-care facilities at a time when COVID-19-related deaths in such facilities accounted for more than 60 percent of all COVID-19 deaths state-wide.  With financial backing from the federal CARES Act, the RRHCs support nearly 2000 long-term-care facilities of different types at which more than 127,000 Pennsylvanians currently reside.

The RRHC program is scheduled to end on December 1.  State officials have asked the Trump administration for additional funding so the program can continue.

Learn more about the RRHCs, how they work, and what they do in this state news release.

2020-10-22T10:22:45+00:00October 22nd, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on Update on Regional Response Health Collaboratives

COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, October 20

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 case count so far is just short of 185,000.  The daily total has been in four figures every day this month except for one, which has not happened since the early months of the pandemic.
  • With today’s latest figures, the death count now exceeds 8500.
  • Of that number, 61 percent were residents of long-term-care facilities.
  • Overall, more than 24,700 residents of long-term-care facilities and more than 5400 people who work in those facilities have contracted COVID-19.  Those figures encompass 1028 facilities in 62 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.
  • More than 11,700 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.
  • The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is up 65 percent since October 1.
  • The number of COVID-19 patients currently breathing with the help of a ventilator is up 57 percent since October 1 and is at its highest level since August 20.
  • 21 percent of hospital adult ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 19 percent of medical/surgical beds, 36 percent of pediatric beds, 20 percent of pediatric ICU beds, and 39 percent of airborne isolation unit beds.  These figures are similar to what they were a week ago.
  • The weekly news release from the office of the governor and the Department of Health reported that during the week of October 9-15, the number of COVID-19 cases rose 17.9 percent over the previous week and the state-wide positivity rate for COVID-19 tests rose from 3.9 percent to 4.3 percent during the same period.
  • The highest positivity rates were in Huntingdon (9.9 percent), Westmoreland (8.9 percent), Bradford (8.3 percent), and Lackawanna, Lebanon, and Perry (8.2 percent) counties.
  • Counties found to have substantial levels of community transmission were Berks, Blair, Bradford, Centre, Huntingdon, Lackawanna, Montour, Schuylkill, Union, and Westmoreland.
  • Allegheny and Philadelphia counties are considered to have “moderate” rates of community transmission.
  • Despite this, Philadelphia’s health commissioner reports that every zip code in the city is experiencing an increase in its number of cases, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
  • Eight percent of all cases to date in the 8-15 years-old age group occurred during the week of October 9-15.

Department of Human Services

DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs has updated operational guidance to implement services through Appendix K flexibilities approved for the Community Living, Consolidated and Person/Family Directed Support (P/FDS) Waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund

HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with a new question that appears on page 46 and is marked “Added 10/15/2020.”  The new question is An organization has prescription sales as part of its revenue.  Can these sales be captured in the data submitted as a part of revenue from patient care?”  The answer is “Generally no, prescriptions sale revenue may not be captured as part of revenue from patient care.  Only patient care revenues from providing health care, services, and supports, as provided in a medical setting, at home, or in the community may be included.  Patient care revenues do include savings obtained by providers through enrollment in the 340B Program.”

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Food and Drug Administration

  • The FDA has re-issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for certain filtering facepiece respirators that are not approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
  • The FDA has removed epinephrine from the list of drugs that it has authorized for temporary compounding during the COVID-19 emergency.  Find the updated list of authorized drugs here.
  • The FDA will host a virtual town hall for COVID-19 test developers on October 28, 2020 from 12:15 pm – 1:15 pm (eastern).  The purpose of this town hall is to help answer technical questions about the development and validation of tests for COVID-19.  Go here for information on how to join the event.

Department of Labor

The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published an FAQ on how N95 respirators protect wearers from COVID-19 exposure.

 Federal Reserve System

The Federal Reserve System will hold a webinar for its Main Street Lending Program on Wednesday, October 21 at 2:00 (eastern).  That program supports lending to small and medium-sized for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations that were in sound financial condition before the COVID-19 pandemic but lack access to credit on reasonable terms.  Go here to learn more about the program, sign up for the webinar, and submit questions about the program.

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

Main COVID-19 Page

FAQ

 

 

2020-10-21T06:00:05+00:00October 21st, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Tuesday, October 20

COVID-19 Update: Thursday, October 15

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 15.

