CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 11, 2018
CMS Acts to help with Hurricane
Michael Emergency Response
Agency waivers to take
effect in Georgia
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today
announced that the agency has acted to support Georgia in response to
Hurricane Michael. Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar
declared a public health emergency (PHE) in Georgia. With the PHE in effect,
CMS has taken several actions to provide immediate relief to those impacted
by the hurricane. The actions will include temporarily waiving or modifying certain Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s
Health Insurance Program (CHIP) requirements; creating special enrollment
opportunities for individuals to access healthcare immediately; and taking
steps to ensure dialysis patients obtain critical life-saving services.
“Our thoughts are with all
affected by this monstrous Hurricane,” Administrator Seema Verma said. “CMS
has taken the measures necessary to help support everyone that could be
impacted. The waivers that will be in effect in Georgia will give healthcare
providers, facilities, and suppliers the flexibility to provide continued
access to care throughout this storm. We will continue to monitor the
hurricane and work closely with officials in Georgia.”
Below are key administrative
actions CMS is taking in response to the PHE declared in Georgia:
- Waivers for Hospitals, Healthcare Facilities, and
Clinicians: CMS will be temporarily waiving or modifying certain
Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP requirements. CMS will be issuing a number
of waivers as necessary, which will be listed on the website below, and
the CMS Regional Offices will be granting other provider-specific
requests for specific types of hospitals and other facilities in
Georgia. These waivers
work to provide continued access to care for beneficiaries. For more
information on the waivers CMS will grant, visit: www.cms.gov/emergency.
- Special
Enrollment Opportunities for Individuals Impacted by the
Hurricane: CMS has made special enrollment periods available for
certain individuals seeking health plans offered through the Federal
Health Insurance Exchange and all Medicare beneficiaries. This gives
people impacted by the hurricane the opportunity to gain access to
health coverage on the Exchange or change their Medicare health and
prescription drug plans immediately if eligible for the special
enrollment period. For more information on these special enrollment
periods, visit:
- Disaster
Preparedness Toolkit for State Medicaid Agencies: CMS
developed an inventory of Medicaid and CHIP flexibilities and
authorities available to states in the event of a disaster. For more
information and to access the toolkit, visit: https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resource-center/disaster-response-toolkit/index.html.
- Dialysis
Care: CMS is helping patients obtain access to
critical life-saving services. The Kidney Community Emergency Response
(KCER) program has been activated and is working with IPRO End Stage
Renal Dialysis Network of the South Atlantic (NW 6) to assess the status
of dialysis facilities in the potentially impacted areas related to generators,
alternate water supplies, education and materials for patients, and
more. They are also assisting patients who have evacuated ahead of the
storm to receive dialysis services in the location to which they are
evacuating. Patients have been educated to have an emergency supply kit
on hand including important personal, medical, and insurance
information; contact information for their facility; the ESRD NW hotline
number; and contact information of those with whom they may stay or for
out-of-state contacts in a water proof bag. They have also been
instructed to have on hand supplies to follow a three-day emergency
diet. The toll-free hotline for NW 6 is 1-800-524-7139 and the KCER
hotline is 866-901-3773. Additional information is available on the NW
website at https://network6.esrd.ipro.org/home/provider/patient-services/emergency-updates/ or the KCER website www.kcercoalition.com.
- Medical
equipment and supplies replacements: CMS
will temporarily suspend certain requirements necessary for Medicare
beneficiaries who have lost or sustained damage to their durable medical
equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies as a result of the
hurricane. This will help to make sure that beneficiaries can continue
to access the needed medical equipment and supplies they rely on each
day. Medicare beneficiaries can contact 1-800-MEDICARE
(1-800-633-4227) for assistance.
- Suspension
of Enforcement Activities: CMS will suspend current
survey and enforcement activities for healthcare facilities in the
affected areas of Georgia, but will continue to investigate allegations
of immediate threat to patient health and safety.
- Ensuring
Access to Care in Medicare Advantage and Part D.
During a PHE, Medicare Advantage Organizations and Part D Plan sponsors
must take steps to maintain access to covered benefits for beneficiaries
in affected areas. These steps include allowing Part A/B and
supplemental Part C plan benefits to be furnished at specified
non-contracted facilities and waiving, in full, requirements for
gatekeeper referrals where applicable.
CMS will continue to work with
all geographic areas impacted by Hurricane Michael. We encourage
beneficiaries and providers of healthcare services that have been impacted to
seek help by visiting CMS’ emergency webpage (www.cms.gov/emergency).
To read previous updates
regarding HHS activities related to hurricane response and recovery, visit www.phe.gov/emergency.
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