March 20th Newsletter - Sachs Policy Group

Governor Cuomo’s Press Conference and Executive Order No. 202.7

Today, Governor Cuomo held a press conference in which he announced that 100% of the workforce, excluding organizations that provide “essential” services (a list of which is available here), must work remotely. Medical practitioners, behavioral health services, and human services organizations who provide direct patient services are considered essential. Organizations not listed may apply to be considered “essential” to the Empire State Development Corporation. He also reported that New York State’s current testing capacity has increased to over 10,000 tests per day, and that he would prohibit evictions of any residential or commercial tenant for 90 days. Governor Cuomo urged all healthy New Yorkers to:

Remain indoors as much as possible, and only go outside for solitary exercise or essential activities;
Pre-screen all visitors and aides by taking their temperature;
Wear a mask in the presence of vulnerable people;
Not visit households with multiple people;
Stay at least six feet away from other individuals; and
Not take public transportation unless urgent and absolutely necessary.

Additionally, high-risk/vulnerable individuals should wear a mask in the company of others and not leave their home unless it is to receive necessary medical care.

Governor Cuomo also issued an Executive Order last night (March 19^th) directing further closures of personal care services (e.g., barbershops, hair salons, etc.) effective March 21^st at 8pm. The Executive Order is available here.

DFS Guidance for Insurance Entities Regarding Support for Consumers and Businesses Impacted by COVID-19

Yesterday (March 19^th), the Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued guidance urging all regulated insurance entities to alleviate the adverse impacts of COVID-19 on their policyholders by taking reasonable steps to:

Offer payment accommodations, such as deferred payments, extended due dates, or waived fees;
Work with consumers to avoid cancellation or non-renewal of insurance policies;
Increase resources to accommodate COVID-19 related claims and inquiries from consumers about policy coverage;
Present clear and concise descriptions of relevant coverage benefits;
Alert consumers to the heightened risk of scams and price gouging;
Ensure consumers do not experience a disruption of services if regulated entities close their physical offices;
Provide consumers with information and timely access to all medically necessary covered health care services, including testing and treatment for COVID-19; and
Proactively reach out to consumers to explain available assistance.

The guidance is available here.

CMS Approves Washington State 1135 Medicaid Waiver

On March 19^th, CMS approved an 1135 Medicaid waiver request for Washington after the state submitted its request for 1135 waiver authority on March 15^th. Washington is the second state to receive approval for 1135 waivers, following Florida’s approval on March 16^th. Specifically, CMS is waiving certain provider participation requirements, prior authorization requirements, and Pre-Admission Screening and Annual Resident Review Level I Level II assessments. CMS is also allowing evacuating facilities to provide services in alternative settings, such as a temporary shelter, when a provider’s facility is inaccessible. For state fair hearing requests and appeal timelines, CMS is modifying the timeframe for managed care entities to resolve appeals before an enrollee may request a State fair hearing to zero days, and allowing beneficiaries to have more than 90 days to request a state fair hearing for eligibility or fee-for-service issues. Finally, CMS is waiving Washington’s public notice for state plan amendments requirements to those that provide or increase beneficiary access to items and services related to COVID-19.

Washington’s approval letter is available here.

FDA Provides Guidance for Non-Invasive Remote Monitoring Devices

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance to support patient monitoring during the coronavirus public health emergency. The recommendations are intended to expand the accessibility and capabilities of non-invasive remote monitoring tools to reduce unnecessary in-person care and ease the burden on healthcare facilities. Non-invasive remote monitoring devices can transmit a patient’s biomarkers, such as pulse oximetry, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and other measurements, directly to healthcare providers. During this public health emergency, the FDA does not intend to object to limited modifications to the indications, claims, functionality, hardware or software of FDA cleared non-invasive remote monitoring devices. Such modifications include:

Monitoring parameters related to patients with COVID-19 or co-existing conditions;
Expanding the use case of a monitoring tool to allow for use in a home setting; and
Hardware or software updates to increase remote monitoring capability.

The FDA intends for this policy to remain in effect for the duration of the public health emergency.

The guidance details can be found here.

New York State Guidance Documents

The New York State Department of Health (DOH), Office of Mental Health (OMH) and Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) have released the following guidance documents for providers related to COVID-19: