COVID-19 vaccines are new, and it’s normal for people to have questions about them. The sheer amount of information—and misinformation—about COVID-19 vaccines can be overwhelming to anyone. You can help by listening without judgement and identifying the root of their concerns. Acknowledge their emotions so they know they have been heard. Ask open-ended questions to explore their concerns, ask permission to share information, and help them find their own reason to get vaccinated.

Click here for more information and resources.

CMS would like to make you aware that the federally supported website that makes it easier for individuals to access COVID-19 vaccines is now live. Vaccines.gov – powered by the trusted VaccineFinder brand – is available in English and Spanish, with high accessibility standard, and will help connect Americans with locations offering vaccines near them. In addition to the website, people in the U.S. are also now able to utilize a text message service, available in both English and Spanish. People can text their ZIP code to 438829 (GETVAX) and 822862 (VACUNA) to find three locations nearby that have vaccines available.

Vaccines.gov is meant to complement the number of state and pharmacy websites that have been successfully connecting many Americans with vaccinations, by providing a unified federal resource for Americans to use no matter where they are.

In addition to the website and text messaging service, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline is now available to help those who prefer to get information by phone on where to get a vaccine. Call 1-800-232-0233 to find a location near you.

Research from the Foundation for Rural Service underscores the transformative role broadband played in rural America during the Pandemic and looks into increasing demand for what has become a fundamental service.

by Stephen V. Smith, May 7, 2021

The optimism that naturally accompanies the start of a new decade was met with a series of challenges as 2020 unfolded. The coronavirus pandemic was chief among these, creating a public health crisis, economic hardship, and social unrest.

Broadband was the technology that ran like a thread through efforts to combat these challenges.

A new white paper published by the Foundation for Rural Service, “Broadband Today: Rural America’s Critical Connection,” examined the role of broadband in responding to the pandemic.

“Never before has reliable access to high-speed internet been as important as it has been during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said FRS Executive Director Pam Becker.“Broadband connects us to our work, education, health care, government programs, and — most importantly — one another. This report examines the necessary benefits broadband access has provided to rural Americans throughout the pandemic and what more can be done to ensure sustainable, affordable networks for all going forward.”

The report found a 40% uptick in broadband usage between the end of 2019 and 2020. According to the research, rural networks were able to function well due to investments thanks to recent investments by local providers and an increase in the “fiber-to-the-home penetration.”

The report estimated that around 30% of the modern workforce could be working from home multiple days a week by as soon as the end of 2021, creating a permanent demand for higher speeds and upload capacity.

Read more.

by Liz Carey, May 6, 2021

Health care providers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are trying novel ways to get as many residents vaccinated as possible.

As part of that effort, the CDC recently reached out to extension agencies and other trusted rural community resources to get factual vaccination information into communities.

Called the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE), the program provides extension agencies with grants to promote Covid-19 vaccination information.

“The overall goal of this great collaborative effort is to create a precision immunization program based on needs assessments and local partnerships, and then to provide immunization education and linkages to immunization opportunities for the most socially vulnerable audiences,” said Alexi Piasecki, with the CDC Vaccine Task Force. “This will be done through building trust, empowering health care personnel and engaging with communities and individuals.”

The five-year, $9.9 million program is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the CDC and uses the Cooperative Extension System to reach out to rural and medically underserved communities.

Read more.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has announced a partnership with Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid Pharmacy to ease access to COVID-19 vaccinations for people with intellectual disabilities and autism. Beginning May 4, people with an intellectual disability, autism, and their caregivers will be able to call a hotline managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) to request a COVID-19 vaccine, and callers will receive direct outreach from a nearby Rite Aid Pharmacy to schedule their vaccine appointment.

People with an intellectual disability or autism and their caregivers can call ODP Vaccination Call Center at 1-800-424-4345 to request a COVID-19 vaccine appointment for themselves and/or their caregivers. This hotline is staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. From there, ODP will give Rite Aid names and locations of individuals who need to be vaccinated. Rite Aid staff will assign local pharmacies to reach out to callers to schedule vaccinations at a Rite Aid location near to the caller. This effort will also be able to help coordinate special accommodations for individuals who need assistance with transportation or on-site aid, among other needs.

Anyone age 16 or older with an intellectual disability or autism and their caregivers can request a vaccine appointment through this effort, regardless of whether they are currently enrolled in a services and supports program through ODP. ODP oversees services and supports for approximately 57,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Pennsylvania but estimates that this only covers about 25 percent of Pennsylvanians who may qualify as having an intellectual or developmental disability. ODP is working with Pennsylvania’s Developmental Disabilities Council, Temple University’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, the Special Olympics, and Aging and Disability Resource Centers to help people with disabilities and their caregivers know about this option and assist with accommodations.

