Coronavirus Update #29
Third Call with Hospital Partners, MDH & DHS Memo,
Federal Waivers, and CMS Activities
Third HFAM & Hospital Partner Call - Monday, March 30 at 4:00 PM

Along with the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA), the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), Johns Hopkins Medicine, LifeBridge, and other hospital partners, HFAM will be hosting our third call to connect our sectors. HFAM will invite broadly and work with partners and other associations to make all post-acute providers aware of this call.

The purpose of that call will be to discuss topics of mutual interest such as transfers between hospitals and post-acute facilities, post-acute capacity, models to expand capacity, and other priorities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.


This call will take place  Monday, March 30 from 4:00 - 5:00 PM EST

Dial-in: 1-415-655-0001
Passcode: 316 561 900 #
MDH & DHS Memo to LTC

The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and the Department of Human Services (DHS) today shared this Medicaid Nursing Home Memorandum for Long-Term Care to update skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers on efforts to respond to LTC Medicaid cases.

The memo states that both DHS and MDH are working diligently to implement telework capabilities of
various systems for their workforce. At this time, it is best for providers to send inquiries regarding cases via email to the case manager with the supervisor copied. Please note that the memo includes contact information for case managers and supervisors.

LTC providers are encouraged to submit applications, re-determinations, and verification documents via the E&E system (MD Think).

Operational questions can be directed to Kesha Shaw, Michelle Headlie, and Torri Shannon. Technical questions may still be directed to the MD Think help desk.
Approval of Federal Section 1135 Waiver Requests

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today the approval of additional requests by states, including Maryland, for Medicaid Emergency Waivers. These waivers ensure that states have maximum flexibility needed to care for Medicaid beneficiaries during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Maryland Approval of Federal Section 1135 Waiver Requests:

  • Temporarily suspend Medicaid fee-for-service prior authorization requirements. Section 1135(b)(1)(C) allows for a waiver or modification of pre-approval requirements, including prior authorization processes required under the State Plan for particular benefits.

  • Extend pre-existing authorizations for which a beneficiary has previously received prior authorization through the end of the public health emergency.

  • Suspend Pre-Admission Screening and Annual Resident Review (PASRR) Level I and Level II Assessments for 30 days

  • Modification of State Fair Hearing Requests and Appeal Timelines

  • Provider Enrollment Temporary Changes

  • Provision of Services in Alternative Settings

  • State Plan Amendment Flexibilities: Submission Deadline, Public Notice, and Tribal Consultation

Unless otherwise specified , the section 1135 waivers are effective as of March 1, 2020 and will terminate when the public health emergency ends.

For additional Medicaid updates, please continue to visit the Maryland Department of Health Medicaid Site.
Summary of CMS Actions

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has compiled a summary of all recent CMS actions in response to COVID-19.

Reminder: Child Care for Essential Personnel

Maryland Family Network (MFN) is partnering with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to make it fast and easy for essential personnel to find safe quality child care during the State of Emergency.

Maryland’s child care providers are essential to stemming the spread of and finding a cure for the COVID-19 pandemic. Our region is teeming with the Nation’s top researchers, doctors, and policy makers. As the Coronavirus continues to spread and demands on these and other essential personnel grows, they need to know their children are safe in order to stay focused on keeping the rest of us safe and healthy.

Visit this site to learn more or call 877-261-0060 to locate child care.

While all child care is closed for the general public, child care is not closed for essential personnel. In addition to new programs being developed by the State, MSDE recently launched a program to allow child care providers that would otherwise be closed to open to serve children of essential personnel exclusively. There will be additional child care providers approved under this new provision and available to provide child care.  LOCATE will have the listing of approved sites for these services for your stakeholder's staff to identify child care services. 

Please urge your staff to visit:  http://marylandpublicschools.org/Pages/default.aspx for more information on these child care options.
Did you miss HFAM's previous alerts?

Visit our website to view all previous HFAM alerts, as well as guidance
from our federal and state partners.
Please email [email protected] for additional questions, and visit
www.ahcancal.org/coronavirus for additional information and resources.
Thank you.

We cannot thank you enough for the dedication and diligence in doing all that you can for the residents in your communities. HFAM continues to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic with our state and national partners and will do all we can to support you during this time.