Governor Whitmer Extends Protections for Nursing Home Residents and Staff

Last evening, Governor Whitmer issued Executive Order 2020-169, extending provisions and restrictions previously included in Executive Order 2020-148. 

EO 2020-169 included provisions requiring:

• Maintain restrictions of all communal dining and internal & external group activities
• Prohibits eviction or involuntary discharge for nonpayment
• Requires appropriate PPE and the ability to adhere to infection control procedures
• Except as otherwise provided by an advance directive, a long term care facility must transfer a COVID-19 affected resident who is medically unstable to a hospital for evaluation
• A nursing home must make all reasonable efforts to create a unit dedicated to the care & isolation of COVID-19 affected residents ("dedicated unit")
• If a long term care facility has a dedicated unit, the facility must transfer COVID-19 affected residents to its dedicated unit
• If a long term care facility does not have a dedicated unit, it must attempt to transfer the COVID-19 affected resident to a Regional Hub, an alternate care facility or an available swing bed at a hospital 
  

HHS Opens CHOW Portal

Beginning yesterday, August 10, providers who underwent a Change of Ownership (CHOW) and providers who missed the June 3, 2020 deadline to apply for additional funding equal to 2 percent of their total patient care revenue from the $20 billion portion of the $50 billion Phase 1 General Distribution may submit their application for possible funds by August 28, 2020. This deadline aligns with the extended deadline for other eligible Phase 2 providers, such as Medicaid. 

 

Latest Eligible Providers for Phase 2 General Distribution Funding

Providers who were ineligible for the Phase 1 General Distribution because:

• They underwent a change in ownership in calendar year 2019 or 2020 under Medicare Part A; and
• Did not have Medicare Fee-For-Service revenue in 2019. 
  

Providers who received a payment under Phase 1 General Distribution but:

• Missed the June 3 deadline to submit revenue information - including many Medicaid providers with low Medicare revenues that assumed they were ineligible for additional distribution targeted at Medicare providers or had planned to apply for a Medicaid and CHIP specific distribution; or
• Did not receive Phase 1 General Distribution payments totaling approximately 2 percent of their annual patient revenue. 

Providers who previously received Phase 1 General Distribution payment(s) but rejected and returned the funds and are now interested in reapplying.

 

The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) notes eligible providers will only receive funding of up to 2 percent of their reported total revenue from patient care. Therefore, for providers who have already received a Phase 1 General Distribution payment from HHS, the previous amount received and kept will be taken into account when determining the eligible amount for Phase 2 General Distribution payment. All payment recipients must accept HHS's terms and conditions and may be subject to auditing to ensure the data provided to HHS for payment calculation are accurate. 

 

HHS has been hosting a series of informational webinars to address questions and support providers through the application process. The next provider and provider organization webinar will be held on Thursday, August 13, 2020.

 

AHCA/NCAL Report - DATA: Nursing Homes See Spike in New COVID Cases Due to Community Spread

AHCA/NCAL released a report this morning demonstrating the alarming spike in new COVID cases due to community spread, and highlighting the need for Congress to provide additional funding and resources to long term care providers.

 

The release uses Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data to demonstrate that a spike in COVID cases in the general population has led to increased cases in nursing homes in some areas of the U.S.  The data shows COVID cases in nursing homes increased last month after having dropped throughout the month of June. 

 

AHCA/NCAL is issuing this report to ensure news coverage about long term care includes the correlation with nursing home COVID cases and an increase in community spread. AHCA/NCAL will continue to use this messaging on its calls for additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), testing and financial resources.  

 

AHCA/NCAL has also shared Talking Points that members may find helpful in addressing questions regarding COVID.

 

In the report Mark Parkinson, President & CEO of AHCA/NCAL shared, "Given the fact we are several months into the response of this pandemic and the lack of PPE supplies is still an issue is very concerning. We request governors and state public health agencies to help secure and direct more PPE supplies to nursing homes and assisted living communities, especially N95 masks," Parkinson wrote in the letter.

Using data from Johns Hopkins University, AHCA/NCAL released a state-by-state breakdown showing 33 states with a positive COVID-19 test rate of higher than five percent and data from CMS indicating many nursing homes are still facing significant PPE supply shortages especially for N95 masks and gowns.

AHCA/NCAL is calling on public health officials to take immediate steps to protect nursing homes and assisted living communities especially in areas with significant uptick in new COVID cases.

Parkinson is also urging Congress for an additional $100 billion for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Provider Relief Fund, which is accessible for all health care providers impacted by COVID-19, and that a sizeable portion of the fund be dedicated to helping nursing homes and assisted living communities acquire resources associated with protecting vulnerable residents and staff from the virus, including constant testing, PPE and staff support.

"Without adequate funding and resources, the U.S. will end up repeating the same mistakes from several months ago. We need Congress to prioritize our vulnerable seniors and their caregivers in nursing homes and assisted living communities in this upcoming legislation."

Registration for Fall JPST Now Open

The Bureau of Community and Health Systems (BCHS) is pleased to announce that Registration is now available for the Fall Joint Provider Surveyor Training (JPST) presented as a Live Webinar on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. Information and registration is available at the Joint Provider Surveyor Training Brochure & Registration webpage. 

 

Answers to some of your questions, including a link as to how best to participate in a live webinar, may be found in the FAQs document.

 

If you have questions, please contact Tammy Bagby at lara-bchs-training@michigan.gov or 517-243-9351.

For questions or concerns please contact Cathy Sunlin at CathySunlin@HCAM.org. 

 

Aug. 11, 2020