NEWS ALERT
May 15, 2020
As part of the
ongoing White House Task Force efforts taken in response to coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19), following is a summary of recent Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions. To keep up with the
important Task Force work being done in response to COVID-19, click here www.coronavirus.gov. For information
specific to CMS, please visit the CMS News Room and Current Emergencies Website. CMS
updates these resources on an ongoing basis throughout the day; the
information below is current as of May 15, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Deadline
Approaching: Notification Requirements of Confirmed and Suspected COVID-19
Cases Among Nursing Home Residents and Staff
On April 19, CMS announced the agency will be
requiring facilities to report COVID-19 information to the CDC and to
families. Within three weeks of that announcement, on April 30, CMS issued
an Interim
Final Rule with Comment Period with new regulatory requirements. With the new
regulatory requirements, nursing homes are required to report the first
week of data to the CDC beginning May 8 but no later than May 17. For the
first time, all 15,000 nursing homes will be reporting this data directly
to the CDC through its reporting tool.
In order to report, facilities must enroll in the
CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Information on how to
enroll is available here. As nursing homes report this
data to the CDC, CMS will be taking swift action and publicly posting this
information so all Americans have access to accurate and timely information
on COVID-19 in nursing homes. More information on the CDC’s NHSN COVID-19
module can be found here.
CMS Releases
Nursing Home Toolkit with Best Practices and Additional Resources
CMS released a new toolkit developed to aid
nursing homes, Governors, states, departments of health, and other agencies
who provide oversight and assistance to these facilities. These
additional resources will help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
within nursing homes. The toolkit builds on previous actions taken by CMS,
which provide a wide range of tools and guidance to states, healthcare
providers and others during the public health emergency. The toolkit is
comprised of best practices from a variety of front line health care
providers, Governors’ COVID-19 task forces, associations and other
organizations, and experts, and is intended to serve as a catalogue of
resources dedicated to addressing the specific challenges facing nursing
homes as they combat COVID-19.
Trump
Administration Announces Call for Nominations for Nursing Home Commission
CMS announced a call for nominations for the new
contractor-led Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing
Homes. The commission’s work will build on the Trump Administration’s long
history of decisive actions to protect nursing home residents. The
commission will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the overall response
to the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes and will inform immediate and
future actions to safeguard the health and quality of life for an
especially vulnerable population of Americans.
CMS Outlines
Medicaid Managed Care Options in Responding to COVID-19
CMS released a new Center for Medicaid and CHIP
Services Informational Bulletin (CIB) that provides states guidance on how
to temporarily modify their Medicaid managed care contracts to address the
impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The guidance provides
several options that states can consider to adjust provider payment
methodologies and capitation rates within Medicaid managed care contracts
while preserving systems of care and access to services for Medicaid
beneficiaries.
CMS Gives States
Additional Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS has approved over 190 requests for state
relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent approvals for
California, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and
Rhode Island. These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools
they need to combat COVID-19. This is done through a wide variety of waivers,
amendments, and Medicaid state plan flexibilities, including support for
programs that care for the elderly and people with disabilities. CMS also
developed a toolkit to expedite the application
and review of each request and has approved these requests in record
time. These approved flexibilities support President Trump’s
commitment to a COVID-19 response that is locally executed, state managed,
and federally supported.
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