Now more than ever, everyone needs to do their part to 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.  When people get the flu shot, it helps protect them and keep them from spreading the flu to others.

Medicare and most health plans cover the cost of the flu shot, which is available at most health care provider offices, local pharmacies, senior centers, health centers, and other places in the community.

This year, we’re developing many new flu vaccination resources for people with Medicare, partners, providers, and others who can share our message.  Please use our resources to encourage your patients and partners to get their flu shot so they and their communities can stay healthy.

Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected when it comes to receiving recommended vaccines. Many factors can contribute to lower vaccination rates, including concerns about vaccine safety and limited access to care and health coverage. The CMS Office of Minority Health created a website of Federal resources to help our partners find resources for minority populations and in additional languages.

Visit go.cms.gov/omhflu.

CMS.gov Partner and Provider Resources

• Visit cms.gov/flu for a one-stop shop to help you find CMS’s flu vaccination information and 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.
• Looking for additional languages? Find Medicare postcards in 18 languages.
• Visit our Outreach & Media Materials page for flu vaccination materials you can share within your partner networks and use to reach people with Medicare, plus other audiences across our health care programs. We will continue to update this page with additional resources.
• Use this social media toolkit with posts and graphics to spread the word about the importance of getting a flu shot this year (in English & Spanish).
• For partners, we launched a Flu Vaccine Partner Toolkit with flu and other immunization resources.
• For health care providers, we launched a new website, cms.gov/flu-provider, with flu coverage and billing information.

Medicare.gov Consumer Resources

• Medicare Blog
• Flu Shot Coverage
• Preventive & Screening Services

Your Medicare Coverage

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced today the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency is improving the COVID Relief Mortgage and Rental Assistance Grant Program to help more renters and homeowners remain in their homes. Effective Oct. 17, landlords and mortgagees will have a new option to reach agreements with renters and homeowners for repayment of rent and mortgage payments above the program’s $750 monthly cap. The program previously required them to forgive the balance of the payment.

Earlier this week the governor signed an executive order extending the application deadline to Nov. 4.

“We cannot allow thousands of families to become homeless because of the pandemic,” said Gov. Wolf.  “Improving the program and giving people more time to apply will help families to stay in their homes. That will reduce the strain on social services and help landlords to pay their mortgages.

“These are positive steps, but we still need a larger solution. I continue to urge the legislature to fix the program’s other flaws so more struggling families have a place to live.”

The program has been helping fewer renters and homeowners than intended. Under the new guidance, landlords can still forgive the balance of rent and mortgage payment above $750, but creating the option to enter into repayment agreements with tenants and homeowners, and therefore recoup balance of payments, should encourage more participation in the relief program.

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress in March, provided $3.9 billion for Pennsylvania. As part of Pennsylvanian’s response to the pandemic, the governor signed legislation in May directing $175 million of the CARES funds to PHFA to provide $150 million for rental assistance and $25 million for mortgage assistance.

Governor Tom Wolf has repeatedly urged the General Assembly to remove the barriers so more Pennsylvanians can qualify.

The governor’s proposal would:

• Raise the $750 monthly cap on rent relief to at least 130% of HUD limits – In some parts of the state rent payments exceed $750 a month, therefore landlords decline to participate, leaving tenants without payment assistance.
• Eliminate the requirement that households be 30 days behind on rent to be eligible for assistance – The requirement creates an unfair burden on applicants who prioritize rent and mortgage payments over paying for food, medicine or other bills.
• Eliminate verification that applicants applied for unemployment compensation – The added administrative step creates unnecessary processing delays of applications and availability of assistance.

“Program changes are still needed to keep people in their homes, but in the meantime, these changes will let more people get rental assistance and avoid eviction,” said Gov. Wolf. “I continue to urge the General Assembly to make changes to allow more affected residents to qualify because, now more than ever, all Pennsylvanians need and deserve an affordable and safe place to live.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention halted some rental evictions nationwide until Dec. 31; however, some tenants and all homeowners are still at risk.

Pennsylvania First Lady Frances Wolf is proud to recognize the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s announcement that allows schools to provide free meals to all students for the rest of the school year. These flexibilities, for which First Lady Wolf recently advocated alongside 17 other first partners and spouses, ensure that schools can continue to provide the meals despite the uncertainty and hardship caused by the pandemic.

“I am so glad that the USDA has taken this important step in guaranteeing that no child has to wonder where they might find their next meal,” said First Lady Wolf. “This forward-thinking provides much-needed certainty to families, school nutrition professionals, agricultural entities and community partners working to ensure that all children have access to nutritious meals as we continue to navigate a global health crisis and its subsequent economic effects. This is one piece of the puzzle for ensuring food security, and we look forward to continuing to work with USDA on the implementation of this and related efforts.”

These flexibilities, which have been extended through June 30, 2021, allow school feeding programs to avoid unnecessary barriers as they navigate health and safety concerns, staff limitations, technical restrictions, time constraints and more. From March through August of this year, Pennsylvania schools provided more than 25 million meals to children in need.

“With the USDA’s extension of the school feeding program waivers, students are promised access to nutritious food for the rest of the school year,” said Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “Throughout the COVID-19 mitigation response, these waivers have worked well for schools navigating many changes. Whether students are learning from home, at the school or a mix of both, these flexibilities will keep kids fed. Hungry kids can’t learn. Because of programs like this, no Pennsylvania student should go hungry.”

According to recent projections from Feeding America, more than 54 million people, including 18 million children, may experience food insecurity this year, marking a 45 percent increase in general food security rates and a 65 percent increase in child food insecurity rates compared to pre-COVID-19 statistics.

In Pennsylvania, 2.04 million Pennsylvanians, including nearly 630,000 children, face food insecurity. This marks an increase of 45.2 percent to the general food security rate and a 57.6 percent increase to the child food insecurity rate when compared to 2018 statistics.

In letters sent to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue and Congressional leadership on September 18, 2020, First Lady Wolf and the first spouses and partners of California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming encouraged both parties to work together to extend and fully fund the necessary school feeding program waivers throughout the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year.

Yesterday’s action by the USDA comes at the heels of the passage of continuing resolution HR 8337 by the United States House and Senate and its signing by President Trump on October 1, 2020. HR 8337, in addition to maintaining federal government funding through December 11, 2020, further extends the USDA’s necessary nutrition authority and funding through September 20, 2021, for child nutrition programs, Pandemic EBT, Summer EBT for Children, Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and more. Further USDA action is needed to implement the extensions of these other programs. 

Providers are encouraged to apply for the latest round of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) support. Applications will be considered regardless of whether your organization was previously eligible for, applied for, received, accepted, or rejected prior PRF payments. For this newest phase, funding will be allocated to providers based on assessed financial losses and changes in operating expenses caused by COVID-19.  For more information about the Phase 3-General Distribution, please visit the Provider Relief Fund webpage.

Apply here through November 6

Register for the webcast on October 15 at 3 p.m. ET to learn more.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced amended terms for payments issued under the Accelerated and Advance Payment (AAP) Program as required by recent action by President Trump and Congress. This Medicare loan program allows CMS to make advance payments to providers and are typically used in emergency situations. Under the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act repayment will now begin one year from the issuance date of each provider or supplier’s accelerated or advance payment. CMS issued $106 billion in payments to providers and suppliers in order to alleviate the financial burden healthcare providers faced while experiencing cash flow issues in the early stages of combating the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency (PHE).

“In the throes of an unprecedented pandemic, providers and suppliers on the frontlines needed a lifeline to help keep them afloat,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “CMS’ advanced payments were loans given to providers and suppliers to avoid having to close their doors and potentially causing a disruption in service for seniors. While we are seeing patients return to hospitals and doctors providing care we are not yet back to normal,” she added.

CMS expanded the AAP Program on March 28, 2020 and gave these loans to healthcare providers and suppliers in order to combat the financial burden of the pandemic. CMS successfully paid more than 22,000 Part A providers, totaling more than $98 billion in accelerated payments. This included payments to Part A providers for Part B items and services they furnished. In addition, more than 28,000 Part B suppliers, including  doctors, non-physician practitioners, and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) suppliers, received advance payments totaling more than $8.5 billion.

Providers were required to make payments starting in August of this year, but with this action, repayment will be delayed until one year after payment was issued. After that first year, Medicare will automatically recoup 25 percent of Medicare payments otherwise owed to the provider or supplier for eleven months. At the end of the eleven-month period, recoupment will increase to 50 percent for another six months. If the provider or supplier is unable to repay the total amount of the AAP during this time-period (a total of 29 months), CMS will issue letters requiring repayment of any outstanding balance, subject to an interest rate of four percent.

