Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order 202.59, Requires DOH to Develop COVID-19 and Flu Testing Protocols
On August 28th, Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.59 (available here) which extends several provisions related to the COVID-19 emergency through September 27th. This includes a provision that permits a practitioner to establish a patient relationship using only a questionnaire for the purpose of ordering a clinical laboratory test, which may be administered through an asynchronous electronic interface such as email.
In addition, the Order directs the Commissioner of Health to develop emergency regulations outlining statewide protocols for the timely testing and reporting of all COVID-19 and flu cases to support data evaluation and contact tracing efforts. Accordingly, today (September 1st), the New York State Department of Health (DOH) released emergency regulations (available here) which require confirmatory COVID-19 and flu testing whenever a hospital patient or nursing home resident has a known exposure or symptoms consistent with either disease. Testing must also be performed on any hospital patient or nursing home resident within 48 hours if the individual is suspected of having died from either disease and did not receive a COVID-19 or flu test in the 14 days prior to death. Any facility or local health department that lacks the ability to perform testing within the required timeframe can request that DOH perform the test.
Governor Cuomo Issues Guidance for College Campuses, Adds Two States to Travel Advisory
On August 27th, Governor Cuomo announced in a press release (available here) new COVID-19 college campus guidance (available here) that contains DOH regulations for mitigation actions that schools must take when infection rates on college campuses rise above certain levels. If colleges have 100 cases or if the number of cases equal 5 percent or more of their population, schools must return to remote learning with limited on-campus activity for two weeks.
Today, Governor Cuomo announced that two additional states, Alaska and Montana, have been added to New York’s COVID-19 travel advisory. The Governor provided an update on the status of COVID-19 in New York State, reporting that of the 76,997 tests reported yesterday, 754 (0.98 percent) were positive. Consequently, New York’s infection rate has remained under 1 percent for the past 25 days. There were 109 patients remaining in intensive care as of yesterday, which is the lowest number since March 15th. There were 432 total hospitalizations and three COVID-19 deaths yesterday.
The Governor’s press release, which contains the list of all states currently on the travel advisory, is available here.
CMS Updates Provider Relief Fund FAQs
On August 27th, CMS updated and/or modified various guidance in the Provider Relief Fund frequently asked questions (FAQ) document.
General Distribution (available here)
- Health care providers that were asked to resubmit revenue information as part of Phase 1 of the General Distribution that have not yet received a final determination or payment may go to the Provider Relief Fund Application and Attestation Portal, enter their TIN for validation, and submit a new application for Phase 2 even if their application for Phase 1 is still under consideration.
- If an applicant is applying for Phase 2 General Distribution payments on behalf of multiple subsidiaries, and would like each subsidiary to receive its own payment, the applicant should create an Optum ID account and submit an application for each TIN that should receive its own payment and include the unique banking information for each subsidiary’s application. For a single payment for all of the included subsidiaries, the applicant should create one Optum ID account for the parent entity and submit a single application with the filing TIN.
- Applicants that experienced a change in ownership in 2019 or 2020 should report the revenue, along with the proportion of revenue from patient care, for the acquisition or dispositions from the date of sale through the date of application in the Provider Relief Fund Application and Attestation Portal. Additionally, they should provide their own most recent tax return and fill out the Revenue Worksheet to reflect the change in revenue as a result of the acquisition or disposition.
- Organization that have neither filed taxes or audited financial statements may submit internally-generated financial statements; in the case of federal grantees, the most recent four quarters of SF-425 forms, or for eligible federal entities, the most recent annual report submitted to Unified Financial Management System.
Provider Relief Fund General Information FAQs (available here)
- If a parent organization received a Provider Relief Fund Targeted Distribution on behalf of a subsidiary, the parent entity should attest to the Terms and Conditions for the Targeted Distribution payment.
Targeted Distribution FAQs (available here)
- The Nursing Home Infection Control Distribution is a $5 billion distribution to nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) for COVID-19 response capabilities, including enhanced infection control.
- Of the $5 billion total, HHS will provide approximately $2.5 billion in upfront funding to nursing homes and SNFs to support increased testing, staffing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) needs. Eligible facilities will receive a per-facility payment of $10,000 plus a per-bed payment of $1,450 in the first round of this distribution.
- HHS plans on distributing another $2 billion to nursing homes later this fall based on certain performance indicators that will be shared in the future.
- Nursing homes and SNFs that are not revoked, have an active CMS certification, and have at least 6 certified beds received payments under the distribution.
- The distribution payments can only be used for the infection control expenses defined in the Terms and Conditions, which include testing and reporting costs, hiring staff, expenses to improve infection control, and providing additional services such as telecommunications technology.
- This distribution supplements the $4.9 billion that was previously distributed to skilled nursing facilities.
Governor Cuomo and Labor Leaders Call on Congress for $59 Billion in Funding to Address Budget Shortfalls
On August 31st, Governor Cuomo and several New York labor leaders sent a letter to federal representatives in Congress requesting $59 billion to address budget shortfalls due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and seeking the repeal of the tax change that eliminated the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT). The letter indicates that federal funding would support infrastructure projects, including:
- Rebuilding John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports;
- The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) $51 billion capital plan; and
- East Side MTA Access and a new Penn Station.
The Governor’s press release, which includes the full letter sent to Congress, is available here.
Trump Administration to Deploy 150 Million Rapid COVID-19 Tests
On August 27th, the Trump Administration awarded a contract for $760 million to Abbott Laboratories for delivery of 150 million rapid point of care COVID-19 diagnostic tests. These tests will potentially be deployed to schools and may assist with serving other special needs populations. The Abbott rapid test recently received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and delivers COVID-19 test results via a nasal swab in 15 minutes or less.
The Administration’s press release is available here.
Updated New York State and City Guidance Documents
Recently released or updated New York State and City guidance documents are listed below.