COVID-19 update for Monday, May 18 as of 2:30 p.m.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- CMS has posted a compendium of COVID-19-related flexibilities it has authorized for ambulance services during the COVID-19 crisis.
- CMS has updated its collections of COVID-19-related waiver flexibilities for several types of health care providers.
- For health care providers, a new section on ambulance services and the Medicare ground ambulance data collection system (p. 29).
- For hospitals, new provisions addressing specific life safety code matters for hospitals (p. 3); expanded ability for hospitals to offer long-term-care services (swing beds) (p. 6); hospitals classified as sole-community hospitals (p. 7); and hospitals classified as Medicare-dependent small rural hospitals (p. 7).
- For teaching hospitals, teaching physicians, and medical residents, new sections on the expanded ability of hospitals to offer long-term-care services (swing beds) for patients who do not require acute care but do meet the skilled nursing facility level-of-care criteria (p. 5) and its waiving of certain physical requirements under the Medicare conditions of participation to allow for increased flexibilities for surge capacity and patient quarantine at hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and critical hospitals as a result of COVID-19 (p. 6).
- For long-term-care facilities (skilled nursing facilities or nursing facilities), a new section on the training required for paid feeding assistants (p. 11).
- For home health agencies, a new provision that permits occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech language pathologists to perform initial and comprehensive assessments for all patients and not only for patients for whom physical therapy has been ordered (see page 4).
- For end-stage renal disease facilities, new information about the requirement that facilities furnish dialysis services on the main premises (p. 5).
CMS Weekly Stakeholder Calls
COVID-19: Office Hours Call — May 19
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6 pm ET
Hospitals, health systems, and providers: Ask CMS questions about its temporary actions.
To Participate on May 19:
- Conference lines are limited but you also can join via audio webcast
- Or, call 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 9984433
Target Audience: Physicians and other clinicians
COVID-19: Home Health and Hospice Call — May 19
Tuesdays from 3 to 3:30 pm ET
These calls provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. Leaders in the field also share best practices. There is an opportunity to ask questions if time allows.
To Participate on May 19:
- Conference lines are limited but you also can join via audio webcast
- Or, call 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6477704
COVID-19: Nursing Home Call — May 20
Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5 pm ET
These calls provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. Leaders in the field also share best practices. There is an opportunity to ask questions if time allows.
To Participate on May 20:
- Conference lines are limited but you also can join via audio webcast
- Or, call 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4879622
COVID-19: Dialysis Organization Call — May 20
Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6 pm ET
These calls provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. Leaders in the field also share best practices. There is an opportunity to ask questions if time allows.
To Participate on May 20:
- Conference lines are limited but you also can join via audio webcast
- Or, call 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3287645
COVID-19: Nurses Call — May 21
Thursdays from 3 to 3:30 pm ET
These calls provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. Leaders in the field also share best practices. There is an opportunity to ask questions if time allows.
To Participate on May 21:
- Conference lines are limited but you also can join via audio webcast
- Or, call 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2874976
COVID-19: Office Hours Call — May 21
Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 to 6 pm ET
Hospitals, health systems, and providers: Ask CMS questions about its temporary actions.
To Participate on May 21:
- Conference lines are limited but you also can join via audio webcast
- Or, call 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 9984433
Target Audience: Physicians and other clinicians
COVID-19: Lessons from the Front Lines Call — May 22
Fridays from 12:30 to 2 pm ET
These weekly calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians: Share your experience, ideas, strategies, and insights related to your COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions.
To Participate on May 22:
- Conference lines are limited but you also can join via audio webcast
- Or, call 877-251-0301; Access Code: 6086125
To catch up on past calls, go here for transcripts and podcasts.
Department of Health and Human Services
- ASPR TRACIE, sponsored by HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) to provide Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) services, has published a summary on funding for alternative care sites for helping to increase hospital surge capacity in communities overwhelmed by patients diagnosed with COVID-19. In particular, see the charts on pages 3 and 4.
- HHS will be distributing another large quantity of the drug remdesivir to state health departments later this week. Those state health departments, in turn, will distribute the drug to their states’ hospitals as they believe appropriate. This distribution is about the same size as last week’s. Another, smaller distribution is expected next week.
Neither this week’s nor next week’s distributions require any action by hospitals; they do not have to provide any data through the COVID-19 teletracking portal.
Gilead, manufacturer of remdesivir, is expected to donate more than 300,000 additional vials to the federal government in early June. Hospitals will be asked to input their COVID-19 data through the teletracking portal in early June as that next donation draws closer.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- The CDC updated its information for pediatric health care providers on multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).
Food and Drug Administration
- The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for an at-home sample collection kit that can then be sent to specified laboratories for COVID-19 diagnostic testing.
- The FDA has issued an EUA for a commercial device to be used for remote monitoring of cardiograms among COVID-19 patients whose hearts may be susceptible to cardiac arrhythmias when taking certain prescription drugs.
- The FDA has updated its guidance document on conducting clinical trials of medical products during the COVID-19 emergency.
- The FDA has issued EUAs for four new commercial diagnostic tests for COVID-19. Find them here, here, here, and here.
Federal Funding Opportunities for Hospitals
The National Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has prepared a document that collects and presents in one place the various new federal funding opportunities for hospitals resulting from legislation addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency. Find that document here.