The letter also provides guidance on how to request an Extended Repayment Schedule (ERS) for providers and suppliers who are experiencing financial hardships. An ERS is a debt installment payment plan that allows a provider or supplier to pay debts over the course of three years, or, up to five years in the case of extreme hardship. Providers and suppliers are encouraged to contact their Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) for information on how to request an ERS. To allow even more flexibility in paying back the loans, the $175 billion issued in Provider Relief funds can be used towards repayment of these Medicare loans. CMS will be communicating with each provider and supplier in the coming weeks as to the repayment terms and amounts owed as applicable for any accelerated or advance payment issued.

To view the fact sheet, click here: Fact Sheet
To view the frequently asked questions click here: FAQs

The Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act authorized the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to provide $225 million to RHCs for COVID-19 testing and related expenses. Beginning May 20, 2020, HRSA issued funding as one-time payments to RHC organizations of $49,461.42.

The terms and conditions for this program specify that, “The Recipient shall submit reports as the Secretary determines are needed to ensure compliance with conditions that are imposed on this Payment, and such reports shall be in such form, with such content, as specified by the Secretary in future program instructions directed to all Recipients.”

To monitor and assess the program, HRSA has established a set of proposed measures that funded RHCs report back to HRSA at the Tax Identification Number (TIN) level. This brief set of proposed measures includes basic information on the RHC organization, the number of and location of testing sites (active and inactive), information on the use of funds, the total number tests conducted, and the number of COVID-19 positive tests.

HRSA proposes to use this information to evaluate the effectiveness of the program at an aggregate level. As proposed, funded organizations must report the number of tests conducted and the number of positive tests on a monthly basis for the duration of the reporting period retroactively to May 2020. No personally identifiable, patient-level information is being requested.

HRSA will be in contact with RHCs in the coming weeks with more information on the RHC COVID-19 Testing Reporting (RHC CTR) website, upcoming webinar, and other additional information. Please forward the email to the best contact for your RHCs COVID-19 Testing Program and cc: RHCCOVID-19Testing@hrsa.gov if you are the incorrect recipient. HRSA has funded the National Association of Rural Health Clinics to provide technical assistance to RHCs on the RHC COVID-19 Testing Program.

If you have additional questions you may email RHCcovidreporting@narhc.org.

HRSA Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Testing Program Team
RHCCOVID-19Testing@hrsa.gov
To subscribe or unsubscribe from the RHC COVID-19 Testing Program mailing list, click here.

CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

Call details are below. Conference lines are limited so we highly encourage you to join via audio webcast, either on your computer or smartphone web browser. You are welcome to share this invitation with your colleagues and professional networks. These calls are not intended for the press.

Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page at: https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/PodcastAndTranscripts

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (twice a month on Tuesday at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern)

Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to:

• Increase Hospital Capacity – CMS Hospitals Without Walls;
• Rapidly Expand the Healthcare Workforce;
• Put Patients Over Paperwork; and
• Further Promote Telehealth in Medicare

Next Office Hours:

Tuesday, October 13^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6379959
Audio Webcast link: https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2607

Tuesday, October 27^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern – save the date, dial in to be provided

Weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls

CMS hosts calls for certain types of organizations on an intermittent basis to provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. One to two leaders in the field also share best practices with their peers. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters if time allows.

Nursing Homes

Wednesday, October 14th at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1897041 Audio Webcast Link: https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2622

Wednesday, October 28^th at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern – save the date, dial in to be provided

 For the most current information including call schedule changes, please click here

To keep up with the important work the White House Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19 click here: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=36fa2226-6aae0b0d-36fa1319-0cc47a6d17cc-2d06c219f858d641&u=http://www.coronavirus.gov/. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that an additional $96 million in state grants have been approved for 5,373 Pennsylvania small businesses that were impacted by the business closure order due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. 

Businesses in every county were approved for grants in this round of funding, and 52 percent are historically disadvantaged businesses.

To date, more than 10,000 businesses were approved for $192 million in grants through the COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been caused a lot of hardship for our business community, and it has been particularly difficult for Pennsylvania’s small businesses to weather the economic effects of this crisis. Pennsylvania’s small business owners are community-focused employers, and they drive our economy, so they deserve our support as we continue to navigate this public health crisis,” Gov. Wolf said. “As we seek to recover, and rebuild our economy following the downturn caused by this pandemic, it’s critical that we provide opportunities for these businesses to recover and rebound, and this funding will provide much-needed support for businesses in communities across the state.”

