June 7th 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 outlined 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 June 6th, 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
LeadingAge NY Urges Governor to Provide HERDS Reporting Relief to Providers
As members are aware, LeadingAge NY has been persistently advocating for relief from the onerous Health Emergency Response Data System (HERDS) surveys for our nursing home, adult care facility (ACF), home care, and hospice members. Most recently, we issued this letter to Governor Hochul and Department of Health (DOH) leadership recommending that they do away with the regular HERDS reporting for these provider types and instead adopt an “exception reporting” process by which only the most salient data points are collected if and when they occur. LeadingAge NY also outlined a variety of other interim strategies in the event that the State was unable to cease the regular reporting at this time.
We are pleased that one of our suggestions was adopted, and nursing home and ACF providers will experience some relief by no longer having to submit the report on weekends and state or federal holidays, starting June 11th. Click here for more information.
Nursing Home and ACF/Assisted Living (AL) Updates
DOH Issues Updated COVID-19 Guidance for ACFs
Last week, DOH issued an updated ACF COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Checklist, which was previously issued in April 2020, as well as updated isolation and quarantine guidance, which was previously issued in March of this year. Click here for more information.
Clarification on Survey Issues Related to Vaccination Status
Nursing homes are being cited for failing to develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure the implementation of additional precautions intended to mitigate the transmission and spread of COVID-19 for all staff who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Facilities are also being cited erroneously for allowing staff to work with just one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. LeadingAge NY provides two points of clarification related to these areas here.
Community Transmission Rates
While the solid red of “high” COVID-19 transmission rates in all counties in the state is starting to be interspersed with the occasional orange signaling “substantial” transmission, as of June 7th, these rates require nursing homes in all counties to test full-time staff who are not up to date with COVID-19 immunization twice a week. For routine staff testing purposes, “up to date” for staff age 50 and over is defined to include two boosters, if eligible. For staff under age 50, up to date is defined to include a single booster, if eligible. Although the data can be cumbersome to find on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, health care providers should seek out the COVID-19 Community Transmission Rates (not Community Levels that also appear on the CDC site) to determine the frequency of routine staff testing. The link to the Community Transmission Rates map on the CDC site is here. LeadingAge NY continues to post the map on a weekly basis here (please refresh your browser to ensure that you are viewing the most recent posting).
CMS Issues Guidance on Emergency Preparedness
On May 26th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revisions to memorandum QSO-20-41. The guidance allows for providers who continue to operate or have reactivated the emergency response plan due to COVID-19 to once again qualify for the actual emergency exemption from emergency preparedness emergency plan testing requirements. Click here for more information.
CMS Confirms Deadline for Completion of Nurse Aide In-Service Training Following 1135 Waiver Termination
CMS previously waived requirements at 42 CFR 483.95(g)(1) for nurse aides to complete at least 12 hours of in-service training annually. At the time the waiver was issued, CMS stated that the deadline for completing this requirement would be postponed to the end of the first full quarter after the declaration of the public health emergency (PHE) concludes.
With the PHE extended into July and the waiver terminating on June 6th, LeadingAge National reached out to CMS for confirmation on the deadline for nurse aides to complete the required 12 hours of in-service training. CMS confirmed that nurse aides will have 12 months following the termination of the waiver on June 6th (until June 2023) to complete the annually required in-service training.
Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Updates
Home Health and Hospice 1135 Blanket Waiver Charts Available for Providers
LeadingAge National has developed 1135 waiver status charts for home health and hospice providers. Waived provisions that offered flexibility during the pandemic have several different statuses: either they are expired, continue to be active during the federal PHE, will expire a specified number of days after the federal PHE, or have been codified in federal statute or regulation. Click here to access the charts and additional information.