Updates & Analysis

HHS Announces New Medicaid-Only and Safety Net Hospital Relief Funding Today (June 9th), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced two new distributions totaling $25 billion from the Provider Relief Fund, originally established by the CARES Act. First, a distribution of $15 billion will be available to providers who provide services to Medicaid…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces NYC Phase One Reopening, Additional Regions Entering Phase Two Today (June 8th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced continued declines in the COVID-19 outbreak in New York State. Of the 58,054 COVID-19 tests conducted yesterday, 702 (1.2%) were positive for the virus. As planned, New York City today became the…

Federal Updates CMS Announces Adjustments to Innovation Center Models Today (June 3rd), the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) published a table of adjustments it will make to CMMI models in response to COVID-19. These adjustments, some of which have been previously announced, include delays to implementation dates, extensions for reporting requirements, and modifications…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Recent COVID-19 Test Results, Regions Entering Phase Two of Reopening Today (June 1st), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced that the State is now conducting approximately 50,000 tests per day. Rates of positive tests have declined, with approximately 941 tests yesterday (out of about 50,000) being…

CMS Releases Fact Sheet for Hospital Alternate Care Sites On May 26th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a fact sheet that provides state and local governments with information on how to seek payments through CMS programs for acute inpatient and outpatient care provided at alternate care sites (ACS). The easiest way…

Governor Cuomo Announces Two New Regions Approved for Reopening Today (May 26th), Governor Cuomo announced that the Mid-Hudson Valley and Long Island have met all seven metrics of the New York Forward plan. The Mid-Hudson region will enter Phase One of reopening today, while Long Island will do so tomorrow. New York City is the…

Federal Updates HHS Updates Cares Act Provider Relief Fund FAQs Over the last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has added updated information to the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund FAQ document (available here). As a reminder, eligible providers are those who billed Medicare fee-for-service in 2019. Such providers may expect to receive…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Antibody Test Results from Low-Income NYC Communities Today (May 20th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced preliminary COVID-19 antibody test results from a survey conducted in low-income communities in New York City. Conducted in partnership with faith-based organizations and Northwell Health, the survey tested approximately 8,000…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Hospital Visitation Pilot, Approval for Elective Surgeries in Nassau County Today (May 19th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced a new hospital visitation pilot program that will allow increased visitations for family members and loved ones. The two-week pilot, which will be run by the Greater…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Nursing Home Testing Support, Expanded State Testing Capacity Today (May 18th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced that new hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 continue to decline in New York State, with 373 new hospitalizations and 106 deaths reported yesterday. To assist nursing homes with meeting…

Governor Cuomo Announces “Reopening” Updates Today (May 15th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he discussed the launch of New York’s “reopening” process, which begins today in five of the State’s ten regions, as per the Governor’s most recent Executive Order (see below). These regions will start Phase One of reopening, which involves resuming…

State Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Further Reopening Details Today (May 14th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced that total hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 continue to decline. The Governor also announced that the North Country has now met all of the State’s reopening metrics and will join Central New York, Finger…