TELEHEALTH ACCESS DURING NCOV-19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
CMS announced several waivers and policy changes to broaden
access to telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19
public health emergency. These include:
- Waivers of originating
and geographic site restrictions on Medicare telehealth services,
permitting the delivery of these services in all areas of the country and
all locations, including patients' homes.
- The ability of providers to use
expanded telehealth authority for new and established patients for
diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19, as well as for conditions unrelated
to the pandemic.
- Permission for providers to use
everyday communications technologies, such as FaceTime or Skype, during
the COVID-19 public health emergency, without running afoul of HIPAA
penalties.
They also released
a frequently asked questions document about the changes
included in its announcement.
CMS also
released Medicaid telehealth guidance to states. This guidance is
designed to assist states in understanding the policy options available to them
to reimburse Medicaid providers that provide telehealth services.
Congress urged to provide direct financial assistance to hospitals. Today,
they are urging the Congress to quickly pass "critically needed"
direct financial assistance for hospitals and health systems to combat the
pandemic, including assistance for hospitals investing in infrastructure,
equipment and supplies, and a full payroll tax credit or other mechanisms to
offset uncompensated care, bad debt and charity care costs for treating
coronavirus patients.
House passes the revised emergency funding bill. The House of
Representatives also passed by unanimous consent a revised version of the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) in response to the novel
coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The revisions made technical corrections to
the legislation that the House passed March 14. The revised package now goes to
the Senate.
FDA expands testing
guidance grants diagnostic EUA to two labs. The Food and Drug Administration also updated its policy
for COVID-19 diagnostics to increase the amount and types of
tests and expand testing capabilities. The changes include allowing states to
take responsibility for tests developed and used by laboratories in their
states, removing the FDA from the equation. They will allow commercial
manufacturers to distribute, and laboratories to use these tests before the FDA
grants an emergency use authorization. They will also offer recommendations for
developers wanting to create serological tests, as long as these tests are not
used as the sole means for diagnosis. FDA also issued EUAs to Hologic for its COVID-19 assay and LabCorp
for its PCR test.
CDC changes test
interpretation for CDC EUA. Clinical laboratories using the CDC 2019-nCoV Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase-PCR Diagnostic Panel
Emergency Use Authorization will no longer have to seek additional
confirmation from the CDC. Instead, they will be able to report presumptive
positive results as positives. In addition, laboratories using any test
modifying the CDC EUA must still send their assay information to the FDA for
emergency use authorization.
The Joint Commission suspends surveying. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak,
the Joint Commission suspended all surveying until at least the end of April.
CMS, in an email to stakeholders, said it agreed with TJC's decision. TJC is
also working with its field staff and customers on plans to redirect TJC
resources to best assist customers during this time
Florida receives the Section 1135 Medicaid waiver. CMS has granted
Florida a Section 1135 waiver. The action was made possible by President
Trump's national emergency declaration, allowing the waiver of prior authorization and medical
necessity processes in fee-for-service delivery systems. It will also permit
care to be provided in alternative settings in the event a facility is
evacuated to an unlicensed facility or temporary shelter. Also, such a waiver
will streamline provider enrollment processes to ensure access to care for
beneficiaries. It will suspend certain nursing home screening requirements to
provide necessary administrative relief and extend deadlines for appeals and
state fair hearing requests.
CDC issues return-to-work criteria. CMS has provided guidance for occupational health programs and public
health officials making decisions for personnel with confirmed or suspected
COVID-19. The guidance says that return-to-work decisions should be made in the
context of local circumstances and provides test-based and non-test-based
strategies and suggested work restrictions.
Resource: www.aha.org
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