Coronavirus update for Monday, May 11 as of 2:30 p.m. Department of Health and Human Services HHS has announced its allocation plan for the distribution of the prescription drug remdesivir to treat patients with COVID-19. The initial shipments were to Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, and New Jersey.  The drug is being shipped to state health departments, which will decide how it will be distributed among hospitals. HHS will base future distribution of remdesivir on hospitals’ active COVID-19 cases. For this reason, it is asking hospitals log on to the [...]

Coronavirus update for Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Department of Health and Human Services/Health Resources and Services Administration HHS’s Health Resources and Services Administration, which is administering the program through which providers can be reimbursed for COVID-19-related services they provide to uninsured patients, has posted information on how to batch enter patient roster information. HRSA has posted a list of billing vendors and clearinghouses that have committed to submitting claims as part of the program for providers to seek payment for care provided to uninsured COVID-19 patients. HRSA has posted information about timing expectations for [...]

Coronavirus update for Tuesday, May 5 as of 3:00 p.m. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS has updated its FAQ for state Medicaid and CHIP programs.  Among the issues the FAQ addresses are emergency preparedness and response, eligibility and enrollment flexibilities, benefit flexibilities, cost-sharing flexibilities, financing flexibilities, managed care flexibilities, information technology and  data reporting.  A separate document includes only the new questions. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC has posted guidance for nasal (anterior nasal) specimen collection for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. The CDC has updated its interim guidance for collecting, handling, and [...]