State Publishes New CRF FAQ, List of Eligible Providers. The Office of Budget and Management (OBM) posted a new version of its Coronvirus Relief Fund (CRF) frequently-asked questions. Among other changes, OBM clarified that separate CRF applications should be filed for separate Medicaid provider numbers, National Provider Identifiers (NPIs), or tax identification number (TINs). OBM wrote:

For example, if you have one Medicaid ID number, but an NPI for each of your locations, you will have to register for each separately (using one NPI each time). If you use the same three numbers for all your provider types, you do not need to register multiple times. For example, if these numbers are the exact same for both Home Health and Passport provider types, then only one registration is required.

In addition, OBM posted a list of all providers eligible for CRF payments. Use the OBM CRF portal to apply.

Assisted Living Testing Program. Today, the Department of Aging (ODA) held two webinars on its COVID-19 saliva testing program for assisted living staff and residents, one webinar for facility leadership and one for personnel involved with collecting the specimens. ODA also published a variety of materials on its testing web page, including recordings and slides from both webinars. Unfortunately, for anyone who did not participate in the webinars live, the slides focus heavily on the mechanics of administering the test instead of on how the overall testing program will operate. Other resources on the web page similarly cover only the mechanics of the testing. The test is called mLife DX True, and the specimens will be processed in a lab called NovaDX, with results promised within 48 hours. The free testing program is to start next week in assisted living communities that register to participate.

Schedule for Next Week's SNF Re-Testing. Marisa Weisel of the Department of Medicaid (ODM) completed and supplied the schedule for next week's repeat testing of SNF staff. More than 650 buildings are included. The schedule also is available via the Enhanced Information Dissemination and Collection (EIDC) system. Ms. Weisel provided a new account set-up form (Excel download) for SNFs that are assigned Quest Diagnostics as their lab but have not used Quest previously. Email completed forms to Patricia.M.Mcnertney@questdiagnostics.com.

DODD News. Today, the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) released several updates to COVID-19-related guidance. 

• Guidance: Providers of Waiver Services was updated to require, beginning September 1, 2020, agencies that share staff to initiate Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCII) checks and required database checks within 10 days of hire or, for employees on staff before September 1, 2020, by September 10, 2020.

• Guidance: LTSS Pre-Surge Planning Toolkit was updated to include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) return-to-work guidance changes from July in the DODD companion guidance.

• Independent Providers Sought is a memo asking independent providers to contact their county boards if they are available to work. These independent providers may be a resource for agencies who are struggling for staff.

• Treatment of COVID-19-related funding on ICF-IID cost reports: DODD shared two Medicaid Advisory Letters (MALs) with OHCA today. The first is MAL 644, which advises providers to account for COVID-related funding (including both Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) dividends and other COVID-related payments) as revenue and not as an offset to cost on their 2020 cost reports. The second is MAL 646, which addresses the CRF specifically. Of note, MAL 644 specifies that all future dividends and rebates that are not COVID-related must be reported as offsets to cost. OHCA spoke with DODD about this change. We believe the MAL is meant to address any future BWC payouts, as these originally were supposed to be one-time payments but now have become annual. Nonetheless, if BWC provides another round of payouts in the future, we will confirm the correct reporting method with DODD at that time.

In addition, DODD Director Jeff Davis announced today that the department is pushing back the effective date for the new Basic Employment Skills Training (BEST) service again from March 2021 to October 2021. The BEST service will replace the current vocational habilitation service.

Hot Topic on Friday: Preparing for OSHA Inspections Webinar. In light of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) inspections currently occurring in Ohio, triggered by unfortunate hospitalizations and fatalities among COVID-19-infected healthcare workers, OHCA is offering a webinar on Friday, August 7, starting at 10:30 a.m., to help members prepare. The webinar will cover:

• OSHA reporting requirements and when COVID-19 cases should be considered work-related under current Department of Labor (DOL) guidelines.
  
• Requirements for medical evaluations and fit testing when employees are required to wear a filtering face piece such as an N95.
  
• OSHA’s respiratory protection program standard and items that must be included in your written policies to achieve compliance and to avoid citations.
  

To register, please click here.

OHCA COVID-19 Relief Fund Quick Reference Sheets. With so many COVID-19-related funding options available through state and federal resources, it can be very challenging to keep track of it all. The recent reopening of the Provider Relief Fund General Distribution (Phase 1) for providers who may not have reported all applicable revenue added to the confusion. In an effort to assist members with the various funds available for each provider type, we created concise reference charts for each of the provider types that OHCA represents.

• OHCA Assisted Living Relief Fund Options

• OHCA Home Care Relief Fund Options

• OHCA Hospice Relief Fund Options

• OHCA ID/DD Relief Fund Options

• OHCA SNF Relief Fund Options

ODM Releases Hospice HCIC Billing Instructions. This morning, OHCA received notice that the Department of Medicaid (ODM) finalized billing instructions for hospices serving patients in Health Care Isolation Centers (HCICs). Hospice patients in HCICs receive an enhanced rate for room and board, if the HCIC is ODM-approved and the patient is eligible for Medicaid as well as for a COVID-19 or Quarantine Level of Care (LOC). SNF Pre-Admission Screening (PAS) is required within 30 days of admission. Patients with a Quarantine LOC are limited to a stay of no more than 14 consecutive days.  Hospices will be reimbursed at 95% of the applicable HCIC rate, which can be found on pages 2 and 3 of the ODM HCIC Billing Guidance. Claims must be submitted through the Medicaid Information Technology System (MITS) portal with the hospice room and board billing code (T2046) to receive the enhanced HCIC rate. Hospice providers need to add an attachment to the claim within the portal to suspend it for manual payment. Once the provider submits the claim, they must send an email to MCDHospice@medicaid.ohio.gov with “Hospice HCIC Payment” in the subject line to notify ODM that the claim was submitted. There are no electronic submission options for hospice HCIC claims. To view a list of ODM-approved HCICs in Ohio, please see the table below. For questions regarding these billing instructions, please contact Erin Begin.

*An HCIC-Q can only provide quarantine services (services to individuals exposed to COVID-19 who are not ill and do not have a COVID+ test result or probable COVID-19 diagnosis). An HCIC-I can only provide isolation services (services to individuals with a positive COVID-19 test result or probable COVID-19 diagnosis. An HCIC-IQ can provide both quarantine and isolation services, but the individual needs to be placed in the appropriate unit.

AHCA/NCAL Announces Quality Award Winners. Seven hundred ten facilities will receive the Bronze Quality Award this year, and 146 will win the Silver Award. Thirty-five Bronze winners and 5 Silver winners are from Ohio. The five Silver awardees are Glenwood Community (Marietta), Life Care Centers of Elyria, Life Care Centers of Westlake, Mayfair Village (Columbus), and Trinity Community at Beavercreek. Gold Quality Award recipients will be notified on Friday. About the awards, AHCA/NCAL wrote:

As a reminder, the National Quality Award Program is asking recipients and state affiliates to not proactively promote their Quality Award achievement to press or on social media as it could backfire and draw negative media attention, especially for those who have had COVID-19 outbreaks. This guidance comes from our crisis communication firm.

Due to COVID-19, the 2020 AHCA/NCAL National Quality Award Ceremony will be a virtual Celebration held on October 22, 2020 at 2:00pm ET.