“As we continue to work to ensure that all Pennsylvanians who want a vaccine are able to get them, this collaborative approach between ODP and Rite Aid will allow us to ease this process for people with intellectual disabilities and autism and help us keep them and their caregivers safe moving forward,” said DHS Acting Secretary Meg Snead. “Rite Aid has been an incredible partner in helping us reach vulnerable people in our licensed facilities and community settings, and I am incredibly grateful for their continued work to ensure that we are getting these life-saving vaccines out efficiently and equitably.”

Since December 2020, more than 8 million Pennsylvanians have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 3.2 million Pennsylvanians are fully vaccinated. For more information on COVID-19 vaccinations and vaccine providers in your community, visit the Department of Health’s website.   

Get more information about vaccines administered to DHS-licensed facilities through the work with Rite Aid and other vaccine providers.

On May 3, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a new program covering costs of administering COVID-19 vaccines to patients enrolled in health plans that either do not cover vaccination fees or cover them with patient cost-sharing. Since providers cannot bill patients for COVID-19 vaccination fees, this new program, the COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund (CAF), addresses an outstanding compensation need for providers on the front lines vaccinating underinsured patients.

Click here for the Press Release and Fact Sheet of the CAF.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania’s nation-leading mushroom industry stepped up to the plate to both feed America and keep their workers safe. Now, after a collaborative effort by the Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture and Health, the American Mushroom Institute, LCH Health and Community Services, and the Chester County Health Department, mushroom farmworkers are scheduled to receive the one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.

Following updated guidance announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Pennsylvania Department of Health has notified all COVID-19 vaccine providers that the pause in administering the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine has been lifted.

“From day one of this pandemic we labeled agriculture as life-sustaining, but that label came with a heavy responsibility to keep food available and safe – we all relied on it,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “We all have a new appreciation for who is feeding us now – the people who grow and pack and process our food. We need them to be protected so that our food supply is protected.

“The American Mushroom Institute recognized both needs – they’ve worked hard to educate their workforce about the vaccine and boost confidence in the science. They now have a workforce who wants protection,” added Redding.

Pennsylvania is home to more than 60,000 farmworkers – both citizen and migrant – who work to ensure Pennsylvania’s farms run efficiently and produce food to feed the nation. Pennsylvania’s mushroom industry leads the nation in production, with nearly 60% of all mushroom production occurring in and around Chester County. The industry supports nearly 9,000 jobs and contributes $1.1 billion to the economy.

These farmworkers became eligible for vaccine as part of the commonwealth’s expanded special initiative to vaccinate frontline workers.

“Farmworkers play an important role in keeping the food supply flowing,” said Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam. “By bringing the COVID-19 vaccine directly to the mushroom farmworkers we are ensuring part of our food supply chain and helping to protect thousands of people doing critical work.”

The commonwealth has dedicated more than 5,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to farmworkers of the American Mushroom Institute network. The vaccinations are scheduled to take place through mid-May and will serve multiple farms and packing houses.

“We greatly appreciate the PA Department of Health and Department of Agriculture for their commitment in helping to bring much-needed vaccines to the mushroom farming community’s workers,” said Rachel Roberts, president of the American Mushroom Institute. “These front-line workers have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to harvest, pack, and transport fresh mushrooms to for consumers around the country. We welcome this effort.”

With the majority of the mushroom farmworker workforce being Latinx and Spanish-speaking, the partnership with LCH Health and Community Services – the local federally qualified healthcare center that serves much of the Chester County-area migrant worker population – is critical to the success of the vaccination initiative. LCH ensures staff and resources for the farmworkers are bilingual to achieve optimal education for maximum confidence in the vaccine.

“Mushroom farms, related businesses, and the community that relies on them have been a focus of the Chester County Health Department throughout the pandemic,” said Jeanne Franklin, Public Health Director for Chester County. “Working together with the American Mushroom Institute and partners like LCH has helped us to keep our southern Chester County community informed and prepared to meet the challenges of COVID-19, and this support from the State certainly advances our timeline in the crucial vaccination process.”

The decision to offer on-site delivery of the one-shot vaccine was decided by the essentiality of these workers and the risks they face every day to feed the commonwealth coupled with the disproportionate impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Black and Brown communities and the recognition of barriers like transportation or language access that may have prevented or delayed these workers from accessing the vaccine.

Essential workers who get the COVID-19 vaccine are protecting themselves, their family, their co-workers, and their community. In addition to this, farmworkers who choose to protect their health with the vaccine are also protecting the availability and accessibility of food.

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 HHS, CDC and CMS.

With information coming from many different sources, CMS has up-to-date resources and materials to help you share important and relevant information on the COVID-19 vaccine 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 partnering with you to encourage our beneficiaries to get vaccinated when they have the opportunity. For more information, visit the CMS COVID-19 Policies and Guidance page.

