From The Daily Yonder:

A rural Montana county with only 5,000 residents lays claim to the state’s highest Covid-19 infection rate. A private prison could put the county’s healthcare capacity under greater strain. Read the article here.

From The Daily Yonder:

Rural America sees a chance to build out its broadband infrastructure using the momentum of coronavirus federal aid. Read the article here.

CMS is modifying the data collection period and data reporting period, as defined at 42 CFR § 414.626(a), for ground ambulance organizations (as defined at 42 CFR § 414.605) that were selected by CMS under 42 CFR § 414.626(c) to collect data beginning between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 (year 1) for purposes of complying with the data reporting requirements described at 42 CFR § 414.626. Under this modification, these ground ambulance organizations can select a new continuous 12-month data collection period that begins between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021, collect data necessary to complete the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Instrument during their selected data collection period, and submit a completed Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Instrument during the data reporting period that corresponds to their selected data collection period. CMS is modifying this data collection and reporting period to increase flexibilities for ground ambulance organizations that would otherwise be required to collect data in 2020- 2021 so that they can focus on their operations and patient care. As a result of this modification, ground ambulance organizations selected for year 1 data collection and reporting will collect and report data during the same period of time that will apply to ground ambulance organizations selected by CMS under 42 CFR § 414.626(c) to collect data beginning between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021 (year 2) for purposes of complying with the data reporting requirements described at 42 CFR § 414.626.

The Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center (MATRC) provides technical assistance and other resources to advance the adoption and utilization of telehealth within the mid-Atlantic region and works collaboratively with the other federally funded Telehealth Resource Centers to accomplish the same nationally. Check out the Telehealth Resources for COVID-19 Toolkit for best practices for conducting a telehealth visit, resources to help patients understand telehealth and even a specific section on telehealth and FQHCs. FAQs and new resources are updated frequently.

The United States Immigration and Customs Services (USICS) has announced several measures to extend time frames and loosen its requirements. COVID-19 social distancing, government agency closures and remote work requirements have made it impossible for employers to comply with the normal I-9 and E-Verify regulations. These measures include the suspension of the I-9 requirement to review physical documents and acceptance of expired documents for new hires who are unable to update driver licenses and state IDs. Read the release from USICS or check out this blog post by Valentine Brown with Duane Morris LLP.

The federal government caps yearly rollover of unspent dollars in a Health-Flexible Spending Account (H-FSAs) at $500. Internal Revenue Service Notice 2020-33 increases the amount that can be carried over from one plan year to the next to $550. This increase reflects indexing for inflation and parallels the indexing applicable to the limit on H-FSA salary reduction contributions ($500 reflected 20% of the initial maximum salary reduction election of $2,500). Please be advised that your Cafeteria Plan must be drafted to reflect that the $500 carryover amount will increase automatically if indexed. If it is not written in that way, then an amendment to increase the carryover limit must be adopted on or before the last day of your plan year. This means that 2020 Cafeteria Plans must be amended before the last day of their 2020 plan year to allow increased carryovers to a 2021 plan year.

In recent news from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) have now been capped at $150,000 and the SBA has also announced that they will only be accepting new applications for EIDL funds from agricultural interests due to the unprecedented number of applications already received. Applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information click here.

CMS published information for pharmacies and other suppliers that wish to enroll in Medicare temporarily as independent clinical diagnostic laboratories to help address the need for COVID-19 testing. Medicare-enrolled pharmacies and suppliers seeking to initiate temporary Medicare independent clinical diagnostic laboratory billing privileges should contact the hotline of the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) serving their geographic area. Pharmacies and other suppliers who are not currently enrolled in Medicare and want to enroll as an independent clinical diagnostic laboratory, must submit a CMS-855B enrollment application to the MAC serving their geographic area. See MLN Matters SE20017 for more details.