CMS Sends More Detailed Guidance to Providers on COVID-19

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to issue guidance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency:

• Issued guidance for hospice and nursing homes to protect staff and vulnerable patients. There is also separate hospice guidance and nursing home guidance.
• Supplemented its guidance to Home Health Agencies (HHAs) and dialysis facilities. There is also separate HHA guidance and dialysis facility guidance.
• Issued a call to action for hospital emergency departments to screen patients and announced actions to ensure Medicare-participating hospitals continue to implement infection control procedures they are required to maintain under federal regulations. See hospitals with emergency departments guidance.
• Highlighted telehealth benefits in the Medicare program for use by patients and providers. It expanded on the use of virtual care as important tools for keeping beneficiaries healthy, while helping to contain the community spread; see the fact sheet on coverage and payment related to COVID-19.
• Issued key protective mask guidance for health care workers. It also sent a memorandum to State Survey Agencies (SSAs) clarifying the application of policies that expand the types of facemasks health care workers may use in situations involving COVID-19 and other respiratory infections.
• Issued guidance to SSAs suspending non-emergency survey inspections. These FAQs ensure surveyors understand the changes in guidance suspending non-emergency survey inspections, allowing them to focus on the most current serious health and safety threats.
• Issued guidance to help Medicare Advantage and Part D plans respond. In the memorandum, CMS outlines the flexibilities plans have to waive certain requirements.

Help the White House Coronavirus Task Force spread the word on keeping workplaces, homes, schools, and commercial establishments safe. Please distribute these documents widely as we work together on this important issue:

• Workplace, School, and Home Guidance
• A Framework for Mitigation

Visit the Coronavirus Disease 2019 website for updated information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This guidance, and earlier CMS actions in response to the COVID-19 virus, are part of the ongoing White House Task Force efforts. To keep up to date, visit the CMS Current Emergencies website.

The Society continues to update its own resource page. Make sure you check it frequently!