 Pennsylvania Update

Department of Human Services

DHS’s Office of Developmental Programs has issued an FAQ on modifications to medication administration course requirements as a result of the COVID-19 emergency.  The audience for this FAQ is Office of Developmental Programs providers whose staff, contractors, or consultants are required by state law to take medication administration training.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Developmental Programs has temporarily permitted staff required to undergo such training to take a modified medication administration course.  The FAQ addresses the current state of the training requirement.

Department of Health

  • The Department of Health has issued new guidance for skilled nursing facilities that replaces guidance issued on September 3 and brings the agency’s guidance in line with recent CMS memoranda.  This document is a compendium of all COVID-19-related guidance and recommendations in areas such as testing, visitation, cohorting, and reporting.
  • The Department of Health announced that the state has begun distributing the first allotment of 250,000 COVID-19 rapid antigen test cards provided by the federal government.
  • Distribution is beginning with Bradford, Centre, Lebanon, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, and Snyder counties because of the recent high COVID-19 incidence rates in those areas.
  • The tests are being distributed to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified organizations, including long-term-care facilities, personal care homes and assisted living/intermediate-care facilities, higher education institutions, drug and alcohol and behavioral health treatment centers, state and county correctional facilities, and health care providers such as FQHCs, urgent care centers, pharmacies, and primary care doctors.
  • Populations targeted for testing with these materials include individuals in congregate care settings, day care workers and clients, K-12 students and adults who work in K-12 settings, college and university students, individuals without permanent housing, food distribution facility employees, food workers, and first responders.
  • These test kits are separate from and in addition to the tests being provided by the federal government directly to skilled nursing facilities, personal care homes, and historically black colleges and universities.
  • The Secretary of Health issued an order to laboratories, health care practitioners, health care providers, and facilities reinforcing that all antigen test results, both positive and negative, must be reported to the Department of Health via its reporting system, PA-NEDSS.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The weekly news release from the office of the governor and the Department of Health cited 14 counties as concerns because of their high rate of positive test results:  Northumberland (8.6 percent), Centre (7.6 percent), Bradford (7.4 percent), Lebanon (7.4 percent), Lawrence (6.9 percent), Potter (6.3 percent), Westmoreland (6.3 percent), Fulton (6.2 percent), Montour (6.0 percent), Berks (5.9 percent), Indiana (5.9 percent), Huntingdon (5.8 percent), Lackawanna (5.4 percent), and Schuylkill (5.0 percent).  It also noted that “Each of these counties bears watching as the state continues to monitor all available data.”
  • With the increase in cases in Northumberland County, the Department of Health has arranged for an outdoor testing site from October 16-20.  The tests are free and appointments are not needed.
  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has been in four digits in 14 of the 15 days of October – the first time that has happened in more than four months.  Today’s new case count is the highest single day figure since at least May.
  • The number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 is up 43 percent since October 1.
  • The number of COVID-19 patients currently breathing with the help of a ventilator is up 57 percent since October 1 and is at its highest level since August 20.
  • 22 percent of hospital adult ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 18 percent of medical/surgical beds, 33 percent of pediatric beds, 13 percent of pediatric ICU beds, and 38 percent of airborne isolation unit beds.  These figures are almost identical to what they were a week ago.
  • More than 11,500 health care workers in the state have contracted COVID-19.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund

  • Yesterday HHS held a webinar to provide more detailed information to health care providers about its planned $20 billion CARES Act Provider Relief Fund Phase 3 general distribution. It used this toolkit during the webinar.  The deadline for applying for a Phase 3 general distribution is November 6.
  • During the webinar, providers that have received Provider Relief Fund general distributions in the past were advised that they need to submit an entirely new application to participate in Phase 3 and be eligible to receive any add-on payment that HHS distributes from the funding pool that remains after all applicants have received payments equal to two percent of patient care revenue.  There are no details available on how these potential add-on payments might be calculated.
  • During the webinar HHS offered a point of contact for stakeholders with questions about the Provider Relief Fund and payments for testing and treatment for the uninsured: its Provider Support Line at 866-569-3522 (for TYY, dial 711).

