Coronavirus Update #70

Thank You, Additional Medicare Funds, Additional Stimulus Funds, MDH Webinar Recap

Thank You, Healthcare Heroes

Thank you for all you and your teams are doing to save lives. It’s been another challenging week for us with COVID-19 now in more than 169 nursing homes, assisted living campuses, and in senior housing across the state.

The only way we could have minimized outbreaks in our sector would have been for national and state governments to have ample testing early on and by prioritizing testing of healthcare employees, residents, and patients. Despite our early efforts to keep the virus out, early visitation bans, and infectious disease screening, it still invaded our sector - likely via unsuspecting asymptomatic carriers.

One of the sad and complicated story lines from our sector is that in nursing homes, healthcare heroes provide quality care to people with DNRs, MOLST forms and Do Not Intubate orders; in our sector people sometimes die with and not because of COVID-19.  Most importantly, do not lose sight of the positive as residents, patients and staff are beginning to successfully recover from COVID-19.

Never give up. It’s how you finish and not how you start – CLICK HERE .

Additional $20 Billion to be Distributed to Medicare Providers Today

Explanation of the HHS Formula for Distribution of Provider Relief Funds:

HHS allocated another $20 billion today to all Medicare providers. You may have received a check already and if not, you should over the next week. HHS intends to send checks to Medicaid-only providers but is not doing so in this payment. We will continue to work with HHS to develop the system to get those funds distributed.

The notice from HHS is confusing, but here is the explanation. Combined with the $30 billion two weeks ago, with this $20 billion payment, HHS has now paid $50 billion to Medicare providers. Here is the formula:

Or:

 

( [ Facility' s 2018 Net Patient Revenue ÷ $2.5 Trillion ] × $50 billion ) - Amount given in 1st payment = New distribution amount

HHS has developed an FAQ for the Provider Relief Fund with additional details.

In addition, HHS paid out another $20 billion from the fund, but it appears that all that money is going to hospitals. While we acknowledge that hospitals need financial assistance, the battle against COVID-19 is being fought in long term and post-acute care facilities. We will be demanding fair treatment for our facilities in upcoming payments.



The good news is that Congress added $75 billion (see below) in funds to this HHS effort, so even with these payments, there is over $100 billion left in the Provider Relief Fund. We will do everything possible to get you what you need out of this fund.

Please email [email protected] with any questions,

or visit ahcancal.org/coronavirus for more information.

Additional $75 Billion for Provider Relief in Stimulus Funds Passed

Yesterday , the House of Representatives approved and the President is expected to quickly sign the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, a bill that was passed by the Senate earlier this week. The bill provides:

All of the provisions above are in addition to the provisions that are in the CARES Act, that was signed into law by the President last month. 

MDH Webinar Recap

Yesterday, the Maryland Department of Health held a webinar call to update the long-term care sector on COVID-19 developments and best practices. The call was recorded, in case you were unable to join or would like to review the topics discussed, which included:

You can view the recorded webinar here. (Please note that the call begins about 15 minutes in to the recording)

You can also view the webinar's  PowerPoint presentation here.

If you have any questions, please email   [email protected] 

Reminder: Daily Bed Availability Reporting Tool

As we shared recently, our partners at the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) and CRISP have been working with post-acute providers and hospitals to streamline nursing home daily bed availability reporting. The hope is that this reporting tool will be an easier and more comprehensive way to understand bed availability than current processes.

The intent is to ask nursing home for key pieces of information that will not be overly burdensome and still provide enough information for hospitals to streamline post-acute care placement. Facilities will be allowed to enter data more than once per day if bed availability changes from first entry, but daily submissions will need to be completed by 10:00 am each morning.

All entries will be processed to provide a single source capacity directory that discharge planners and care managers can use to locate needed beds. Initially, this will be in the form of a spreadsheet emailed back to the discharge planners. Over time, it will also include display in CRISP.

Facilities that submit data will also be able to see daily bed availability across the state. You will need to be credentialed in CRISP to view data, but no credential is needed to submit.

Nursing homes can input information via this link:

https://postacutecapacity.crisphealth.org/

Who are your healthcare heroes?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home and assisted living healthcare workers are proving themselves not just essential workers, but frontline heroes. From managing a virus that can be spread without symptoms, to dealing with a shortage adequate testing and PPE, to being forced to rightfully isolate residents from families and loved ones, these challenges are immense, unprecedented, and heartbreaking. Nursing home and assisted living healthcare heroes are truly working hard and doing all they can to save lives.

As we previously shared, this week is national  Careers in Aging Week . This week is happening in the most unusual of circumstances -- we are realizing more than ever before that for our best teams, this work is a calling. This week we will celebrate Maryland's Healthcare Heroes.

There are so many amazing stories of dedication, sacrifice, and compassion by long term care professionals who are going above and beyond to ensure the safety, health, and happiness of residents during this unprecedented time. These individuals are saving lives; they are heroes.

We want to hear your stories! Please email  [email protected]  to share a current story and picture of members of your team who are going above beyond to provide quality care during this unprecedented time. 

Additional Resources and Guidance

AHCA/NCAL

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Maryland Department of Health

Mental Health Association of Maryland

AMDA Guidance

AARP