Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin announced that counties, metropolitan cities, and local governments are now able to request their portion of federal Local Fiscal Recovery funding provided by the American Rescue Plan.

“Today, county and municipal governments are able to request the Local Fiscal Recovery funds that have been made available to them by the American Rescue Plan,” said Sec. Davin. “This funding provides immediate relief for local governments that have seen unprecedented fiscal challenges due to COVID-19. I encourage every county, city, and municipal government to take advantage of these funds that will help them recover from the pandemic and chart a course for long-term growth.”

As part of the American Rescue Plan signed by President Joseph R. Biden, the federal government is providing a total of approximately $6.15 billion to Pennsylvania counties, metropolitan cities, and local government units to support COVID-19 response efforts, replace lost revenue, support economic stabilization for households and businesses, and address systemic public health and economic challenges.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has established two separate methods for local governments to request these funds, depending on the type of local government:

1. County governments and metropolitan city governments must request funds directly from the U.S. Department of the Treasury via their Submission Portal webpage.
2. Local governments that are NOT metropolitan cities or counties – called non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs) – must request the funds through the commonwealth by visiting the DCED website.

Due to Treasury’s requirements that states disburse all Local Fiscal Recovery funding within 30 days of the state receiving the federal funds, DCED strongly recommends that NEUs request their funding in the next five days to allow adequate processing time for each request.

Information about how to request funds, eligible uses for the funding, and federal allocation amounts for counties, cities, and NEUs can be found on the DCED website and the U.S. Department of Treasury website. Local governments with further questions about accessing these funds should email covidarpa@pa.gov.

Action Could Impact as many as 1.6 Million People with Medicare

As part of President Biden’s commitment to increasing access to vaccinations, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced an additional payment amount for administering in-home COVID-19 vaccinations to Medicare beneficiaries who have difficulty leaving their homes or are otherwise hard-to-reach. This announcement further demonstrates continued efforts of the Biden-Harris Administration to meet people where they are and make it as easy as possible for all Americans to get vaccinated.  There are approximately 1.6 million adults 65 or older who may have trouble accessing COVID-19 vaccinations because they have difficulty leaving home.

While many Medicare beneficiaries can receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a retail pharmacy, their physician’s office, or a mass vaccination site, some beneficiaries have great difficulty leaving their homes or face a taxing effort getting around their communities easily to access vaccination in these settings. To better serve this group, Medicare is incentivizing providers and will pay an additional $35 per dose for COVID-19 vaccine administration in a beneficiary’s home, increasing the total payment amount for at-home vaccination from approximately $40 to approximately $75 per vaccine dose. For a two-dose vaccine, this results in a total payment of approximately $150 for the administration of both doses, or approximately $70 more than the current rate.

“CMS is committed to meeting the unique needs of Medicare consumers and their communities – particularly those who are home bound or who have trouble getting to a vaccination site. That’s why we’re acting today to expand the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine to people with Medicare  at home,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure. “We’re committed to taking action wherever barriers exist and bringing the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to the door of older adults and other individuals covered by Medicare who still need protection.”

Delivering COVID-19 vaccination to access-challenged and hard-to-reach individuals poses some unique challenges, such as ensuring appropriate vaccine storage temperatures, handling, and administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has outlined guidance to assist vaccinators in overcoming these challenges. Today’s announcement now helps to address the financial burden associated with accommodating these complications.

The additional payment amount also accounts for the clinical time needed to monitor a beneficiary after the vaccine is administered, as well as the upfront costs associated with administering the vaccine safely and appropriately in a beneficiary’s home. The payment rate for administering each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the additional in-home payment amount, will be geographically adjusted based on where the service is furnished.

How to Find a COVID-19 Vaccine

As today’s action demonstrates, a person’s ability to leave their home should not be an obstacle to getting the COVID-19 vaccine. As states and the federal government continue to break down barriers – like where vaccines can be administered – resources for connecting communities to vaccination options remain key. Unvaccinated individuals and those looking to assist friends and family can:

1. Visit vaccines.gov (English) or vacunas.gov (Spanish) to search for vaccines nearby.
2. Text GETVAX (438829) for English or VACUNA (822862) for Spanish for near-instant access to details on three vaccine sites in the local area.
3. Call the National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline at 1-800-232-0233 (TTY: 1-888-720-7489) for assistance in English and Spanish.

Coverage of COVID-19 Vaccines

The federal government is providing the COVID-19 vaccine free of charge or with no cost-sharing for all people living in the United States. As a condition of receiving free COVID-19 vaccines from the federal government, vaccine providers cannot charge patients any amount for administering the vaccine.

