Extension
of Public Health Emergency, Booster Guidance, Surprise
Medical Billing, Paid Leave, and More
You probably know that the
CDC is recommending COVID-19 vaccine boosters for many
older adults and people with disabilities, but the recent
guidance includes an important provision – and an
opportunity – that you might have missed. This ACL
Policy Round Up recaps the highlights of that guidance
and:
- Extension of Public Health
Emergency
- HHS Study: COVID-19 Vaccine Linked
to Saving Lives for Older Americans
- Comments Needed: CMS’ Second
“Surprise Medical Billing” Rule
- New Guidance: HIPAA and COVID-19
Vaccinations
- Return to School Roadmap:
Development and Implementation of Individualized
Education Programs
- Office of Disability Employment
Policy Brief: Access to Paid Family and Medical Leave
for People with Disabilities
- Request for Public Comments –
2021-2022 Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee
Strategic Plan
Extension
of Public Health Emergency
On Oct. 15, HHS Secretary
Xavier Becerra renewed the determination that
a public health emergency exists. This extends the public
health emergency, and the associated
authorities/flexibilites, for 90 days.
CDC
Guidance for COVID-19 Boosters
On September 24, the CDC recommended booster shots
for people who are at highest risk for COVID-19, if they
received their second Pfizer shot at least six months
ago (FDA and CDC are evaluating data for Moderna and
J&J boosters – we’ll keep you posted). CDC says that
people 65 and older, people 50-64 with underlying medical
conditions, and adults in long-term care settings should
receive a booster and younger people with medical
conditions or jobs that put them at increased risk may
receive one.
Here are the important pieces that you might have missed:
- “Long-term care settings” now
include far more than nursing homes and assisted
living facilities. Group homes, senior housing, ICFs,
and more – virtually all congregate residential
settings – are included.
- “Adults in long-care settings”
includes more than people who live in
long-term care settings. It also includes people who receive
services and participate in programs in
congregate settings, such as senior centers and adult
day programs.
See this
page on our COVID-19 site for more examples
of places that are considered long-term care
settings.
Another important note: The CDC’s pharmacy
partners program is available to our networks to support
your work to help older adults and people with disabilities
(and the service-provider workforce) get vaccinated.
Through this page on CDC's website,
providers of home or community-based long-term care
services can connect to a pharmacy partner to access
COVID-19 vaccines for their clients, residents, and staff.
The page also includes a downloadable PDF with information
on long-term care pharmacies that are enrolled with the
federal government to provide COVID-19 vaccines.
And, of course, the Eldercare Locator and Disability
Information and Access Line are available
for older adults and people with disabilities who need
help getting their vaccines and boosters.
HHS
Study Finds COVID-19 Vaccine Linked to Saving Lives for
Older Americans
In case you missed it, a
study by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Planning and Evaluation found that COVID-19 vaccinations
may have helped prevent hundreds of thousands of new
infections and tens of thousands of deaths among older
adults. COVID-19 vaccinations were linked to a reduction of
approximately 265,000 COVID-19 infections, 107,000
hospitalizations, and 39,000 deaths among Medicare
beneficiaries between January and May 2021. Learn more
about the study or read the report on these
findings.
Input
Needed: New Interim Final Rule – "Requirements Related
to Surprise Billing: Part II"
Input is needed on a new
interim final rule (with comment period), “Requirements
Related to Surprise Billing; Part II.” The third in a series
released by the Departments of Health and Human Services,
Labor, and Treasury and the Office of Personnel Management,
the rule establishes new consumer protections from surprise
billing and excessive cost sharing for health care.
Specifically, it implements provisions of the No Surprises
Act related to the independent dispute resolution process,
good faith estimates for uninsured (or self-pay)
individuals, the patient-provider dispute resolution
process, and expanded rights to external review.
The rule reminds providers that they must follow effective
communications requirements and provide appropriate
auxiliary aids and services at no cost and ensure that
information conveyed through information and communications
technology is accessible to people with disabilities and
includes a number of provisions that seek to ensure the
accessibility of the specific processes described in the
rule.
Input from the aging and disability networks, and the older
adults and people with disabilities that we serve, is critical.
HHS is particularly looking for comments on:
- Additional barriers to
understanding and exercising rights related to good
faith estimates, patient-provider dispute resolution,
and how and when to initiate the dispute resolution
process.
- Whether the provisions and
protections related to communication, language, and
literacy sufficiently address barriers to
understanding and exercising these rights.
- Additional or alternate policies
HHS may consider to help address and remove such
barriers.
- Ways to ensure accessibility of the
dispute resolution process.
- Additional supports that may be
needed to meet the needs of underserved communities,
including people with low-English proficiency, people
with disabilities who require information in alternate
and accessible formats, and stakeholders serving such
communities.
Comments must be received
no later than 5 PM on Dec. 6. Instructions for submitting
comments can be found in the Federal Register notice
published on Oct. 7.
This fact sheet from the
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has more
information about the three rules, the No Surprises Act,
and surprise medical billing.
New
Guidance: HIPAA and COVID-19 Vaccinations
On September 30, the HHS
Office for Civil Rights issued guidance clarifying
when the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule applies to requests for
information about whether someone has received a COVID-19
vaccine and when that information can be provided. The Rule
is meant to protect sensitive health information and covers
the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information
by health plans, health care clearinghouses, health
care providers that conduct standard electronic transactions,
and, in some cases, their business associates.
Key takeaways:
- The Rule does not prevent
anyone from asking whether someone has received any
type of vaccine, including the COVID-19 vaccine.
- The Rule generally does not limit
what an employer can request from employees as part of
the terms and conditions of their employment, even if
that employer is an entity covered by the Rule.
- Read more.
Return
to School Roadmap: Development and Implementation of
Individualized Education Programs
In response to requests
from stakeholders, the Department of Education's Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
developed the Return to School Roadmap
to support full implementation of requirements of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as schools
and programs are returning to in-person services. The
Roadmap answers questions about IDEA requirements related
to the development and implementation of IEPs, including
meeting timelines, ensuring implementation of initial
evaluation and reevaluation procedures, determining
eligibility for special education and related services, and
providing the full array of special education and related
services that children with disabilities need in order to
receive a free appropriate public education, and more. It
also provides other information that state and local
education agencies, teachers, providers, and parents should
consider. The Q&A emphasizes that students’ rights
to receive appropriate services under IDEA remain in place
during the pandemic. Read more key takeaways.
Office
of Disability Employment Policy Brief: Access to Paid
Family and Medical Leave for People with Disabilities
Access
to Paid Family and Medical Leave for People with
Disabilities , a policy brief from the
Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment
Policy, discusses the current landscape of paid family and
medical leave (PFML) in the United States and examines
access to PFML for people with disabilities. Using data
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population
Survey and American Time Use Survey Leave Module, ODEP
found that workers with disabilities have significantly
lower access to PFML than workers without disabilities.
Request
for Public Comments 2021-2022 Interagency Autism
Coordinating Committee Strategic Plan
The Interagency Autism
Coordinating Committee (IACC) is requesting public comments
to inform development of its 2021-2022 Strategic Plan. IACC
is requesting comment on what YOU believe to be the
most vital issues, needs and gaps that could be addressed
by federal programs, activities, and/or partnerships with
community organizations. Comments can be submitted through
the IACC webpage through November 30, 2021. Read more.
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