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

Office Hours:

Tuesday, August 25^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 8579003

Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=b0ee57aa-ecbb5eb9-b0ee6695-0cc47adb5650-7cf527ad219c44d5&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2371

 

Weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls

CMS hosts weekly calls for certain types of organizations 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.

Home Health and Hospice (twice a month on Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern)

Tuesday, August 25^th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6782346 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=d56b6f04-893e66d4-d56b5e3b-0cc47a6a52de-db676249ca56a67f&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2391

 

Nursing Homes (twice a month on Wednesday at 4:30 PM Eastern)

Wednesday, August 26^th 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 5718509 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=4af88041-16ad8952-4af8b17e-0cc47adb5650-7a1a6bc3fec88107&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2416

 

Dialysis Organizations (twice a month on Wednesday at 5:30 PM Eastern)

Wednesday, August 26^th at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1834329 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=660ee5d6-3a5accfd-660ed4e9-0cc47a6d17cc-f3e0100acefbe41f&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2406

 

Nurses (twice a month on Thursday at 3:00 PM Eastern)

Thursday, August 27^th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1556623 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=9527d1a9-c972d879-9527e096-0cc47a6a52de-3cc6130cbe1e01ac&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2426

 

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (twice a month on Friday at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.

Next Lessons from the Front Lines:

Friday, September 4^th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3374248

Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=d6fe9688-8aaa8ff4-d6fea7b7-0cc47adc5fa2-6c86d8ff78da6ff4&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2474

 

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.

A new NIOSH webpage, Hazard Communication for Disinfectants Used Against Viruses, provides information on health hazards that could be caused by cleaning products and disinfectants. Also included are recommendations for barriers and respiratory protection that workers can use to protect themselves from these hazards.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) has released a Rural Crosswalk: CMS Flexibilities to Fight COVID-19 (also attached via Connect). This new resource documents all current COVID-19-related waivers and flexibilities issued by CMS that impact Rural Health Clinics, Federally Qualified Health Centers, Critical Access Hospitals, rural hospitals generally, and long-term care facilities, and describes the significance of each provision for these rural providers and facilities. This new resource can be found here: www.cms.gov/files/document/…

The Crosswalk is divided into six sections for easy navigation:

• Telehealth
• CMS Hospitals Without Walls
• Patients Over Paperwork
• Workforce
• Payment
• Additional guidance

CMS OMH created the Rural Crosswalk to boost providers’ understanding of the many CMS regulatory waivers and new rules that have been issued in response to COVID-19 since the start of the emergency declaration.

For more information and resources for rural providers, please visit go.cms.gov/ruralhealth. You can also contact us at RuralHealth@cms.hhs.gov or reach out to one of the CMS Regional Rural Health Coordinators.

As of August 13, 2020, at 10:30 am, there were 280,626 cumulative cases throughout Appalachia and 6,033 cumulative deaths.

As of August 12, 2020, there were 280,021 cumulative cases in Appalachia and a seven-day rolling average of 3,950 new cases per day (down from 4,225 a week ago) and 78 new deaths per day (up from 64 a week ago. The presence of COVID-19 has been confirmed in all 420 counties in the Appalachian Region.

Drawing on data from the Johns Hopkins University, COVID-19 Cases in Appalachia maps COVID-19’s spread in the Region in relation to the rest of the country. More county-level information regarding COVID-19 cases – including demographic data snapshots of confirmed cases and deaths in relation to hospital bed counts, population and businesses, and categories of people at risk for COVID-19 – can be found using this searchable database. By hovering over each statistical icon, users can learn more about the supporting data. COVID-19 related data is updated daily.

As part of our national critical infrastructure, the food industry has had to quickly adjust to changes in how it operates to ensure supply-chain continuity during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Not only are these stakeholders working to protect their employees from COVID-19, but they are also working to ensure the safety of the human and animal foods they produce as they experience changes within their operations.

Over the last several months, the FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), have developed a number of resources to help food industry employers continue or resume operations safely. These resources complement the FDA’s long-standing requirements for food producers to protect the safety of the food they produce.

To assist the food industry as it navigates changes to operations related to COVID-19, the FDA has teamed up with OSHA to develop the “Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human and Animal Food Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The checklist pulls from existing guidance provided by the FDA, CDC, and OSHA and serves as a quick reference to help the food industry assess employee health, social distancing, and food safety within workplaces as operations may be impacted by COVID-19.