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

  • CMS has expanded the list of telehealth services that Medicare fee-for-service will pay for during the COVID-19 public health emergency, adding 11 new services to the Medicare telehealth services list. Medicare will begin paying for these services immediately and for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.  These new telehealth services include certain neurostimulator analysis and programming services and cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services.  Go here to see CMS’s announcement of the newly authorized telehealth services and here for a link to the list of the new services and their billing codes.
  • CMS has published the document “State Medicaid and CHIP Telehealth Toolkit: Policy Considerations for States Expanding Use of Telehealth” and subtitled it “COVID-19 Version.”  The document explains thatThis guide is intended to help states identify which aspects of their statutory and regulatory infrastructure may impede the rapid deployment of telehealth capabilities in their Medicaid program.  As such, this guide will describe each of these policy areas and the challenges they present below.  The toolkit concludes with a list of questions state policymakers can use to ensure they have explored and/or addressed potential obstacles.”  It also notes that “CMS encourages states to consider telehealth options as a flexibility in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing access to care.  States are encouraged to facilitate clinically appropriate care within the Medicaid program using telehealth technology to deliver services covered by the state.”  CMS also has published a supplement to this guide, “State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit:  Policy Considerations for States Expanding Use of Telehealth,” and subtitled it “COVID-19 Version:  Supplement #1.”  This document is dated October 14, 2020.

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

2020-10-16T06:00:49+00:00October 16th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Thursday, October 15

SNAP Asks PA Congressional Delegation to Help Preserve Federal COVID-19 Aid for Hospitals

Protect the COVID-19 aid the federal government has given to Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals and others, SNAP has asked in a letter to members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.

Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania logoThe letter refers to changes in how the federal Department of Health and Human Services wants hospitals to calculate the revenue they lost as a result of COVID-19 – the justification in part for the Provider Relief Fund payments hospitals have received through the CARES Act.  In June, HHS told hospitals how to make that calculation but late last month it changed those directions in ways that could force many Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals to return some or even much of the federal aid they received.

In the letter, SNAP asks members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to join a bipartisan letter asking HHS Secretary Alex Azar to restore the June instructions for calculating COVID-19-related lost hospital revenue.

Go here to read SNAP’s message to Congress.

2020-10-14T11:43:19+00:00October 14th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pennsylvania safety-net hospitals, Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania|Comments Off on SNAP Asks PA Congressional Delegation to Help Preserve Federal COVID-19 Aid for Hospitals

COVID-19 Update: Friday, October 9

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 2:15 p.m. on Friday, October 9.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Human Services

The Department of Human Services has been issued a section 1135 waiver by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  The waiver consists of two parts:  it permits the provision of clinic services without the supervision of a physician or dentist and it permits the provision of inpatient psychiatric services to patients under the age of 21 without the direction of a physician.  The purpose of section 1135 waivers is to give states greater flexibility to serve their Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  Go here to see the waiver issued to Pennsylvania.

DHS has issued guidance to establish a state-wide protocol to manage situations in which a child care facility must relocate operation due to local education agency decisions to limit access to their facilities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Department of Health

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has been in four digits for four days in a row – the first time that has happened in more than four months.
  • The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is up 32 percent since October 1.
  • The number of COVID-19 patients currently breathing with the help of a ventilator is up 53 percent since October 1 and is at its highest level since August 20.
  • Until today, deaths had been up in recent days but not outside the typical range over the past three months.
  • With the new deaths reported today, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Pennsylvania now exceeds 8300.
  • Hospital bed capacity remains generally strong:  22 percent of adult ICU beds are currently unoccupied, as are 18 percent of medical/surgical beds, 32 percent of pediatric beds, 11 percent of pediatric ICU beds, and 38 percent of airborne isolation unit beds.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

  • CMS has published more information about the new terms for repaying Medicare loans the federal government made to providers through Medicare’s Advanced and Accelerated Payment Program.  The new terms include a delayed deadline for beginning repayment, an extended period to make repayment, lower interest rates for those who do not repay their loans on time, and a process for seeking an extension on loan repayment.  Learn more from the following resources:
  • CMS’s announcement of the program’s repayment terms
  • a fact sheet on the program changes
  • an FAQ on the changes

CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

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

Office Hours

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 the health care workforce, and promote telehealth in Medicare.

