- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
It’s Not Too Late to Get the Flu Shot
It’s more important than ever for everyone to do their part to help prevent the spread of illnesses like the flu. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people are getting vaccines which puts their communities at greater risk for other preventable diseases, like the flu. When people get the flu shot, it helps protect them and keeps them from spreading the flu to others.
Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected when it comes to receiving recommended vaccines, due to such factors as vaccination safety concerns and limited access to care and coverage. During National Influenza Vaccination Week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH), is highlighting vaccination disparities and reminding patients and their families that it’s not too late to get the flu vaccine.
CMS has developed new flu vaccination resources for partners, patients, providers, states, territories, tribes, and others who can share our message and help combat vaccine disparities. Please use our resources to encourage your patients to get their flu shot so they and their communities can stay healthy.
Resources
- Find vaccination resources for racial and ethnic minority patients, as well as resources for providers and partners that serve these populations at cms.gov/omhflu.
- Visit cms.gov/flu for a one-stop shop to help you find CMS’s flu vaccination information and resources.
- Looking for additional languages? Find postcards in 18 languages.
- Review our From Coverage to Care (C2C) resources to learn more about health coverage and find preventive resources.
- Visit the Beneficiary Care Management Program immunization webpage.
This communication was printed, published, or produced and disseminated at U.S. taxpayer expense.
In Case You Missed It: CMS Announces Guidance for Medicare Coverage of COVID-19 Antibody Treatment
On December 9, CMS posted updates to FAQs and an infographic about coverage and payment for monoclonal antibodies to treat COVID-19. The FAQs include general payment and billing guidance for these products, including questions on different setting types. The infographic has key facts about expected Medicare payment to providers and information about how Medicare beneficiaries can receive these innovative COVID-19 treatments with no cost-sharing during the public health emergency (PHE). CMS’ November 10, 2020 announcement about coverage of monoclonal antibody therapies allows a broad range of providers and suppliers, including freestanding and hospital-based infusion centers, home health agencies, nursing homes, and entities with whom nursing homes contract, to administer this treatment in accordance with the Food & Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), and bill Medicare to administer these infusions. Currently, two monoclonal antibody therapies have received EUA’s for treatment of COVID-19.
For More Information:
- Therapeutics Coverage Infographic
- Section BB of the FAQs: billing and payment for COVID-19 monoclonal antibody treatments
- Monoclonal toolkit and program guidance
Updated Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks to include added considerations for returning to conventional capacity. It discusses conventional capacity strategies, contingency capacity strategies and crisis capacity strategies.
DOH Announces Next Rapid Antigen Test Card Distributions
The Wolf Administration last week began distribution of the seventh allotment of COVID-19 antigen test kits provided by the federal government to CLIA-certified institutions in Bucks, Juniata, Mercer and Somerset counties. This week the administration began distribution of the eighth allotment of COVID-19 antigen test kits to CLIA-certified institutions in Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Fulton and Jefferson counties. On Oct. 15, the Secretary of Health issued an Order to healthcare providers and facilities reinforcing that all antigen test results, both positive and negative, are required to be reported to the Department of Health (DOH). A patient with a positive antigen test result is considered a case and receives a complete case investigation and contact tracing. All entities conducting testing to identify SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are required by law to report positive, inconclusive/indeterminate, and negative results to the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (PA-NEDSS) within 24 hours. All laboratory reporters must request a PA-NEDSS account if they do not already have one. For more information about the CLIA certificate and antigen test card reporting, reference the PADOH Health Advisory Network (HAN) Advisory: Guidance on Reporting Point of Care SARS-CoV-2 Test Results. For more information about the antigen tests, reference the PA HAN Advisory: Point of Care Antigen Test Use and Interpretation.
Governors Association Weighs in on Future of Telehealth Policy
The National Governors Association has released The Future of State Telehealth Policy. The document provides an overview of state and federal telehealth flexibilities implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses long-term considerations for governors regarding the impact of these flexibilities on healthcare delivery and payment and the appropriateness of these policies in the future.
UPMC Health Plan Launches Pathways to Work Program
This new initiative aims to increase access to employment through training, education and dedicated support from UPMC staff. Recognizing the growing unemployment impact Pennsylvanians are experiencing due to COVID-19, Pathways to Work makes a concerted effort to engage individuals in the community who are unemployed or underemployed and those with an intellectual, physical or behavioral disability who are looking for employment and no-cost job training programs. Interested individuals can email pathwaystowork@upmc.edu and they will receive a response within 1-2 business days from one of UPMC’s Pathways recruiters. Health centers are urged to share and promote this within the communities you serve to help mitigate some of the impacts of the pandemic.
All but One PA County Seeing “Substantial Spread”
Almost every county in Pennsylvania is now facing “substantial” spread of the coronavirus, according to the Wolf administration. A positivity rate of five percent or more is an indication of troubling community spread and Pennsylvania’s positivity rate has jumped to 11.7 percent, with the rate in some individual counties climbing above 20 percent. The only county not seeing a positivity rate of greater than five percent is Forest County. To date in Pennsylvania, more than 360,000 people have contracted COVID-19 and more than 10,300 deaths have been tied to the virus. Read more.
DHS Issues Dental Fee Schedule Update
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Medical Assistance Programs issued a new bulletin to notify dentists of updates to the Medical Assistance (MA) Program Dental Fee Schedule. This bulletin applies to dentists enrolled in the MA Program who render services to MA beneficiaries in the fee-for-service delivery system. Dentists rendering services to MA beneficiaries in the managed care delivery system should address coding or billing related questions to the appropriate managed care organization.
DOH COVID-19 Laboratory Testing FAQs
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has released a new document, COVID-19 Laboratory Testing FAQs. This is a good resource for labs and employers who would like to incorporate COVID-19 tests into their protocols.
Injunction and Restraining Order Sought in 340B Battle
Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access (RWC-340B) last week asked a federal district court to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction requiring U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to issue 340B program binding administrative dispute resolution (ADR) regulations within 60 days, requiring Azar to declare that federal law entitles covered entities to buy covered outpatient drugs at 340B discounts, and ordering Azar to enforce covered entities’ rights to 340B discounts for contract pharmacy orders. RWC-340B asked for the order and injunction as part of its lawsuit to compel HHS to punish four drug that are denying 340B pricing on their products when ordered through contract pharmacy arrangements. In a memo RWC-340B filed with its motions for relief, the group said 340B covered entities and the patients they serve will suffer irreparable harm if the court waits until the end of the case to issue remedial orders.