September 1, 2020

This report from the Missouri Hospital Association is designed to help you stay abreast of recent developments related to COVID-19.

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Advocacy
PR & Media Updates
Rural Resources
Testing, Reporting & Treatment
Workforce
Vaccine Updates

The effective reproductive rate, represents the effective transmission rate for COVID-19. Ideally, the Re should be less than 1. Click the Re rate above or visit our website to view the weekly regional dashboards and learn more.

Source: Washington University Institute for Public Health

Advocacy

Gov. Parson Engages With MHA Members On COVID-19

Staff Contact: Daniel Landon

Gov. Mike Parson and key members of his administration participated in a conference call with the MHA membership on the state’s response to the COVID-19 emergency. As with the series of weekly calls with the governor held mid-March through mid-June, the call provided an opportunity for an update on state activities and hospital issues, and for hospital executives to ask questions and make comments. The governor and his officials offered updates on personal protective equipment, key metrics, state guidance for quarantines in school-related exposures and new opportunities for rapid testing. The conversation addressed the promotion and management of influenza vaccinations. State government anticipates initiating its flu vaccination campaign the third week of September. Also, state officials are open to revisiting their earlier discussions with hospitals and long-term care facilities on demand for and effects of COVID-19 testing. The conference call was recorded.

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MHA Urges Support Of Medicare Accelerated Payment Relief

Staff Contact: Daniel Landon or Andrew Wheeler

MHA wrote the Missouri congressional delegation urging support of legislation to relax the repayment obligations of the Medicare Accelerated Payment program. As authorized by the federal CARES Act, the payments provided short-term loans to hospitals in April of 2020. After a 120-day grace period, repayment now is underway through withholding of Medicare fee-for-service payments to offset the debt.

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MHA Opposes Harsh New Penalties For COVID-19 Data Reporting Violations

Staff Contact: Daniel Landon

As noted previously, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued an interim final rule last week that makes hospital compliance with evolving federal COVID-19 data submission requirements a Medicare Condition of Participation. The change will take effect immediately upon its publication in the Federal Register, slated for Wednesday, Sept. 1. MHA sent the Missouri congressional delegation a letter and American Hospital Association infographic encouraging them to ask CMS to withdraw its new interim final rulemaking and engage in a meaningful regulatory public comment process.

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MHA Asks Attorney General To Help Educate Public About Contact Tracing Scams

Staff Contact: Jane Drummond

MHA has learned of efforts in other states to dupe individuals into giving up financial and personal information for COVID-19 contact tracing. Scammers are posing as contact tracers and, after advising the individual has been exposed to the virus, asking for payment information to continue to process or seek identifying information, such as a social security number. MHA asked Attorney General Eric Schmitt to inform the public that any attempt to obtain such information in the course of contact tracing is a hoax.

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PR & Media Updates

Spanish Version Of Student “Mask Up” Poster Available

Staff Contact: Dave Dillon

MHA, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Missouri School Boards’ Association recently released a mask campaign reminding students to maintain proper social distancing, wash their hands and wear a mask to help keep viruses at bay as they head back to school during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the poster and social images, Spanish versions of these resources now are available.

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Rural Resources

USDA Implements Immediate Measures To Help Rural Communities

Staff Contact: Stephen Njenga

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development is helping rural communities and businesses affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. It provides a list of opportunities for immediate relief, including the Rural Housing, Rural Utilities and Rural Business-Cooperative Services. Items with an asterisk are new or updated as of Aug. 28.

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Testing, Reporting & Treatment

HHS Procures 150 Million COVID-19 Rapid Tests From Abbott

Staff Contact: Terrie Bauer

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a contract award to Abbott for the delivery of 150 million rapid Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Point of Care SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests. HHS said the $760 million deal will expand strategic, evidence-based testing in the U.S., with the tests potentially deployed to schools and to assist with serving other special needs populations. “By strategically distributing 150 million of these tests to where they’re needed most, we can track the virus like never before and protect millions of Americans at risk in especially vulnerable situations,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.

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FDA Approves New Rapid Antigen Test

Staff Contact: Terrie Bauer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first COVID-19 antigen test that allows health care providers to read the results in minutes directly from the testing card, similar to some pregnancy tests. Under the emergency use authorization, laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment to perform moderate, high or waived complexity tests, as well as health care providers with a CLIA certificate of waiver, compliance or accreditation may use the test, made by Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough Inc. The company plans to make as many as 50 million tests available monthly in the U.S. beginning in early October. Antigen tests are less sensitive than molecular tests, meaning negative results may need to be confirmed with a molecular test.

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FDA Issues An EUA For A New Test To Detect SARS-CoV-2 In Saliva

Staff Contact: Terrie Bauer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for a new test to detect SARS-CoV-2 in saliva, which does not require saliva collection tubes containing preservatives or specialized equipment for nucleic acid extraction.

“Providing this type of flexibility for processing saliva samples to test for COVID-19 infection is groundbreaking in terms of efficiency and avoiding shortages of crucial test components like reagents,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, M.D.

The SalivaDirect test is authorized for use by laboratories that are certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 and meet requirements to perform high complexity tests. See the SalivaDirect FAQs for additional information.

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Workforce

HHS Releases Workforce Virtual Toolkit

Staff Contact: Jill Williams

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its COVID-19 Workforce Virtual Toolkit, which includes updated resources for hospitals. The toolkit provides a curated set of resources and tools for decision-makers managing health care workforce challenges in response to the COVID-19 emergency.

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Vaccine Updates

National Academies Seek Input, Host Public Listening Session

Staff Contact: Terrie Bauer

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine invite public comment on a study, “Discussion Draft of the Preliminary Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine.” The study will recommend priorities to inform allocation of a limited initial supply of COVID-19 vaccine, taking into account social and risk factors. The discussion draft will be available for comment for four days beginning Tuesday, Sept. 1.

In addition, the study committee will host a public listening session from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Sept. 2, providing members of the public an opportunity to address the committee directly. Registration is open and encouraged.

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