If a practice ceased operation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, then is it still eligible to receive funds?
According to guidance from HHS, yes, so long as the provider provided diagnoses, testing, or care for individuals with possible or actual cases of COVID-19. Care does not have to be specific to treating COVID-19. HHS broadly views every patient as a possible case of COVID-19.
What has the Administration done to allow hospitals and other facilities to boost their frontline medical staffs?
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) temporarily suspended a number of rules reducing supervision and certification requirements so that practitioners can be hired quickly and perform work to the fullest extent of their license. As a result of CMS’s action:
- Doctors can now directly care for patients at rural hospitals, across state lines if necessary, via phone, radio, or online communication, without having to be physically present. Remotely located physicians, coordinating with nurse practitioners at rural facilities, will provide staffs at such facilities additional flexibility to meet the needs of their patients.
- Nurse practitioners, in addition to physicians, may now perform some medical exams on Medicare patients at skilled nursing facilities so that patient needs, whether COVID-19 related or not, continue to be met in the face of increased care demands.
- Occupational therapists from home health agencies can now perform initial assessments on certain homebound patients, allowing home health services to start sooner and freeing home-health nurses to do more direct patient care.
- Hospice nurses will be relieved of hospice aide in-service training tasks so they can spend more time with patients.
More information can be found here:
- CMS Press Release
- FAQ: Public Health and Social Service Emergency Fund
- CARES – Provider Relief Fund Fact Sheet
- Protecting America’s Seniors
The Department of Health and Human Services has released the following COVID-19 materials:
Further recent guidance and announcements from the Administration includes:
- HHS funds Phase 2/3 clinical trial for potential treatment for COVID-19 (Link Here)
- CMS Releases COVID-19 Checklists and Tools to Accelerate Relief for State Medicaid & CHIP Agencies (Link Here)
- CMS Announces Relief for Clinicians, Providers, Hospitals and Facilities Participating in Quality Reporting Programs in Response to COVID-19 (Link Here)
- 2019-Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Medicare Provider Enrollment Relief Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (Link Here)
The Department of Health and Human Services has released the following COVID-19 materials:
- President Donald J. Trump is Supporting American Businesses, Workers, and Families Impacted by the Coronavirus (Link Here)
- What You Need To Know | President Trump Is Taking Action To Enable Medical Supplies To Get To Where They Are Needed Most (Link Here)
- What You Need To Know | President Trump’s Coronavirus Response Efforts (Link Here)
(Updated 7/24/20)