HFAM Update
Friends:
Thanks for all you are doing to provide quality care to Marylanders in need during this unprecedented time. You and your healthcare heroes continue to save lives. Today more people are living and recovering in our sector than are dying from COVID-19. Every single death is a tragedy to be mourned, and every life saved is to be cherished.
With the cost and coordination that goes into weekly mandatory universal testing, we are indeed fortunate that the State of Maryland continues to provide, coordinate, and pay for universal testing of residents, patients, and staff in our sector through August 1.
I’ve checked in with many of you and know that if each center had to pay for weekly universal testing it would cost between $25,000 to $75,000 a week – a financial knockout punch for most in our critical healthcare sector, which would put at serious risk the healthcare safety net that we provide to Marylanders most in need.
Still, clinically broad testing is the right thing to do right now, and it is required to re-open our sector. It is critical to quality care, our relationship with government, and the brand and reputation of our sector to get our testing with MDH right.
I know working with various labs and some state and local partners on testing has not gone smoothly, that’s the truth. And it is also the truth that the behavior of others is not in our control.
What is in our control is the consistent action providers in our sector take to get testing right – and considering the stakes: the State of Maryland providing testing right now and the cost of doing it ourselves (paying for testing would require about a 13 percent Medicaid rate increase). It is REALLY important we get these MDH testing rounds right on our end.
I am 100 percent vested and committed to the success of each of you and thankful for the quality care you provide! I’m All IN. Deep thanks for all you do. Onward together. Critical marathon is an understatement. WE WILL get though this together!
Be well,