CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2020
Contact: CMS Media
Relations
(202) 690-6145 | CMS Media Inquiries
CMS offers widespread support for Puerto Rico amid Earthquakes
The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced efforts underway to support
Puerto Rico in response to recent earthquakes. On January 8, Health and Human
Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency (PHE) in
Puerto Rico that is retroactive to December 28, 2019. CMS is working to
ensure hospitals and other facilities can continue operations and provide
access to care despite the effects of the disastrous earthquakes. CMS will be
waiving certain Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program
(CHIP) requirements; creating special enrollment opportunities for
individuals to access healthcare quickly; and taking steps to ensure dialysis
patients obtain critical life-saving services.
“The Trump Administration
is gravely concerned about public health conditions in Puerto Rico, and we
are doing everything within our authority to provide relief to those affected
by these devastating earthquakes,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
“During this trying time for the island, CMS is coordinating with our
federal, state, and local partners in doing everything possible to facilitate
our beneficiaries’ access to care – care that very well may be life-saving.”
Below are key
administrative actions CMS will be taking in response to the PHE declared in
Puerto Rico:
Waivers
and Flexibilities for Hospitals and other Healthcare Facilities: CMS will
be temporarily waiving or modifying certain Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP
requirements. CMS will also issue a number of blanket waivers listed on the
website below, and the CMS Regional Office will grant other provider-specific
requests for specific types of hospitals and other facilities in Puerto Rico.
These waivers work to provide continued access to care for beneficiaries. For
more information on the waivers CMS has granted, visit: www.cms.gov/emergency.
Special
Enrollment Opportunities for Earthquake Victims: CMS will
make available special enrollment periods for certain Medicare beneficiaries.
This gives people impacted by the earthquakes the opportunity to change their
Medicare health and prescription drug plans if eligible for the special
enrollment period. For more information, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Eligibility-and-Enrollment/MedicareMangCareEligEnrol/index
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 working with the End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Network of Puerto
Rico, ESRD NW3, to assess the status of dialysis facilities in the
potentially impacted areas related to generators, alternate water supplies,
education and materials for patients. They are also assisting patients whose
dialysis centers are temporarily closed to receive dialysis services at open
locations. 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 ESRD NW3 toll-free hotline
is 888-877-8400 and the KCER hotline is 866-901-3773. Additional information
is available on the KCER website www.kcercoalition.com.
Medical
equipment and supplies replacements: CMS will
be temporarily suspending certain requirements necessary for Medicare
beneficiaries who have lost or realized damage to their durable medical
equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies as a result of the
earthquakes. 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 temporarily suspend
current survey and enforcement activities for healthcare facilities in Puerto
Rico, 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 public health emergency, 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 Central Office and the
Regional Offices hosted two Webinars in 2018 regarding Emergency Preparedness
(EP) requirements and provider expectations. One was an all provider training
on 6/19/2018 (over 3,000 providers participated) and the other an
all-surveyor training on 8/14/2018. Both presentations covered the EP Final
Rule, which included emergency power supply; 1135 waiver process, Best
Practices & Lessons Learned from past disasters, and Helpful Resources
and more. Both webinars are available at https://surveyortraining.cms.hhs.gov/.
CMS also compiled a list
of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and useful national emergency
preparedness resources to assist State Survey Agencies (SAs), their State,
Tribal, Regional, local emergency management partners, and health care
providers to develop effective and robust emergency plans and tool kits to
assure compliance with the EP rules. The tools can be located at:
Survey & Certification
Group Emergency Preparedness Regulation dated November 2016, Revised
6-1-2017.
CMS Regional Offices have
provided specific Emergency Preparedness information to Medicare providers
and suppliers through meetings, dialogue and presentations. The regional
offices also provide regular technical assistance in Emergency Preparedness
to State Agencies and staff, who, since November 2017, have been regularly
surveying providers and suppliers for compliance with emergency preparedness
regulations.
CMS will continue to work
with all geographic areas impacted by recent earthquakes. We encourage
beneficiaries and providers of healthcare services that have be
en impacted to
seek help by visiting CMS’ emergency webpage (www.cms.gov/emergency).
To find additional
earthquake preparedness and response resources for the health sector and the
latest regarding HHS activities for the earthquakes, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-Information/Emergency/EPRO/Current-Emergencies/Current-Emergencies-page
For more information about
the Department of Health and Human Services’ PHE, please visit: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/01/08/hhs-secretary-azar-declares-public-health-emergency-for-puerto-rico-following-earthquakes.html
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Administrator @SeemaCMS, @CMSgov, and @CMSgovPress.
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Thursday, January 9, 2020
CMS offers widespread support for Puerto Rico amid Earthquakes
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