Because no patient can be billed for COVID-19 vaccinations, CMS and its partners have provided a variety of information online for providers vaccinating all Americans regardless of their insurance status:

• Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage: Beneficiaries with Medicare pay nothing for COVID-19 vaccines or their administration, and there is no applicable copayment, coinsurance or deductible.
• Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP):State Medicaid and CHIP agencies must cover COVID-19 vaccine administration with no cost sharing for nearly all beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and for over a year after it ends. For the very limited number of Medicaid beneficiaries who are not eligible for this coverage (and do not receive it through other coverage they might have), providers may submit claims for reimbursement for administering the COVID-19 vaccine to underinsured individuals through the COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), as discussed below. Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), signed by President Biden on March 11, 2021, the federal matching percentage for state Medicaid and CHIP expenditures on COVID-19 vaccine administration is currently 100% (as of April 1, 2021), and will remain 100% for more than a year after the COVID-19 PHE ends. The ARP also expands coverage of COVID-19 vaccine administration under Medicaid and CHIP to additional eligibility groups. CMS recently updated the Medicaid vaccine toolkit to reflect the enactment of the ARP at https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resource-center/downloads/covid-19-vaccine-toolkit.pdf.
• Private Plans: The vaccine is free for people enrolled in private health plans and issuers COVID-19 vaccine and its administration is covered without cost sharing for most enrollees, and such coverage must be provided both in-network and out-of-network during the PHE. Current regulations provide that out-of-network rates must be reasonable as compared to prevailing market rates, and the rules reference using the Medicare payment rates as a potential guideline for insurance companies. In light of CMS’s increased Medicare payment rates, CMS will expect health insurance issuers and group health plans to continue to ensure their rates are reasonable when compared to prevailing market rates. Under the conditions of participation in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program, providers cannot charge plan enrollees any administration fee or cost sharing, regardless of whether the COVID-19 vaccine is administered in-network or out-of-network.

The Biden-Harris Administration is providing free access to COVID-19 vaccines for every adult living in the United States. For individuals who are underinsured, providers may submit claims for reimbursement for administering the COVID-19 vaccine through the COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) after the claim to the individual’s health plan for payment has been denied or only partially paid. Information is available at https://www.hrsa.gov/covid19-coverage-assistance.

For individuals who are uninsured, providers may submit claims for reimbursement for administering the COVID-19 vaccine to individuals without insurance through the Provider Relief Fund, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Information on the COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement to Health Care Providers and Facilities for Testing, Treatment, and Vaccine Administration for the Uninsured Program is available at https://www.hrsa.gov/CovidUninsuredClaim.

More information on Medicare payment for COVID-19 vaccine administration – including a list of billing codes, payment allowances and effective dates – is available at https://www.cms.gov/medicare/covid-19/medicare-covid-19-vaccine-shot-payment.

More information regarding the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Requirements and how the COVID-19 vaccine is provided through that program at no cost to recipients is available at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/vaccination-provider-support.html.

Get CMS news at cms.gov/newsroom, sign up for CMS news via email and follow CMS on @CMSgov

Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution (RHCVD) Program. The Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Distribution Program (RHCVD) will distribute COVID-19 vaccines directly to RHCs to increase the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in rural communities. This is a way to directly provide vaccines in your RHC while the patient is in your clinic. Studies have shown that a trusted-source for COVID-19 vaccine advice is the patient’s health care provider.  This supply is in addition to your state allocation and allows for a choice from all three vaccines.

Important Changes to Pfizer Vaccine Shipment Sizes and Storage Requirements. Through RHCVD program, HRSA is now able to ship 450 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, rather than the previous minimum of 1,170. Also, the storage requirements of the Pfizer vaccine have been updated to a longer shelf life without ultra-cold storage. Here is the link for detailed storage advice from the CDC on each vaccine product. Concerns about wasting unused doses in a small-volume environment is secondary to the imperative to get “shots in the arms” according to this CDC resource.

Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Confidence (RHCVC) Program. Remember to apply for the RHCVC program. All RHCs that apply will be funded, but you must first apply. Here is a link to the NRHA webinar featuring FORHP speakers describing the RHCVC program. For information pertaining to Rewards and Incentives as part of you RHCVC application, please review this HHS OIG guidance on COVID-19 vaccination incentives. The deadline for application is June 23, 2021.

