FEDERAL NEWS

PRF Reporting Period 3 Began Friday, July 1st
HRSA has opened the reporting portal so providers can begin reporting on funds received in the first half of 2021, as part of Reporting Period 3. Providers have until 10:59 PM CT to complete this reporting and be considered in compliance. Here is the latest article with more information and tips for providers on RP3.

Providers Who Returned PRF Get Second Chance to Report
As noted last week, HRSA notified eligible providers that they have a one-time opportunity to complete their reporting period 1 reports and have their PRF for this timeframe reissued. There are more details on this process in this article posted on July 1st. 

HRSA Finally Approves Some AL Providers and are Reviewing for Phase 4 PRF  
LeadingAge has been trying to resolve PRF provider verification and eligibility issues for some of our assisted living members for roughly two years now. In late April, HRSA provided an opportunity for these assisted living members to submit additional documentation to HRSA to prove their licensure or certification. HRSA tells us that they approved the majority of these submissions, which is good news for members who have been denied PRF until now. HRSA is now reviewing these organizations’ financial documentation for Phase 4 payment considerations and will be notifying these providers of their payment decisions likely in August. However, we know of at least one member who was unable to submit the financial information by the Phase 4 application deadline due to the validation issues they encountered. If other members in this situation encounter similar issues, please contact Nicole Fallon who will connect them with some senior staff at HRSA to work through these issues. We want to help them access the PRF for which they are eligible.

OSHA Extends National Emphasis Program
The Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced yesterday that it is extending its “Revised National Emphasis Program for COVID-19” until further notice. The program, launched in March 2021, focuses enforcement efforts on companies that “put the largest number of workers at serious risk of contracting the coronavirus, and on employers who engage against workers who complain about unsafe or unhealthful conditions or exercise other rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.” As has been the case from the start of this program, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living communities and home health agencies are among the industries considered to have higher potential for coronavirus exposures. OSHA is also temporarily increasing the coronavirus inspection goal from 5% of inspections to 10%. More details in this OSHA press release and in the text of the Revised National Emphasis Program for COVID-19 (click on the PDF in this link).

LEADINGAGE KANSAS NEWS

Join Us This Friday for our Weekly Webinar
Get the latest on COVID-19, CMS, the Legislature and more each Friday at 10 AM. If you haven’t registered for future calls, you can do so here. If you would like to listen to updates you have missed, visit this page.

LEADINGAGE NATIONAL NEWS

Coronavirus Update Call Wednesday
Have you considered hiring international interns? Join us on Wednesday, July 6th at 2:30 PM CT to hear from a LeadingAge member who has done it. We will talk with Kris Hansen, CEO of Western Home Communities, who will discuss how he tackles the workforce shortage head on. Western Home Communities brings in international interns. The organization is taking steps to train and keep these interns for future positions in the organization. Learn about what it takes to make the program work, barriers, challenges, and benefits. If you haven’t registered for LeadingAge Update Calls, you can do so here. You can also find previous call recordings here. Note that to access recordings of the calls you need a LeadingAge password. Any staff member of any LeadingAge member organization can set up a password to access previous calls and other “members only” content.

RESOURCES

Telehealth During the Pandemic
Fair Health recently released an issue brief looking at “The Evolution of Telehealth during the COVID-19 Pandemic” utilizing data from their Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. Many changes in telehealth utilization were likely related to the course of the pandemic. For 6 of the 12 months of 2021, telehealth utilization fell from the level of utilization in the prior month. Nevertheless, it remained much higher than before the pandemic. For example, in spring and summer 2021, telehealth claim lines dropped as vaccination levels increased. In fall and winter 2021, however, telehealth utilization rose again as the Delta and Omicron variants led to increased COVID-19 cases. The brief also notes that mental health conditions have been the most common telehealth diagnosis nationally throughout the pandemic.

COVID-19 Was the Third Leading Cause of Death in the US in Both 2020 and 2021
A study conducted by researchers at the National Cancer Institute and published today in JAMA Internal Medicine found that COVID-19 accounted for 1 in every 8 deaths between March 2020 and October 2021. Interestingly, in 2020, COVID-19 was the second leading cause of death in 2020 but fell to third in 2021; the researchers opined that targeted vaccinations in this age group caused the change. The researchers also found that the pandemic indirectly caused increased deaths during the study period from other causes such as heart disease, accidents, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes, possibly because people were reluctant or unable to seek medical care. The NCI researchers also suggest that cancer deaths may increase in the future as a result of individuals skipping preventive screenings during the pandemic.

White House Briefing on Long COVID-19 Actions
The White House Office of Public Engagement is holding a virtual briefing – closed to press but open to all interested stakeholders – on long COVID-19. Administration leaders will discuss the reports available on long COVID-19, including highlighting who is at highest risk and directly affected. They will outline workgroups and identify the team working on these concerns. The administration representatives will also take questions, particularly focusing on those submitted in advance. Here is a link to more information and a registration form.

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