|
CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2020
Contact: CMS Media
Relations
(202) 690-6145 | CMS Media Inquiries
CMS Sends Guidance to Programs of All-Inclusive Care for
the Elderly (PACE) Organizations
Agency discretion will help PACE organizations take steps to
prevent the spread of Coronavirus
Today, the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance to all Programs of
All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Organizations (POs) to protect the
health and safety of Americans in response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic. PACE is a Medicare and Medicaid program that helps people meet
their healthcare needs in the community instead of going to a nursing home or
other care facility. CMS is putting out COVID-19 guidance to all types
of healthcare providers and facilities. PACE is the latest area of focus
because these organizations serve older adults who often have serious chronic
medical conditions and therefore are at higher risk of serious illness from
the virus.
The guidance, which is a
part of the White House Coronavirus Task Force efforts, offers clear,
actionable information to POs on accepted policies and standard procedures
with respect to infection control. CMS will use discretion, as detailed in
the memo, if PACE centers need to implement strategies to mitigate the spread
of the virus that are not in full compliance with the program’s requirements.
“Today we announced
guidance to PACE Organizations to keep the beneficiaries who use these
services healthy and safe,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “It is
critically important to ensure that those most at risk of serious illness
from COVID-19 are protected in every care setting, including the seniors who
rely on PACE Centers as healthcare providers in their daily lives.”
CMS and states are
responsible for protecting beneficiaries who receive healthcare services
through POs. Today’s guidance aims to help control and prevent the spread of
infection. In particular, the new guidance reminds all POs to establish, implement,
and maintain a documented infection control plan and frequently monitor for
potential symptoms of respiratory infection. POs experiencing an increased
number of respiratory illnesses among participants, caregivers and/or
healthcare and PACE personnel should immediately contact their state and
local health officials for further guidance. The memo also states that PO
personnel should be given and trained on the use of recommended personal protective equipment (PPE).
CMS recognizes that there
may be circumstances where a PO needs to implement strategies that do not
fully comply with programmatic requirements in order to protect beneficiaries
from the spread of the virus. The agency will take those situations into
consideration when conducting monitoring or oversight activities of POs. This
will allow POs to use strategies including, for example, using telehealth to
provide patient assessments that would normally be conducted on an in-person
basis or limiting PACE center attendance in order to minimize the potential
for exposure.
The guidance also explains
that POs can ensure access to Part D drugs by relaxing “refill-too-soon”
edits and providing maximum extended day supply, providing home or mail
delivery of Part D drugs, and waiving prior authorization requirements at any
time that they otherwise would apply to Part D drugs used to treat or prevent
COVID-19, if or when such drugs are identified. These flexibilities help
break down barriers to PACE participants accessing medications during this
pandemic.
This guidance, and earlier CMS actions in
response to the COVID-19 virus, are part of the ongoing White House Task
Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task Force is doing in
response to COVID-19 click here www.coronavirus.gov. For a complete and
updated list of CMS actions, and other information specific to CMS, please
visit the Current Emergencies Website.
###
Get CMS news at cms.gov/newsroom, sign up for CMS news via email and follow CMS on Twitter CMS
Administrator @SeemaCMS, @CMSgov, and @CMSgovPress.
|
|
To be a Medicare Agent's source of information on topics affecting the agent and their business, and most importantly, their clientele, is the intention of this site. Sourced from various means rooted in the health insurance industry - insurance carriers, governmental agencies, and industry news agencies, this is aimed as a resource of varying viewpoints to spark critical thought and discussion. We welcome your contributions.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
CMS Sends Guidance to Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) Organizations
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment