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March 29th COVID-19 Update

New updates pertaining to the COVID-19 emergency continue to be announced by both the state and federal government on a regular basis. The latest developments for providers of long-term/post-acute care (LTPAC) and senior services are reviewed below.

As a reminder, LeadingAge NY continues to convene weekly webinars on Mondays at 11 a.m. to address emerging questions on COVID-19. A recording of our most recent webinar, held on March 28th, is available here, and a list of the items shared by LeadingAge NY staff in the webinar chat can be accessed here. If you have questions for next week’s update or would like the access information, please contact Jeff Diamond.

Cross-Sector Updates

OSHA Accepting Additional Comments on COVID-19 Healthcare Standard

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently published a notice reopening the rulemaking record and scheduling an informal public hearing seeking comments on the development of a final standard to protect health care workers from workplace exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Click here for more information.

Period 2 Provider Relief Reports Due March 31st

Members who received more than $10,000 in Provider Relief Funding (PRF) from July 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020 are required to report on the use of the funds by March 31st. Providers may apply the payments for eligible expenses incurred prior to receipt of payments (i.e., pre-award costs) as long as the funds were used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. Funding received during the second half of 2020 can be applied to allowable expenses incurred from Jan. 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2021. Nursing home providers who received Infection Control funding should be aware of the terms and conditions limiting the use of those funds. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Resource Guide for Reporting Period 2 is here, with reporting and auditing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) here. A helpful article from LeadingAge National regarding letters requesting repayment of funds from providers who did not report for Reporting Period 1 and/or may have an opportunity to make corrections is available here.

Nursing Home Updates

More National Guard Support Deployed to Nursing Homes This Week

As members are aware, members of the National Guard have been deployed to various not-for-profit and public nursing homes statewide due to staffing shortages. In response to the Department of Health (DOH) survey conducted earlier this month, additional assistance will be deployed this week. Click here for more information.

New DOH Nursing Home Testing and Visitation Guidance Aligns with CMS

DOH issued new guidance last week on nursing home visitation and testing. The new guidance, Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) 22-09, generally aligns with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance on testing and visitation issued earlier this month, except that it continues the New York State Health Advisory requiring visitors to present negative COVID-19 test results. The new guidance explicitly “supersedes and replaces” the November 2021 DOH visitation DAL. Click here for more information.

Opportunity to Apply for Nursing Home CMP Funding for Visitation Aids

DOH has released a DAL announcing that it will accept applications for nursing home civil monetary penalty (CMP) funds to support the purchase of in-person visitation aids. Applications must be submitted separately for each facility no later than 3 p.m. on Fri., April 1st. Click here for more information.

DOH Issues Advisory on Pause in Distribution of Sotrovimab

DOH issued an Advisory on March 25th announcing the pause in distribution of sotrovimab to certain Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Regions. The regions identified as being affected are Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) and Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands). Click here for more information.

Community Transmission Rates

Health care providers should continue consulting the COVID-19 Community Transmission Rates posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (not Community Levels that also appear on CDC sites). The link to the New York State color-coded county map, which as of March 29th is still dominated by red (high transmission) and orange (substantial transmission), is here. LeadingAge NY also posts weekly updated county-level data and color codes here (please refresh browser to see most recent posting). Transmission Rates are calculated based on two measures: new cases per 100,000 individuals in the last seven days and percentage of positive nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) during the last seven days. The CDC county-level Transmission Rate methodology relies on a four-category approach (Low-Blue, Moderate-Yellow, Substantial-Orange, High-Red) and is used to determine the frequency of routine testing of nursing home staff.

CDC to Present March 31st Webinar on New Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Form

The CDC will host a webinar for National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) users on a new Event-Level COVID-19 Vaccination Form on Thurs., March 31st at 2 p.m. The form is based on the “Data Tracking Worksheets” currently available in Excel spreadsheet format. It has not been built into the NHSN module to assist providers in managing and reporting person-level vaccination data. Click here to register for the webinar.

Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Updates

Proposed Telehealth Regulations Carry Forward COVID-19 PHE Flexibilities

On March 23rd, DOH issued proposed telehealth regulations intended to ensure continuity of care provided to Medicaid enrollees during the transition from telehealth services provided during the public health emergency (PHE) and after the PHE ends. Click here for more information.