MHA Today | January 26, 2022

Staff Contact: Jane Drummond or Sarah Willson

OSHA announced the withdrawal of its emergency temporary standard imposing vaccination or testing requirements on employers with more than 100 employees. The agency stated that the ETS would continue to form the basis of a proposed rule.

Staff Contact: Sarah Willson

CMS released new guidance on vaccination expectations for surveyors entering Medicare-certified hospitals and facilities. Surveyors are expected to be vaccinated or have an approved exemption issued by their employer in accordance with federal allowances. The department is reviewing the guidance and plans to communicate with hospitals on their processes, and what hospitals and other health care facilities can expect. Hospitals will continue to follow CDC guidance for mitigating transmission and spread of COVID-19. Surveyors will follow hospital policy for PPE and other transmission-based precautions.

Staff Contact: Keri Barclay or Kara Amann-Kale

Recognizing that some monoclonal antibody treatment options are not effective against the Omicron variant, the FDA updated the EUA fact sheets for bamlanivimab plus etesevimab, as well as casirivimab plus imdevimab (REGEN-COV), stating these two treatments are not currently authorized for use anywhere in the U.S.

Staff Contact: Keri Barclay or Kara Amann-Kale

The FDA expanded the approved uses for remdesivir to include nonhospitalized patients ages 12 and older who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, weigh at least 88 pounds and are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. The FDA also authorized emergency use of the drug for high-risk, nonhospitalized pediatric patients who weigh less than 88 but more than eight pounds, including patients under age 12. This treatment option previously was limited to hospitalized patients. The expanded uses are based on results from a clinical trial that showed the drug reduced hospitalizations in high-risk, nonhospitalized patients. Updated provider and patient fact sheets are available.

Staff Contact: Mary Becker

To help reduce unnecessary emergency department visits for COVID-19 testing or treatment, MHA and DHSS developed new unbranded social media assets for hospitals that advise the public on the appropriate use of different sites of care. These are in addition to other assets on testing. Please contact MHA if we can assist in their use.

Staff Contact: Brian Kinkade

As of Jan. 21, 58,500 Missourians have been enrolled in coverage under Medicaid expansion. The current enrollment is far below the state’s original projection. One reason for the slow growth in enrollment is a growing backlog of applications for coverage that are “pending” or awaiting processing by DSS. As of Dec. 31, 65,000 applications (Table 11) were pending; before Medicaid expansion became effective in October, the average count of pending applications was about 2,000. Correspondingly, the average number of days to process an application has increased from under 10 to 70. MHD Director Todd Richardson and Family Support Division Director Kim Evans responded to questions on the expansion application processing at a hearing on Jan. 25 (at the 11:32:20 mark on the hearing video recording).

MHA and the Missouri Foundation for Health have Medicaid expansion outreach and educational materials available online for hospitals to use with their patients. MHA also prepared guidance for hospital staff assisting patients with the Medicaid application process.

Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler

CMS previously released a proposed rule that included a Request for Information about Medicare prior authorizations for hospital transfers to post-acute care settings during a public health emergency. Although MHA will be submitting comments, hospitals are encouraged to respond to the RFI with data, examples, suggestions for improvement and general statements about problems encountered with Medicare Advantage plans. The following resources are available to assist hospitals in submitting comments.

• • Issue Brief: CMS Issues Proposed Notice of MA and Part D Benefit Parameters for 2023
  • Questions from the Federal Register
  • Instructions about submitting a comment

Responses to the RFI are due Monday, March 7.

Staff Contact: Sherry Buschjost

Now available on QualityNet is version 1.0 of the IPFQR Specifications Manual, effective for IPF discharges from Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2022. The manual is reviewed in a CMS on-demand webinar.

Staff Contact: Jill Williams

Missouri HOSA is hosting its 2022 State Leadership Conference, scheduled Monday, March 28, and Tuesday, March 29, in Rolla, Mo. With 38 competitive and recognition events, HOSA needs approximately 75 volunteers to serve as judges for the conference. Additional details are available, including the judge registration form and event guidelines.