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COVID-19 Update

Topic

COVID-19
Disease Management

CMS Changes COVID-19 Testing Medicare Payment Rate

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced changes to the payment rates for COVID-19 diagnostic tests. CMS announced in April that the payment rate for high throughput COVID-19 diagnostic testing would increase from approximately $51 to $100 per test. CMS now announced that effective Jan. 1, 2021, the payment rate of $100 would be paid for COVID-19 diagnostic tests that complete high throughput within two calendar days of the specimen being collected. For laboratories that take longer than two days to complete the tests, Medicare will pay $75. CMS Administrator Seema Verma stated, “As America continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, prompt testing turnaround times are more important than ever. Today’s announcement supports faster high throughput testing, which will allow patients and physicians to act quickly and decisively with respect to treatment decisions, physical isolation and contact tracing.”

Clinical Guidance

FDA Removes Epinephrine From COVID-19 Temporary Compounding List

Staff Contact: Sarah Willson

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed epinephrine from the lists of drugs authorized for temporary compounding during the COVID-19 public health emergency by outsourcing facilities and state-licensed pharmacies or federal facilities not registered as outsourcing facilities. The FDA said epinephrine’s removal is based on increased supplies of FDA-approved epinephrine products used to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Education

MHA Hosts Office Hours For COVID-19 Data Submission

Staff Contact: Jessica Stultz

MHA safety, quality and data staff will hold open office hours from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, to discuss recent changes and updates to the data submission process. Staff will be available to demonstrate the updates via screen sharing and will offer advice to assist with COVID-19 data submission.

HHS OIEA And CMS Host COVID-19 Data Webinar

Staff Contact: Jessica Stultz

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced updated guidance for hospital data reporting to provide greater insights into how COVID-19 and other infectious diseases spread and impact the population. This new guidance is imperative as the federal government is always looking to better enhance response efforts and supply shipments. To better connect with the hospital community on this updated guidance, HHS’ Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs is hosting a webinar with administration subject matter experts to detail these requirements and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reinforcement process. To ensure that stakeholders have adequate opportunity to participate, the HHS is hosting several identical webinars. The next webinar takes place via Zoom at noon on Thursday, Oct. 22.

AJN Offers On-Demand Webinar On Practice/Academic Partnerships

Staff Contact: Jill Williams

COVID-19 continues to cause significant disruption to the health care system and to clinical experiences available to nursing students. Well-prepared, competent and safe graduate nurses play an integral role in the nursing workforce and its response to COVID-19 and future public health emergencies. The American Journal of Nursing offers an on-demand webinar, “Practice/Academic Partnerships in the Age of COVID-19,” to identify the benefits of this model, describe its components and implementation processes, and evaluate successful Practice/Academic Partnerships established in response to the pandemic.

Noteworthy

CMS Reports Medicare Beneficiary Care Deferrals

Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released information showing that 21% of Medicare beneficiaries report forgoing non-coronavirus care due to the pandemic, while 98% have taken preventative measures to keep themselves safe from the virus. According to the CMS survey, the most common type of services forgone was dental care, regular check-ups, treatment for ongoing conditions, and diagnostic or medical screening testing.

Congressional Research Services Issues Report On Coronavirus Medicaid Telehealth Policies

Staff Contact: Brian Kinkade

A Congressional Research Services report documents the breadth and scope of changes in telehealth policies states have allowed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical, speech and occupational therapies; long-term services and supports; and dental services are the services states have most commonly opened to telehealth during the pandemic. Although most states permitted telehealth services to be delivered in the patient’s home before the pandemic, 42 states have expanded service definitions to allow telehealth services to be delivered telephonically since the crisis began.

PPE & Supply

FDA Authorizes Emergency Use Of Certain Chinese-Manufactured Face-Piece Respirators

Staff Contact: Stacie Hollis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reissued its emergency use authorization for certain, Chinese-manufactured filtering face-piece respirators that lack National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health approval. Such respirators originally were authorized for emergency use on June 6 if they met any of a series of predetermined eligibility criteria; the reissued EUA no longer includes such criteria.

ASPR TRACIE Releases PPE Preservation Planning Toolkit

Staff Contact: Stacie Hollis

The COVID-19 Healthcare Resilience Working Group developed a toolkit, which includes a guide and an Excel spreadsheet that explains types of personal protective equipment preservation strategies and calculates how using those strategies can increase the duration of a specified PPE supply.

Vaccine Updates

CVS, Walgreens To Aid COVID-19 Vaccine Administration In Long-Term Care Facilities

Staff Contact: Terrie Bauer

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced agreements with CVS and Walgreens to provide and administer COVID-19 vaccines to long-term care facility residents. The service will be provided for no out-of-pocket cost. HHS said that enlisting CVS and Walgreens via Operation Warp Speed will reduce the burden on LTCF sites and local health departments for vaccine handling, administration and fulfilling reporting requirements.

Workforce

COVID-19 Workforce Resources Available