The checklist is broken into two distinct sections. The first section focuses on employee health, screening, and operation configuration for social distancing to prevent or minimize the spread of COVID-19 based on guidelines provided by CDC and OSHA. The second section highlights food safety requirements, found in existing regulations, that can help the food industry assess the potential impact of COVID-19-related operational changes on food safety practices. Some operational changes that could impact food safety include closures, changes among food safety staff, or changes to suppliers or ingredients.

Some or all of this checklist may be useful to establishments that are growing, harvesting, packing, manufacturing, processing, or holding human and animal food regulated by FDA. These include produce, seafood, milk, eggs, grains, game meat, and other raw materials or ingredients, as well as their resulting human or animal food products. This checklist also provides useful information for foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food intended for consumption in the United States.

This checklist is not an exhaustive list of all measures human and animal food operations may take to protect employee health and food safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it can serve as a quick reference to identify areas where additional attention could be warranted. Operations should continue to refer to guidelines offered by their state and local government, as well as additional information provided by the FDA, CDC and OSHA.

For More Information

• What to Do If You Have COVID-19 Confirmed Positive or Exposed Workers in Your Food Production, Storage, or Distribution Operations Regulated by FDA
• Use of Respirators, Facemasks, and Cloth Face Coverings in the Food and Agriculture Sector During Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
• COVID-19 Update: FDA Issues Temporary Policy for FSMA Onsite Audit Requirements
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) FDA
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
• CDC COVID-19 FAQ for Businesses

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its April guidance regarding the implementation of section 3710 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) hospitals.

To address potential Medicare program integrity risks, effective with admissions occurring on or after September 1, 2020, claims eligible for the 20 percent increase in the Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) weighting factor will be required to have a positive COVID-19 laboratory test documented in the patient’s medical record. Positive tests must be demonstrated using only the results of viral testing (i.e., molecular or antigen), consistent with CDC guidelines. The test may be performed either during the hospital admission or prior to the hospital admission.

CMS may conduct post-payment medical review to confirm the presence of a positive COVID-19 laboratory test and, if no such test is contained in the medical record, the additional payment resulting from the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight will be recouped.  A hospital that diagnoses a patient with COVID-19 consistent with the ICD-10-CM Official Coding and Reporting Guidelines but does not have evidence of a positive test result can decline, at the time of claim submission, the additional payment resulting from the application at the time of claim payment of the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight to avoid the repayment.

A Medicare Learning Network article with the updated guidance is available here.  For information specific to what CMS is doing in response to COVID-19, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry has launched a new online job portal. People seeking employment can visit www.PAcareerlink.pa.gov and select the green “PA COVID-19 Jobs – Hiring Immediately” job portal banner to see active job openings. Selecting the “Apply Now” button for a listed position will redirect individuals to the employer’s website or email where they can apply directly with the employer and speed up the hiring process. 

Life-sustaining businesses can feature their job openings on the portal through an easy to use the online form. Businesses must meet the criteria of a life-sustaining business and must have more than 10 job openings. 

The PA COVID-19 job portal is updated daily so businesses in need are spotlighted and people searching for employment have the latest job information. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health launched an online early warning monitoring dashboard that provides information statewide and county COVID-19 prevalence to track increases in disease in the community on a weekly basis.

“This dashboard provides the entire community with early warning to changes in COVID-19 infection so that we can take action to prevent spread,” Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Recent increases in COVID-19 cases in parts of the state have shown the need for Pennsylvanians to continue to take simple steps to prevent the spread of this virus. Wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, maintain social distancing and stay home if you are sick.”

The dashboard shows data points being used to assess the spread of the virus in the state and in each county, including:

• Difference in confirmed cases (last 7 days vs. previous 7 days);
• Incidence rate (last 7 days and previous 7 days) per 100,000 residents;
• PCR positivity rate (last 7 days and previous 7 days);
• Difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last 7 days and the previous 7 days;
• Difference in the average daily number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators in the last 7 days and previous 7 days; and
• Percent of hospital emergency department visits in the last 7 days and previous 7 days due to COVID-like-illness (CLI).

The dashboard will be updated on a weekly basis to assist in providing information regarding the prevalence and severity of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the recipients of $50 million in grants to help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining industries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this reimbursement-based grant is available to employers offering hazard pay during the eligible program period and will be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

The total list of recipients can be seen here.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced the recipients of $50 million in grants to help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining industries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this reimbursement-based grant is available to employers offering hazard pay during the eligible program period and will be administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

The total list of recipients can be seen here.