Tuesday, October 13 at 5:00 (eastern)

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6379959
Audio Webcast link: https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2607

Tuesday, October 27 at 5:00  (eastern) – dial-in and other information to be announced later.

Nursing Homes

Wednesday, October 14 at 4:30 (eastern)
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In:  833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1897041 Audio Webcast Link: https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2622

Wednesday, October 28 at 4:30 (eastern) – dial-in and other information to be announced later.

American Medical Association

The AMA has introduced new CPT codes for COVID-19 testing and for joint COVID-19/flu testing and other COVID-19-related activities.

Food and Drug Administration

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC has published a flowchart for the management of health care workers who have been exposed to a person 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

 

2020-10-12T20:19:11+00:00October 12th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Friday, October 9

PA Health Law Project Newsletter

The Pennsylvania Health Law Project has published its September 2020 newsletter Health Law News.

Included in this month’s edition are articles about:

  • How Pennsylvania Medicaid beneficiaries who turn 21 during the COVID-19 emergency remain eligible for EPSDT services.
  • Pennsylvania Health Law Project navigators who can help direct people to COVID-19 testing and treatment.
  • A warning that without increased federal Medicaid matching money, states may seek to reduce Medicaid provider payments, increase beneficiary cost-sharing, or reduce services.

Read about these subjects and more in the Pennsylvania Health Law Project’s September 2020 newsletter.

2020-10-08T06:00:21+00:00October 8th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19, Pennsylvania Medicaid|Comments Off on PA Health Law Project Newsletter

COVID-19 Update: Monday, October 5

The following is the latest COVID-19 information from the state and federal governments as of 2:45 p.m. on Monday, October 5.

Pennsylvania Update

Department of Health

The Department of Health issued a health alert with information on multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and reporting instructions for suspected cases among patients younger than 21 years of age.

The Department of Health issued a health alert describing the variety of symptoms that may present in COVID-19 patients and recommending that patients who have been exposed should be tested within two to three days of exposure regardless of the presence of symptoms.

Department of Health – by the numbers

  • The number of new COVID-19 cases has been at a higher sustained level in the past week than it has been since the third week of July.
  • The number of new daily deaths has not grown appreciably.
  • For the week ending October 1, the number of new cases rose 20 percent over the previous week.
  • Counties with the highest positivity rates that week were Centre (9.4 percent), Northumberland (9.3 percent), and Snyder (7.8 percent).  Places where community transmission is considered greatest, and is related to specific events, are Centre, Northumberland, Montour and Snyder counties.
  • The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has grown daily since September 23 but is well below the level of previous months.  The number of patients breathing with the help of a ventilator has risen in recent days but it, too, is well below the levels of past months.

Department of State

The Department of State has extended the deadline for practical nurses to renew their licenses for 30 days, until October 31.

Federal Update

Provider Relief Fund

  • HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund information about the Phase 3 general distribution that was announced last week.  Go here for information on how to apply for Phase 3 funding and here for the terms and conditions for Phase 3 payments.  Today is the first day for providers to apply for Phase 3 funding; the application deadline is November 6.
  • HHS has updated its Provider Relief Fund FAQ with seven changes marked “Modified 10/1/2020.”  The changes, found on pages p. 23, p. 30 (two changes), and p. 31 (four changes), address the eligibility of different types of providers for Phase 3 general distributions.

Department of Health and Human Services

  • HHS Secretary Azar has renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration, which was set to expire on October 23.  With this renewal, the CMS waivers made possible by the declaration will remain in effect until January 21 unless the emergency is renewed again.  View the renewal notice here. In late September HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response held a webinar on optimizing personal protective equipment during the COVID-10 pandemic.  The office prepared this document to support the webinar.  Go here to see the presentation used during the webinar and for links to a transcript and a recording of the webinar.
  • HHS’s Office of the Inspector General has updated its work plan for audits, evaluations, and inspections that are under way or planned in October.  Among the subjects of audits will be HHS’s program for paying for care for uninsured COVID-19 patients and COVID-19 testing data for federal programs.

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

2020-10-06T06:02:36+00:00October 6th, 2020|Coronavirus, COVID-19|Comments Off on COVID-19 Update: Monday, October 5
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