Rural Vaccine Toolkit and Resource Guide. To assist you in your vaccine administration efforts, and provide material for your RHCVC application, NRHA developed resources for your use.  COVID-19 vaccination talking points for rural community leaders includes key facts and messages derived from NRHA research on common questions, concerns, and attitudes shared by rural Americans.  COVID-19 vaccine resources is a compendium of useful information to help you navigate the many regional and national resources most relevant to rural leaders.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind national hotline to connect people with disabilities to information and services to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) is now available to help people with disabilities find vaccination locations in their communities, assist callers with making vaccination appointments, and connect callers to local services – such as accessible transportation – to overcome barriers to vaccination. The hotline also can provide information and resources to answer questions and address concerns about the vaccines and can connect callers to information and services that promote independent living and address fundamental needs, such as food, housing, and transportation.

DIAL is operated as a collaboration between a consortium of organizations serving people with disabilities and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a). The consortium includes:

• Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL),
• Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD),
• Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU),
• National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD),
• National Council on Independent Living (NCIL),
• National Disabilities Rights Network (NDRN), and
• The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies.

This collaboration benefits from the disability networks’ extensive knowledge and expertise in meeting the needs of people with disabilities across the U.S. and n4a’s decades of experience operating the Eldercare Locator, the only federally funded national information and referral resource that supports consumers across the spectrum of issues affecting older Americans. By leveraging these capabilities, ACL was able to launch this critical tool in less than six weeks.

DIAL was created through a partnership between the Administration for Community Living and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help older adults and people with disabilities get COVID-19 vaccines. With support from CDC, ACL also:

• Increased the capacity of the Eldercare Locator to connect older adults, including those who are unable to leave their homes and those who live in underserved communities, to local COVID-19 vaccination resources.
• Issued nearly $93 million in grants to the aging and disability networks in every state and territory to provide critical services to overcome barriers that are preventing millions of those most at-risk for serious illness and death from COVID-19 from receiving vaccines.

About the Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL)

The Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) connects callers to information about how to access the COVID-19 vaccine and related supports for people with disabilities. DIAL connects callers to vaccine sites and provides information related to barriers to vaccination by referring callers to local and national disability resources.

acl.gov/dial | 888-677-1199 from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET | DIAL@n4a.org

About the Eldercare Locator

Launched in 1991, the Eldercare Locator is the only national information and referral resource to provide support to consumers across the spectrum of issues affecting older Americans. The Locator was established and is funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living and is administered by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a).

eldercare.acl.gov | 800-677-1116 from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM ET | eldercarelocator@n4a.org

About the Administration for Community Living

The Administration for Community Living was created around the fundamental principle that older adults and people of all ages with disabilities should be able to live where they choose, with the people they choose, and with the ability to participate fully in their communities. By funding services and supports provided by networks of community-based organizations, and with investments in research, education, and innovation, ACL helps make this principle a reality for millions of Americans.

About the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities strives to advance the health and well-being of our nation’s most vulnerable populations. NCBDDD’s work is broad and far-reaching, and includes four areas of focus: saving babies through surveillance, research, and prevention of birth defects and infant disorders; helping children live to the fullest by understanding developmental disabilities; protecting people by preventing the complications of blood disorders; improving the health of people living with disabilities.

As COVID-19 vaccines continue rolling out across the country, CMS is taking action to protect the health and safety of our nation’s patients and providers and keeping you updated on the latest COVID-19 resources from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

With information coming from many different sources, CMS has summarized resources and materials to help you communicate with the people that you serve. You can find these and more resources on the COVID-19 Partner Resources Page and the HHS COVID Education Campaign page. We look forward to working with you to encourage our beneficiaries and consumers to get vaccinated. For more information, visit the CMS COVID-19 Policies and Guidance page.

June is National COVID-19 Vaccine Month of Action

The HHS “We Can Do This” COVID-19 Community Corps has kicked off a month-long mobilization effort to get our communities vaccinated by July 4th!  The National Vaccine Month of Action is a collaborative effort with thousands of national organizations, community-based partners, and everyday people, serving as trusted messengers, listening to people’s concerns, and helping them make informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccinations.

There are plenty of ways to take action near you or virtually. You can find more opportunities to participate here. 

“Back to School” Vaccinations

The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign aims to get children and teens vaccinated so they are protected when they go back to in-person learning. Whether your organization is looking to catch children up on missed vaccines or promoting the COVID-19 vaccine to adolescents, you can find the Campaign’s many resources to promote well-child visits and vaccines on InsureKidsNow.gov.

Vaccines.gov – Making it Easier to Find Vaccines

Visit vaccines.gov, text GETVAX (438829), or call the National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline at 1-800-232-0233 to search and find a vaccine near you.

