Coronavirus Update #35
CMS Call Today, ACHA Payment FAQ
CMS Call with Nursing Homes Later Today 

Please join the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) TODAY, April 1 at 4:30 PM EDT for a COVID-19 Call with Nursing Homes . CMS leadership will provide updates on the agency’s latest guidance. There will be audience Q&A and an opportunity for you to share best practices with your peers. The call will be recorded if you are unable to join. 
Conference lines are limited, so you are highly encourage you to join via audio webcast , either on your computer or smartphone web browser. You are welcome to share this invitation with your colleagues.
 
CMS COVID-19 Call with Nursing Homes
Wednesday, April 1 |  4:30 PM EDT 
(877) 251-0301 
Conference ID: 8395995 

To keep up with the important work the White House Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19, please visit: www.coronavirus.gov . For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website . 
AHCA Accelerated and Advance Payments FAQs 

The AHCA Medicare Accelerated and Advance Payment FAQs was developed to supplement the recent CMS Fact Sheet related to this topic. These FAQs are based on preliminary feedback from CMS to member submitted questions. The Agency will be releasing its own version in the coming days, incorporating additional questions posed by members.

The accelerated and advance payment provisions permit providers to submit a request to their MAC on a simple form to obtain accelerated payments for Medicare Part A and Part B services for up to three months of historical billing. Providers will still be able to submit and be paid for claims during this period. After 120 days for receipt of the payment, providers will have a flexible process to repay during the subsequent 90 days. This AHCA FAQ document contains additional details regarding the process and MAC contact information and links. 
Therapy Systems Update

Please see this communication from our long-time partners at Therapy Systems regarding deliveries or pickups of equipment which includes an outline of the protocols and safeguards being taken to prevent cross contamination between facilities. Thank you for all you doing doing!
ADDITIONAL REMINDERS
Special Thank You Audio Message

HFAM has recorded a  special thank you  to those of you working in Maryland skilled nursing and rehabilitation centers and on assisted living campuses. Please distribute broadly to your teams.

We are all navigating together in these uncharted waters of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Now more than ever, it is important that we recognize we are in this together, and that we are stronger together.
Temporary Nurse Aide Training & Competency Checklist 

As AHCA/NCAL shared in Update #26 recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a blanket waiver that includes an allowance for nursing centers to temporarily employ individuals who have completed alternative training paths, as long as they are competent to provide relevant nursing and nursing related services. 

Along with AHCA/NCAL, we have have been advocating for CMS to issue such a waiver to assist in addressing staffing shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is now allowed on the federal level. State approvals, such as state occupational licensing and state regulatory requirements, may also need to be granted. 

AHCA/NCAL has a training program ready to use as state occupational and licensing agencies approve these waivers. This 8-hour online Temporary Nurse Aide training course is free to all participants.
  
AHCA/NCAL has also developed a skills competency checklist  for facilities to use on-site when they hire individuals to work as Temporary Nurse Aides. It is important to know the federal requirement at §483.35(c) is still in effect , which requires facilities to ensure that nurse aides are able to demonstrate competency in skills and techniques necessary to care for residents’ needs, as identified through resident assessments, and described in the plan of care. 
MEMA - Request for Resources

Centers are now able to make resource requests directly to the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).  Please see the instructions here.

All requests for resources will now be sent to  [email protected]

The MEMA Resource Section will input the information contained in these emails into a WebEOC request (on the requestor's behalf), and task that request to the appropriate fulfilling body. MEMA will have a staffer solely dedicated to monitoring the email account and gathering any necessary data from the requester.  
COVID-19 Case Study (Not Maryland)

Please see this  Case Study that HFAM wrote after being contacted by a SNF provider in another part of the country.

Please review this case study and share with your teams -- it includes critical insight and real time experience.
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.
CareNotCOVID

AHCA/NCAL has developed a web portal where people wanting to reach out to seniors and providers can record messages of support and even offer donations. This website encourages and facilitates social media messages of support for our nursing home and assisted living residents. Visit CareNotCOVID to learn more.

#CareNotCOVID
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.