COVID-19 SNAPSHOT OF NEW COVID-19 VACCINE INFORMATION

CMS, CDC and HHS have released new guidance and resources related to the COVID-19 vaccine to serve our beneficiaries. This important information is highlighted below for our partners to share with providers and consumers.

No Out-of-Pocket Cost for COVID-19 Vaccine. CMS has recently become aware of instances where consumers are being charged to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.  We encourage you to remind vaccine providers of the following information as the vaccine becomes more widely available help curb any consumer barriers to receiving a vaccine.

COVID-19 VACCINE PROVIDER REMINDER:

If you participate in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program, you must:

• Administer the vaccine with no out-of-pocket cost to your patients for the vaccine or administration of the vaccine
• Vaccinate everyone, including the uninsured, regardless of coverage or network status

You also can’t:

• Balance bill for COVID-19 vaccinations
• Charge your patients for an office visit or other fee if COVID-19 vaccination is the only medical service given
• Require additional medical or other services during the visit as a condition for getting a COVID-19 vaccination

Report any potential violations of these requirements to the HHS Office of the Inspector General:

• Call 1-800-HHS-TIPS
• Submit an online complaint

Submit claims for administering COVID-19 vaccines to:

• Medicare, if your patient has Medicare Part B coverage or, for 2020 and 2021, Medicare Advantage (Part C)
• Private insurance company (PDF), including if your patient only has Medicare Part A coverage with supplemental coverage from a private insurer
• Your state’s Medicaid program for patients with Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage
• Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program, including if your Medicare patient only has Part A coverage with no supplemental coverage

For more information on COVID-19 Vaccine Administration, visit the CMS COVID-19 Vaccine Provider page.

COVID-19 VACCINE CONSUMER REMINDER. In addition, we encourage you to share the information below with consumers to help address issues relating to consumers who may have received a charge or paid for COVID-19 vaccination.

If you paid to get a COVID-19 vaccine: When you get a COVID-19 vaccine, your provider can’t charge you for an office visit or other fee if the vaccine is the only medical service you get. If you get other medical services at the same time you get the COVID-19 vaccine, you may owe a copayment or deductible for those services.

If you paid a fee or got a bill for a COVID-19 vaccine, check this list to see if your provider should have charged you:

• Check the receipts and statements you get from your provider for any mistakes.
• Call your provider’s office to ask about any charges you think are incorrect. The person you speak to may help you better understand the services you got, or realize they made a billing error.
• If you have Original Medicare, review your “Medicare Summary Notice” for errors. Report anything suspicious to Medicare by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
• If you have other coverage like a Medicare Advantage Plan, review your “Explanation of Benefits.” Report anything suspicious to your insurer.

If you think your provider incorrectly charged you for the COVID-19 vaccine, ask them for a refund. If you think your provider charged you for an office visit or other fee, but the only service you got was a COVID-19 vaccine, report them to the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or visiting TIPS.HHS.GOV.

NEW COVID-19 VACCINE RESOURCES

CDC Guidance for Fully Vaccinated People: What you Need to Know.

• If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing many things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
• When choosing safer activities, consider how COVID-19 is spreading in your community, the number of people participating in the activity, and the location of the activity.
• Outdoor visits and activities are safer than indoor activities, and fully vaccinated people can participate in some indoor events safely, without much risk. Additional CDC guidance can be found here.
• If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, find a COVID-19 near you at Vaccines.gov.

NEW CMS COVID-19 Fraud Resources. CMS just launched new materials to help protect Medicare beneficiaries against COVID-19 vaccine fraud.  Spread the word by sharing the resources, graphics and messaging within your communities:

• Use the social media messaging and downloadable graphics in the COVID-19 Fraud Campaign toolkit.
• Play the videos, Protect Yourself from Fraud and What Do You Say to Vaccine Scammers? in waiting areas, on webinars and at conferences.
• Share information in your newsletters – Learn to detect and prevent vaccine fraud at Medicare.gov/fraud
• Additional resources can be found on the COVID-19 Partner Resources Page.

Building COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Webinar: Thursday, May 13th from 12:00-1:00 p.m. E.T. – hosted by the CMS Office of Minority Health.

Dr. LaShawn McIver, Director of CMS OMH, will share information and resources to help you address vaccine hesitancy in your community. Dr. McIver will be joined by Dr. Peter Marks, Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) at FDA, who will give an overview of vaccines and their safety. This webinar will equip you to speak persuasively about the COVID-19 vaccine. Register here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6555661473692736014

Please note: You will receive an email with login information from GoToWebinar upon registration. If you do not receive an email in a few days’ time, please contact CMSOMHTeam@ketchum.com.

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