April 9th Newsletter - Sachs Policy Group

State Updates

Governor Cuomo Announces Continued Reduction in Hospitalizations, New Charity Collaboration

Today (April 9^th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference (available here) at which he announced that yesterday was the third consecutive day in which the New York saw a decrease in new hospitalizations. However, yesterday also set another new record single-day increase in deaths, which will likely continue as the number of deaths is a lagging indicator. The Governor announced a new effort, “New York Loves,” which will bring together charities, not-for-profits, and others to coordinate their efforts to help or donate with New York’s needs resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. NY Loves will be led by Rosanna Rosado, New York Secretary of State, and Fran Barrett, New York State Interagency Coordinator for Nonprofit Organizations.

The Governor also reiterated his disappointment with recent federal legislation providing COVID-19 relief funding. The State now projects that the amount of funding it will receive through enhanced federal Medicaid matching funds will be $1.3 billion, in part because it will exclude the Medicaid expansion population and specialty populations which together make up approximately one-third of New York’s population. The Governor has been discussing these issues with Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer seeking a resolution.

Updated Guidance on Essential Businesses/Entities

Today, the Empire State Development Corporation updated its guidance (available here) on businesses/entities that qualify as essential under Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order 202.6. Additions to essential health care services include:

Emergency chiropractic services;
Physical therapy; and
Occupational therapy.

Other businesses/operations added to the list of essential services include remote/virtual educational or fitness instruction, additional construction services, and parks and other open public spaces (with the exclusion of playgrounds).

OPWDD Introduces New Day Services Retainer Program

Today, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) held a webinar to announce the Day Services Retainer Program that will be effective April 16^th. This program uses New York’s Appendix K emergency authority for the OPWDD 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver (available here), which was approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier this week. The new program will provide retainer payments to providers of Day Habilitation, Prevocational Services, and Community Habilitation who have either (1) had to close their service site as directed by the State or (2) seen a decrease of more than 20% in service utilization during the COVID-19 emergency.

Such providers may choose to participate in the program by signing an agreement, which will require that they retain staff at levels in effect before the March 7^th COVID-19 emergency declaration and agree to provide/share staff with an OPWDD residential provider or other emergency step-down facility. The details of the staff sharing arrangement are still being developed. Starting April 16^th, participating providers will receive 80% of their average revenue from July to December 2019 in bi-monthly retainer payments. They may continue to accrue additional revenue by billing for the provision of services or from shared staffing, up to a ceiling of 100% of the average revenue, after which the retainer payment will be reduced (in reconciliation).

OPWDD will host another webinar this Monday, April 13^th at 2pm. This webinar will provide more information on the timeline, billing procedures, and service documentation. Details will be forthcoming here.

CUNY School of Public Health COVID-19 Tracking Survey

Researchers from the City University of New York School of Public Health (CUNY SPH) and Emerson College have developed an ongoing COVID-19 tracking survey to assess how New Yorkers are responding to the pandemic. The survey is conducted weekly with over 1,000 New York adults via phone and online. The survey monitors:

Risk perception of contracting COVID-19 and compliance with social distancing recommendations;
Outcomes related to job loss, housing, and food insecurity;
Mental health responses, including concerns about family and loved ones;
Outcomes related to potential interruptions in education; and
Current sources of COVID-19-related health information and trust in information sources and institutions.

The survey is intended to provide insight into the adoption of preventive behaviors and an understanding of effective communication strategies for reducing the spread of COVID-19. Results of the survey are published here every Tuesday morning.

Updated Guidance Documents

The following guidance documents/health advisories have been posted by the Department of Health (DOH) since yesterday:

Federal Updates

Federal Reserve Offers $2.3 Trillion in Loans During COVID-19 Pandemic

On April 9^th, the Federal Reserve announced additional actions to provide up to $2.3 trillion in loans to offer support to a wider range of employers as well as states and local governments throughout the country. The Federal Reserve’s new facilities include the following programs that may be relevant to New York and its organizations:

Main Street Lending Program – The Main Street Lending Program will offer $600 billion in four-year loans, backed by $75 billion in equity from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The loans will be provided to small and midsize businesses employing up to 10,000 workers, or with revenues of less than $2.5 billion, that were in good financial standing before the COVID-19 crisis. Principal and interest payments will be deferred for one year. Firms seeking Main Street loans must commit to a number of attestations, including not using the loans to repay or refinance existing credit lines, making efforts to maintain payroll and retain workers, and following compensation, stock repurchase, and dividend restrictions that apply to direct loan programs under the CARES Act. Firms that are participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) may also take out Main Street loans. More information on the Main Street New Loan Facility is available here, and information on the Main Street Expanded Loan Facility is available here.
Municipal Liquidity Facility – The Municipal Liquidity Facility will buy up to $500 billion in short term notes directly from U.S. states, U.S. counties with populations of at least two million, and U.S. cities with populations of at least one million. State-level issuers can use the funds to support additional counties and cities. More information on the Municipal Liquidity Facility is available here.

The remaining $1.2 trillion of loans will help facilitate Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, serve as a backstop for corporate debt by eligible issuers, and expand the range of assets that the Federal Reserve will accept as collateral in providing asset-backed securities loans. The Federal Reserve is seeking comment on financing needs through April 16th, and a feedback form is available here.

HHS Publishes TAGGS Tracking Tool for COVID-19 Grants and Awards

On April 9^th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new feature that allows public viewing of all COVID-19 HHS grant and cooperative agreement awards on the Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website. The website provides data on awards made by all HHS awarding agencies under the supplemental appropriations funded through the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and the CARES Act. The site provides:

A U.S. map detailing the amounts awarded by state;
Graphics detailing numbers of awards;
Amounts awarded by agency and by program (CFDA number);
Tables, including exportable data, with awards made by HHS using these emergency supplemental appropriation funding; and,
The ability to sort tables by a variety of data elements.

The website is available here.