Visit vacunas.gov (Spanish), VACUNA (822862) for Spanish to receive three vaccine sites on your phone within seconds.

STAY CONNECTED

Join the We Can Do This Community Corps: Help in the fight against COVID-19 by encouraging family, friends, and your community to get vaccinated. Join the Community Corps to get tips, tools and resources to share. See https://wecandothis.hhs.gov/covidcommunitycorps

For more information on CMS COVID-19 Partner Updates, please contact us: Partnership@cms.hhs.gov

On June 2, President Biden will announce a National Month of Action to mobilize an all-of-America sprint to get 70% of U.S. adults at least one shot by July 4th, so that more people can get the protection they need to be safe from a pandemic that has taken the lives of nearly 600,000 Americans.

Throughout the month, national organizations, local government leaders, community-based and faith-based partners, businesses, employers, social media influencers, celebrities, athletes, colleges, young people, and thousands of volunteers across the nation will work together to get their communities vaccinated.

Today, the President will announce actions that will make it even easier to get vaccinated, mobilize the country around vaccine outreach and education efforts, and incentivize vaccination. Additionally, organizations and businesses from across the country continue to step up and respond to the President’s call to action.

Thanks to the President’s whole-of-government response, the U.S. has made significant progress in its fight against the pandemic since the President took office less than 5 months ago. Already, 63% of adult Americans have gotten vaccinated, including 73% of Americans age 40 and over, and COVID-19 cases and deaths have plummeted as a result – cases are down over 90% and deaths are down over 85% since January 20th.

Twelve states have already given at least one shot to 70% of adults and more than 28 states and D.C. have fully vaccinated 50% or more of their adult populations, but millions of Americans still need protection against the virus.

Organizations and business from across the country have stepped up and responded to the President’s call to action. The National Month of Action will include the following initiatives:

MAKING IT EASIER TO GET VACCINATED AND ADVANCING EQUITY

• Free child care for individuals getting vaccinated: Four of the nation’s largest child care providers will offer free child care to all parents and caregivers getting vaccinated or recovering from vaccination from now until July 4^th. KinderCare and Learning Care Group locations across the country will offer free, drop-in appointments to any parent or caregiver who needs support to get vaccinated or recover from vaccination, and more than 500 YMCAs in nearly every state will offer drop-in care during vaccination appointments. Bright Horizons will also provide free child care to support the vaccination of over 10 million workers employed at participating organizations. The vaccine is free for everyone, however, many unvaccinated Americans report concern about the potential ripple expenses of getting vaccinated, such as having to pay for child care.  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is also issuing new guidance that encourages states to use child care funding from the American Rescue Plan to provide financial incentives to neighborhood- and home-based child care providers who join the President’s call to action and support their communities in getting vaccinated. Visit Vaccines.gov/incentives.html to learn more.
• Extended hours at pharmacies across the country in June to offer more flexible appointment availability: Starting next week, thousands of pharmacies nationwide will stay open late every Friday in June, and offer services throughout the night to make sure Americans can get their shot. These extended hours will ensure that those with less flexible work hours have the opportunity to get vaccinated at times convenient to them. Participating pharmacy chains include Albertsons, CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens.

MOBILIZING THE COUNTRY TO DO MORE VACCINATION EDUCATION AND OUTREACH:

• Community Canvassing, Phone Banking, Text Banking, and Vaccination Events: The Administration’s organizing efforts will focus on what we know works best to ensure everyone has equitable vaccine access: person-to-person action that connects people with key resources and information like Vaccines.gov, text 4-3-8-8-2-9, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Hotline (1-800-232-0233), and more. The Month of Action will include calls and texts to people in areas with low vaccination rates and canvasses in neighborhoods close to walk-in clinics where people can get vaccinated on the spot. More than 100 organizations have already committed to host over 1,000 events the first weekend alone, with thousands of additional events to take place over the course of the month. The President will call on Americans to take at least five actions to help their communities during the Month of Action, and some volunteers may be invited to visit the White House in July. Americans can visit WeCanDoThis.hhs.gov to learn more and sign up to help their communities get vaccinated.
• “We Can Do This” National Vaccination Tour: The President will announce the Vice President will lead a nation-wide tour to reach millions of Americans who still need protection against the virus, to highlight the ease of getting vaccinated, encourage vaccinations, and energize and mobilize grassroots vaccine education and outreach efforts. The Vice President’s travel will be anchored in the South, and the First Lady, the Second Gentleman, and members of the Cabinet will also join the Administration’s tour to communities across the country.
• Mayors Challenge to Increase Vaccination Rates in Cities Across America: Mayors across the country are stepping up to help in this effort by launching the “Mayors Challenge,” a competition to see which city can grow its vaccination rate the most by July 4^th. Participating mayors commit to taking actions throughout the month to boost vaccinations, such as coordinated canvassing efforts, partnerships with local businesses, and incentives for local residents. The Administration has created a toolkit for mayors and local leaders, and will help recognize the winning cities later this year. More than 50 mayors of cities in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, and, as well as D.C., have already signed up the challenge, which is being run in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
• Shots at the Shop – A New Initiative to Engage Black-Owned Barbershops and Beauty Salons: The President will announce the Administration is teaming up with the Black Coalition Against COVID, the University of Maryland Center for Health Equity, and SheaMoisture to launch “Shots at the Shop,” an initiative that will engage Black-owned barbershops and beauty salons across the country to support local vaccine education and outreach efforts. Throughout the month of June, each participating shop will engage customers with information about the vaccines, display educational materials, and host on-site vaccination events in partnership with local providers. The “Shots at the Shop” initiative will invite participation from across the country, with a particular focus on supporting shops in some of the hardest-hit localities still experiencing significant gaps in vaccination rates.
• Blanketing Local TV and Radio and Social Media to Get Americans the Facts and Answer Their Questions: The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), representing more than 7,000 TV and radio stations across the country, will have local station members participate in the National Month of Action. NAB members will be airing vaccine education segments in their programming featuring trusted voices from the community, as well as medical professionals from leading medical associations across the country, including the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Hospital Association, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, and Primary Care Collaborative. Medical experts will have the opportunity to share information on benefits of vaccination, address questions and concerns, and publicize where individuals in the community can get vaccinated. And, the Administration will continue deploying medical experts, public health leaders, and Cabinet officials through a whole-of-government approach to communicate directly with Americans, including by working with social media platforms and engaging celebrities and influencers to reach people where they are.
• COVID-19 College Challenge: The Administration is launching the COVID-19 College Challenge, where colleges and universities can take a pledge and commit to taking action to get their students and communities vaccinated by going to WhiteHouse.gov/COVIDCollegeChallenge and signing up. As part of the challenge, the Administration will provide resources like training sessions, toolkits, and educational material to assist colleges and universities in vaccination efforts; facilitate on-site vaccinations at schools; and launch a student corps within the COVID-19 Community Corps to recognize and activate students across the country who are taking extraordinary efforts to draw young people out to get vaccinated and engage the youth community. More than 200 colleges in 43 states have already taken the pledge and committed to the COVID-19 College Challenge. This challenge builds on the Administration’s work to facilitate partnerships between more than 60 community colleges and pharmacies in the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program to provide pop-up vaccination clinics at high-enrollment community colleges between now and July 4^th

INCENTIVIZING VACCINATION

Business Incentives for Vaccinated Americans: Thousands of employers and businesses have already stepped up to support vaccination efforts, including by offering incentives for vaccinations and providing their workers paid-leave for vaccinations. During the Month of Action, the Administration will continue working with employers to make it even easier to set up workplace vaccination clinics, and call on more businesses to encourage and incentivize vaccinations.

Starting today, Americans will be able to find a list of these and other incentives on Vaccines.gov/incentives.html. Examples of new private sector actions and incentives that recently launched include:

• Anheuser-Busch will give away free beer to all adults over the age of 21 in America on July 4^th to celebrate the country’s progress against COVID.
• CVS launched a sweepstakes for vaccinated people to win free cruises, tickets to Super Bowl LVI, and cash prizes.
• Door Dash will give $2 million in gift cards to the National Association of Community Health Centers to incentivize vaccinations.
• Major League Baseball teams will offer on-site vaccinations at games and give free tickets to those who get vaccinated.
• Microsoft will give away thousands of Xboxes to Boys and Girls Clubs in hard-hit areas who will run promotions and educational seminars about the importance of vaccinations in hard-hit and hard-to-reach communities.
• Kroger launched a “Community Immunity” program to give $1 million to a vaccinated person every week in June and give dozens of vaccinated Americans free groceries for a year.
• United Airlines launched the “Your Shot to Fly” Sweepstakes for Mileage Plus members to win a year of free flights or a roundtrip for two in any class of service.

A Tool to Build Vaccine Confidence in Rural Communities

The White House created an infographic to outline how the COVID-19 vaccine helps to protect your rural community and yourself.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, and here now. Strong confidence in the vaccines within communities will lead to more people getting vaccinated, which will lead to fewer COVID-related illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths.