STATE NEWS
Kitchen Fire Suppression Materials Available from Fire Marshal
The video and slides are now available for the monthly education session hosted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. The topic for March was kitchen fire suppression and suppression hoods.
FEDERAL NEWS
Register for The White House’s New COVID-19 National Preparedness Plan
The Webinar will occur on Wednesday, March 23rd at 12:00 PM CDT. As the country enters a new phase of the national COVID-19 response, learn about the White House’s new National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. The plan lays out the Administration’s roadmap to fight COVID-19, including by preparing for new variants, preventing economic and educational shutdowns, continuing to vaccinate, and protecting against and treating COVID-19. According to the Administration’s announcement, the March 23rd webinar will cover the following topics:
- The launch of a new nationwide Test-to-Treat Initiative at “one-stop” locations with free tests and free treatment pills.
- Leveraging the administration’s COVID-19 Surge Response Playbook.
- Updated guidance for employers to ensure safer workplaces.
- Saving lives by solving the oxygen crisis and making emergency supplies widely available.
Register for the White House webinar here.
CDC’s Project Firstline New Resources
CDC’s Project Firstline launched a new toolkit yesterday entitled Risk Recognition and Infection Control in Healthcare. As with other Project Firstline resources, the new toolkit is aimed at increasing infection control knowledge and understanding among front line staff. The toolkit includes resources for 6 learning sessions: videos, slide decks, participation booklets, and a facilitator guide. There are also session feedback forms, self-assessments, posters, infographics, 2 interactive activities, and social media templates that can be used to promote the training among staff. Resources are aimed at all frontline staff, not just those providing clinical care, and can be used with different training formats including annual in-servicing, stand-up meetings, and on-the-spot training. Check out the toolkit and resources here.
HRSA Won’t Change NHIC PRF Policies, Nursing Homes Must Comply but Can Correct Errors
Katie wrote a letter to HRSA Administrator, Carol Johnson, about a month ago asking for some relief for nursing homes related to Nursing Home Infection Control PRF payments. HRSA notified us today that they will not be making any changes to the reporting process or timelines for using the Nursing Home Infection Control payments providers have received. HRSA feels it has clearly communicated to nursing homes that they could wait to report their infection control expenses until they were reporting on how they used the NHIC payments received. However, HRSA offered an option for providers to correct a “true error” in their first report. It is likely this option applies to all who believe they’ve made an error in their first report, here are the steps to take:
- Contact the Provider Support Line (866-569-3522), tell them that upon review of your first report you realize you have made an error and ask them to unlock your first report so you can correct the error.
- The first person a provider speaks with at the Provider Support Line is unlikely to be able to assist with opening their report or approving this request so the provider should ask for their situation or request to be escalated.
PRF Repayment Letters – What They Mean and What is Next
HRSA shared some insights about the Repayment Letters some folks have received for “failure to comply” with the Period 1 PRF reporting requirements. First, they want providers to know these are NOT a Debt Collection Letter. However, a Debt Collection Letter will follow and will come from a “third party.” No time frame was given for when providers can expect these Debt Collection Letters. HRSA did note that the letters will provide important instructions for providers on how to return the funds, work out a repayment plan if needed, and/or the process for a provider to dispute or appeal this “failure to report” determination and repayment requirement.
LEADINGAGE KANSAS NEWS
Jump on the Weekly Webinar this Friday at 10 AM – It’s Free
Here is the recording to last Friday’s call. Here are the handouts.
Get the latest on COVID, 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
LeadingAge Asks Congressional Leaders for More PRF
LeadingAge sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi, and Leaders Schumer, McCarthy and McConnel today requesting that they replenish the dwindling Provider Relief Fund to help see aging service providers through the public health emergency. It also asks for the Medicare sequestration holiday to be continued.
Living with COVID
Last week LeadingAge National launched a new segment, “Living with COVID,” to replace their Mandate Minute. Living with COVID will cover news, resources, tools and events that support members in the move to endemic management, and will reflect individual, organizational, regional and federal perspectives. You can read the transcripts of the first edition here.
Vaccine Tools & Resources
LeadingAge experts continue to provide helpful information, answers to LeadingAge member questions, and the latest insights about vaccines and mandates. Check out our Vaccine Tools & Resources page for the latest—including our new “Care Fully” creative campaign designed to reach Black and Hispanic direct care workers, which leverages the strategic groundwork laid by the Ad Council/COVID Collaborative’s “It’s Up to You” campaign:
Coronavirus Update Calls This Week | 2:30 PM CDT
- Monday’s call will feature a unique, compelling, and solution-oriented look at the “sans-demic” – the shortage of workers to support the aging population. And an epidemiologist’s view on the next phase of the pandemic – what should aging services providers be watching and doing? On Monday, March 21st, we’ll talk with Ron Hetrick about his report: Demographic Drought: How the Approaching Sansdemic Will Transform the Labor Market for the Rest of Our Lives.”He’ll discuss recent demographic trends affecting the workforce and how this shifting labor environment affects aging services providers. What was the impact of the pandemic on labor trends? More important, as we move into a new phase of COVID, how can provider communities address challenges these trends create?
- On Wednesday, March 23rd, we will welcome back “your local epidemiologist” Dr. Katelyn Jetelina to talk about the risks that still exists around COVID-19 even as we open up and begin the endemic stage of the pandemic. She will help us decipher the current trends surrounding transmission and risk and describe how LeadingAge members can communicate with residents and staff about the ongoing risks of COVID-19 and how we can keep each other safe. If you haven’t registered for LeadingAge Update Calls, you can do so here. You can also find previous call recordings here.
2022 LeadingAge National Policy Platform
What’s at the top of our policy agenda this year? Our work in direct response to the COVID crisis motivated a rapid evolution of LeadingAge advocacy in 2020 and 2021 and continues to be reflected in our 2022 Policy Platform, including a specific priority focus on COVID relief. If you have questions, concerns or recommendations on LeadingAge National policy issues contact rkatz@leadingage.org
RESOURCES
Two in Five Medicare Beneficiaries Used Telehealth During Pandemic
A new report from OIG found that in the first year of the pandemic (March 2020-February 2021) Medicare beneficiaries’ use of telehealth increased dramatically with over 28 million—more than 2 in 5—Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth services. Total telehealth use was 88 times more during the first year of the pandemic than beneficiaries used in the prior year. In April 2020, telehealth accounted for 29 percent of all services. Telehealth has decreased to around 10 percent of services per month—still almost twice the level it was in March 2020. Nursing home visits were the fourth most common telehealth service, connecting residents with providers to discuss medical conditions and nursing home discharge management. These visits were slightly more common among beneficiaries in fee-for-service than in Medicare Advantage.
KFF Survey Finds Medicaid Coverage Disruptions Likely When PHE Ends
A new 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP officials from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that as states plan for the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, disruptions to services and lose of coverage are likely. Earlier this month, CMS provided guidance to states on winding down including resuming eligibility redeterminations and disenrollments for those covered under continuing enrollment requirements. CMS’ guidance provides states 14 months to conduct redeterminations, however the survey found that nine states plan to resume normal operations more quickly.
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