The governor announced this funding at the Broad Street Market in Harrisburg and was joined by public officials and the owners of two local businesses: D.McGee Design Studio, located in the market, which was approved for a $10,000 grant, and Gifted Hands Barber Studio, located on 3^rd Street near the market, which was approved for a $5,000 grant.

The COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance funding was developed in partnership with state lawmakers and allocated through the state budget, which included $2.6 billion in federal stimulus funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, of which $225 million was earmarked for relief for small businesses.

The Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) distributed the funds to the Pennsylvania Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which are administering the grants.

“We’ve seen the impact of this pandemic-fueled economic crisis on the small businesses in our communities. We targeted these funds to reach the smallest and most vulnerable businesses across the state and as CDFIs, we were able to mobilize our networks to reach those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic,” said James Burnett, vice chair of the PA CDFI Network and executive director of the West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution. “The PA CDFI Network is grateful for the partnership of Governor Wolf and the Pennsylvania Legislature as we move quickly to get these resources into the hands of those most impacted by the crisis.”

“I am extremely proud we were able to work together and to get much needed grants to the small businesses across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that serve as the backbone to our economy,” said state Senator Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery). “With that said, this should not be the end of the push to help our small business community. There are still CARES dollars available and thousands of businesses that have applied for this program seeking relief and the General Assembly must prioritize focusing on those needs and getting our people through this pandemic.”

Providers are encouraged to apply for the latest round of Provider Relief Fund (PRF) support. Applications will be considered regardless of whether your organization was previously eligible for, applied for, received, accepted, or rejected prior PRF payments. For this newest phase, funding will be allocated to providers based on assessed financial losses and changes in operating expenses caused by COVID-19.  For more information about the Phase 3-General Distribution, please visit the Provider Relief Fund webpage.

Apply here through November 6
Register for the webcast on October 15 at 3 p.m. ET to learn more.

Healthcare Dive

Hospitals now must send CMS their seasonal flu data alongside COVID-19 data or risk losing Medicare and Medicaid funding, senior officials announced at a press conference Tuesday.

Beginning Wednesday, hospitals will receive notice whether they are in line with current reporting requirements, CMS Administrator Seema Verma said. They will be issued guidance on how to correct course and then given 14 weeks, or four notices, to do so.

CMS in August issued an interim final rule mandating hospitals send their COVID-19 data to federal agencies or risk losing funding, swiftly chided as “heavy-handed” by the American Hospital Association. AHA said this announcement answers some of the questions posed since the initial rule, and excludes psychiatric and rehabilitation hospitals, which generally do not treat COVID-19 patients, from reporting.

HHS wants to know how many COVID-19 cases, influenza cases and days on hand of personal protective equipment hospitals have — or it will revoke federal reimbursement.

Those data points and a slew of others will be used to direct federal resources to hospitals and communities in the highest need as influenza season and the COVID-19 pandemic clash, HHS Ambassador Deborah Birx said during a Tuesday call with reporters.

A harsh flu season coinciding with continued hot spots of novel coronavirus activity could respark concerns of hospital capacity that surfaced in the beginning of the crisis.

CDC Director Robert Redfield said while the agency has always collected seasonal flu data, the new requirements will “give us a fuller picture of what is happening hospital to hospital regarding influenza.”

“It is uncertain what will happen this fall and winter,” Redfield said. “However, CDC is preparing for there to be a COVID-19 and seasonal influenza activity at the same time. As Americans spend more time indoors this fall and winter, and people start going back to work and school, the risk of flu and COVID will only rise.”

Earlier into the pandemic, HHS sent out one-time data requests to hospitals to aid in distribution of remdesivir and other needed treatments or supplies. HHS said in a fact sheet that the daily reporting is now the sole mechanism for distribution calculations heading into winter.

Hospitals already must submit reports on COVID-19 testing, capacity and utilization under the August rule. Now they must submit daily data on total hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza, previous day’s influenza admissions and total ICU patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza. They’ll also have to submit numbers on total hospitalized patients with both laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 and influenza, and previous day’s deaths for patients with both COVID-19 and influenza.

The guidance on reporting can be found at: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/covid-19-faqs-hospitals-hospital-laboratory-acute-care-facility-data-reporting.pdf