July 28th Newsletter - Sachs Policy Group

Senate Republicans Release COVID-19 Relief Package

On July 27^th, Senate Republicans unveiled a $1 trillion proposal for the next COVID-19 relief package. The bill includes a reduced unemployment benefit, as well as tax relief and liability protections for businesses – provisions that will likely be contended during negotiations with House and Senate Democrats. This proposal follows a $3 trillion relief package (available here) that House Democrats passed in May.

The Senate bill is available here.

CMS Releases COVID-19 Medicare Impact Data

Today (July 28^th), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its first monthly update of data that provides insight into the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicare population. In general, the data confirms that the COVID-19 public health emergency is disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities. Notable findings from the data include:

Beneficiaries eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid were hospitalized at a rate more than five times higher than beneficiaries with Medicare only;
Beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease continue to be hospitalized at higher rates than other segments of the Medicare population; and
CMS paid $2.8 billion in Medicare fee-for-service claims for COVID-related hospitalizations through June 20^th, or an average of $25,255 per hospitalization.

More information on the data is available here.

Steady Numbers Reported in New York State, Update on MIS-C and PPE Manufacturing

Today, Governor Cuomo announced that COVID-19 hospitalizations, infections, and deaths remain stable across New York State. There were 648 total hospitalizations yesterday and 9 deaths related to COVID-19. Of the 57,397 individuals tested yesterday, 534 (0.93 percent) were positive.

On July 27^th, the Governor provided an update on the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). As of July 24^th, New York State had investigated 240 total cases of the syndrome, which is an increase of approximately 15 over the last month. The New York State Department of Health has released initial findings (available here) and is working to inform other health departments across the country where cases of COVID-19 are rising to be aware of the signs in children. The Governor also announced that the Empire State Development has identified 20 companies that will receive State investment to make supplies to address COVID-19, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The Empire State Development will be renewing the request for proposals to support additional companies interested in manufacturing supplies.

The Governor’s press release is available here.

Governor Cuomo Announces Progress of Technology “SWAT” Partnership During COVID-19 Pandemic

On July 27^th, Governor Cuomo announced the progress of the State’s public-private COVID-19 Technology “SWAT” Partnership that enabled the surge of technology resources across New York State. The progress report (available here) details 19 pro bono projects that included collaboration between tech industry leaders and public employees to meet the technical and operational demands of the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Partners included Google, Microsoft, Square, and Codecademy, among others. Projects included:

Antibody screening and testing platform;
Mobile and website screening application;
COVID-19 fellowship to support users and provide assistance;
Testing lookup tool; and
Digital training initiative.

The New York State Office of Information and Technology Services also led 21 priority projects, including the development of a COVID-19 data dashboard, an unemployment insurance application, and the NY Forward Reopening website.

The Governor’s press release is available here.

New York State Legislature Passes Several Health Care Related Bills During Legislative Session

During a special session last week, the New York State Assembly and Senate passed 220 bills that will now be sent to Governor Cuomo to be signed or vetoed. Several health care-related bills passed, including S08835/A10840 which narrows the focus of a health care provider immunity provision included in the enacted New York State Fiscal Year 2020-21 Budget. This provision granted health care facilities and professionals immunity from criminal or civil liability when providing health care services during the COVID-19 emergency, except for cases of intentional misconduct or gross negligence. The bill proposes to restrict the immunity protections to providers who are diagnosing or treating individuals with COVID-19 or who are assessing or caring for individuals with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. The bill also removes coverage for individuals whose activities include “arranging for” health care services.

Additional health care and social service bills passed by the Legislature are listed below:

A01436C/S0022C: Relates to reporting of youth placed in foster care settings and recruitment of foster parents; requires information including the total number of youth placed in foster care, the reasons why such youth were placed and the efforts the state has taken to recruit and retain foster parents.
A02770C/S08525: Enacts the Jonah Bichotte Cowan law relating to pre-term labor care and directs the commissioner of health to require hospitals to provide pre-term labor patients with information regarding the potential health effects of pre-term labor and pre-term delivery on an expectant mother and on her fetus.
A03402/S04255: Provides that money damages shall not be considered in determining whether or not there exists an inability to pay for department of mental hygiene services.
A05370A/S06705: Requires the department of public health to develop information regarding bone marrow donor programs and authorizes certain medical practitioners to provide such information to patients.
A06679C/S08805: Requires the public service commission to review broadband and fiber optic services within the state and requires the expansion of broadband and fiber optic services.
A07812A/S08259: Authorizes the use of opioid antagonists by any person or entity for opioid overdose prevention, including school districts, public libraries, schools, restaurants, and bars.
A07919/S08018: Authorizes the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center to file an application for a real property tax exemption.
A07991A/S06678A: Relates to posting information on patients’ reporting rights regarding professional misconduct involving sexual harassment and assault and requires physicians’ practice settings to post signage directing their patients to the office of professional medical conduct’s website for information about their rights and how to report professional misconduct.
A08146/S06226: Creates a Crohn’s and colitis identification card to allow people suffering from such illnesses to have access to restrooms.
A08337B/S06437A: Relates to allowing for medical and psychiatric records of deceased inmates to be accessed by the board of correction of the city of New York.
A09538/S07241: Relates to notice of health consumer assistance and requires managed care providers to provide written notice of the name, address, phone number and website of the department of health designated independent consumer assistance program and the independent substance use disorder and mental health ombudsman established by section 33.27 of the mental hygiene law on all notices of adverse determinations, grievances and appeals.
A10034/S07879: Requires parity in the standards of dental telehealth services.
A10193/S08014C: Provides that certain schools shall experience no financial harm for reduced enrollment or inability to operate for the full 180 session days due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019.
A10463A/S08315A: Relates to review of policies and practices relating to infectious disease outbreaks in correctional facilities.
A10470A/S08719: Directs the commissioner of health to conduct a study of the delivery of ambulatory care on Staten Island.
A10500C/S08450C: Provides for the confidentiality of contact tracing information from the identification of individuals who have come in contact with an individual with a confirmed or probable diagnosis of COVID-19.
A10513/S08421A: Relates to reporting data on child welfare preventive services. Requires the office of children and family services to collect data on child welfare preventive services by local social services district and compile an annual report to be submitted to the governor and legislature.
A10566A/S08643A: Relates to requiring the commissioner to prepare a report of sheltered and unsheltered homeless population during a state disaster emergency.
A10567A/S08829: Requires that COVID-19 contact tracers be representative of the cultural and linguistic diversity of the communities in which they serve to the greatest extent possible.
A10629A/S08608A: Establishes the frontline workers trauma informed care advisory council to connect frontline workers impacted by COVID-19 to evidenced-based trauma-informed support resources and learning opportunities.
A10634B/S08641A: Relates to instilling mydriatic or cycloplegic eye drops by persons trained and deemed qualified by supervising licensed physicians or supervising licensed optometrists.
S03159A/A05952A: Prohibits unfair discrimination by insurers for individuals that use prescriptions to block the effects of opioids.
S04741B/A09536: Enacts “Stephen’s law”; requires certified treatment programs to notify patients of their right to name an emergency contact.
S05421A/A07498: Includes coverage of treatment rendered by a massage therapist under the worker’s compensation law.
S06391/A09694: Repeals section 206-b of the labor law, relating to employment of females after child-birth prohibited.
S06492B/A08533: Relates to establishing a drug assistance demonstration program and authorizing emergency prescriptions.
S07524/A09097: Relates to applications for funds under the physician loan repayment and physician practice support programs and requires the commissioner of health to appoint a work group to conduct a thorough review of the accessibility and fairness of the New York State Grant Gateway for individual applicants for funds under the physician loan repayment and physician practice support programs.
S08247A/A10673: Authorizes the use of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits to purchase online groceries and relates to the state supplemental nutrition assistance program outreach program.
S08617B/A10832: Requires public employers to adopt a plan for operations in the event of a declared public health emergency involving a communicable disease.
S08834/A10581B: Authorizes former foster care youth who have been discharged from foster care to return to foster care placement during the COVID-19 state of emergency without requiring such children to file a motion authorizing their return to foster care placement and places a temporary moratorium on aging out of foster care during a state of emergency.

HHS Releases Funding Opportunity for Digital Healthcare Interventions to Address the Secondary Health Effects Related to Social, Behavioral, and Economic Impact of COVID-19

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a funding opportunity to support research on the impact of digital health interventions in addressing the secondary health effects related to the social, behavioral, and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research should focus on the impact among racial/ethnic minorities, sexual/gender minorities, individuals with less privileged socioeconomic status, rural residents, and other populations with medical or social vulnerabilities. Proposed studies should capitalize on existing infrastructure (e.g., existing evidence-based digital health platforms).

Eligible applicants include both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Partnerships between academic investigators, health systems, professional organizations, private and community-based practitioners, practice organizations and allied systems (e.g. social services, criminal justice) that serve vulnerable populations at risk are strongly encouraged. Awarded applicants will receive up to $750,000 in annual funding for the proposed project. The maximum project period is three years.

The full funding opportunity is available here. Applications for the first cycle are due on August 20^th (additional deadlines are December 2, 2020 and March 2, 2021).

HHS Releases Funding Opportunity for Community Interventions to Address the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Health Disparity and Vulnerable Populations

HHS has released a funding opportunity to support research on community interventions to address the adverse psychosocial, behavioral, and socioeconomic effects of COVID-19 among health disparity populations and other vulnerable groups. Proposed projects should test:

The impacts of mitigation strategies to prevent COVID-19 transmission and acquisition; and
Already implemented, new, or adapted interventions to address the adverse consequences of the pandemic on the health of these groups.

Projects may evaluate existing or ongoing community-based programs or policies or may prospectively test new or adapted interventions. It is expected that projects will involve partnerships with community-based organizations, local government agencies, and other stakeholders as relevant to the project aim(s), setting(s), and population(s). Eligible applicants include both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Awarded applicants will receive up to $500,000 in annual funding for proposed projects. The maximum project period is five years.

The full opportunity is available here. Applications for the first cycle are due on August 28^th (additional deadline is December 1, 2020).

Updated Guidance Documents

Recently released New York State and City guidance documents are listed below: