Below please find the latest information on Covid-19 since our update last night:
 
Appendix K/1135 Waiver & Other Updates:

  • OPWDD reported that they have interacted with CMS and DOH on an amended Appendix K proposal. 

  • OPWDD updated on the Stabilization units that they are developing for people being released from the hospital that are or were Covid-positive, people from the community that are Covid-positive and people that are with family or caregivers that are Covid-positive.

  • Two types of Stabilization Units are being developed: 
  1. Intensive respite funded setting to be for the community (not just 1 provider's clientele) and that are Covid- positive, 
  2. Respite funded either site based or not for a person whose care giver is Covid-positive and needs housing temporarily.
  • The Regional Office handles the admission to both types of housing and will be helpful to providers with discharge from the hospital.

  • Residential Rates - Effective date of this would coincide with the March 18 date in the Retainer day proposal. The draft plan exists in the Apendix K for retainer days for day providers to redeploy their staff to their residences. OPWDD presented a new draft proposal for those providers that have residential but no day hab (so no retainer day access) and will have 6 hours added to their week day rate. This is an average of 12% added per day. This will be sent at the end of the week to DOH and DOB for approval. 

  • Justice Center is developing an expedited background check process for approving an employee. Three variations of the approval process will exist, OPWDD Provider to OPWDD Provider, State Agency to another State Agency, and new employee without a background check. Guidance will be issues shorty.  

Managed Care Community of Practice (MC COP) Guidance Compendium:
 
  • In order to make the search for COVID-19 official guidance simpler, the Managed Care Community of Practice has created a "COVID-19 Guidance Compendium," which lists official guidance released from State and Federal Agencies. Official guidance and resources are organized by agency and will be updated to reflect the latest information as the crisis evolves. Click here to access the compendium and COVID-19 resources, available now.

Small Business Administration – Manatt Webinar:
 
  • The Federal Cares Act which was passed in response to the Covid-19 crisis includes $349 billion dedicated to loans for small businesses through the Small Business Administration. Manatt will be hosting a webinar on this topic tomorrow which can be found here.
 
DOH Telehealth Frequently Asked Questions:
 
  • DOH has updated their Telehealth FAQ guidance document which can be found here.
 
Unemployment Insurance Frequently Asked Questions – CareDesign:
 
  • CareDesign, a CCO and partner of the New York Alliance has shared a helpful one-pager on unemployment insurance with links to helpful website tools. That document can be found here.
 
Updated Return to Work Guidance:
 
  • DOH has issued return to work guidance for health care personnel and other direct care staff which can be found here.
 
New York Alliance Webinar – Covid-19 Experiences From Providers For Providers:
 
  • Today the New York Alliance held a webinar in which a few providers shared their Covid-19 experiences to date. Special thanks to Libby Traynor from AABR, Robert Budd and Chris Long from FREE, and Jennifer Saunders from Liberty ARC for sharing their experiences. A copy of that webinar can be found here.
 
NYS Budget Update:
 
  • We expect that a budget agreement will be finalized and all budget documents will be made available in the near future, we will provide an update as we have more finality on the status of the Budget.