March 19, 2020
Free resource for OHCA members: legal questions regarding COVID-19. During this uncertain time, when we are seeing constant changes from federal, state, and local authorities in response to the COVID-19 crisis, OHCA members need guidance on new laws and the application of existing laws. To assist our members, OHCA has engaged our law firm, Rolf Goffman Martin Lang LLP (ROLF), to provide much-needed help in this regard. As a new benefit for our members, for the next 30 days (beginning March 20, 2020), any OHCA member may submit questions to ROLF concerning COVID-19 issues without charge. Members can forward COVID-19 questions to a dedicated mailbox: COVID@RolfLaw.com. Please follow this link for more information about this new member service.
Federal stimulus legislation. Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed the second round of federal COVID-19 stimulus legislation, House Resolution (HR) 6201, after the Senate passed it earlier in the day. The two most significant components of the measure for long-term services and supports (LTSS) providers are the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act/Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and an emergency increase in federal matching funds for state Medicaid programs (Federal Medical Assistance Percentage or FMAP).
The emergency leave acts provide paid COVID-19 related leave, including for school closures, to workers in businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The leave costs are offset by tax credits. Read this memo from AHCA legal counsel Reed Smith for details on how the leave provisions and corresponding tax credits work. The law includes an employee notification requirement for the sick leave. The FMAP provision establishes a 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal share of all Medicaid payments, which means instead of paying roughly 37 cents on the dollar, Ohio will pay only 31 cents on the dollar. The higher FMAP applies from January 1, 2020, through the end of quarter when the federal emergency declaration is lifted. HR 6201 does not specify how the state-share savings are to be used. That is up to each state. OHCA is advocating that Ohio devote an appropriate share to paying the COVID-19 related costs incurred by LTSS providers.
ODH employee screening guidelines. Today, the Department of Health published guidelines for screening employees for possible COVID-19 symptoms. These guidelines are designed for all employers, not just health care, and are not exactly the same as health care-specific requirements such as the Director of Health's March 13 order. The new guidelines, however, add criteria for allowing an employee to return to work that do not appear in the order. Providers also should review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on health care personnel returning to work.
OADSP offers free abbreviated training. The Department of Developmental Disabilities recently allowed providers to conduct abbreviated training of new direct support professionals (DSPs) as part of their response to the COVID-19 emergency. The Ohio Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (OADSP) followed up by offering free abbreviated training to meet this need, as well as a training video with the same content. OADSP encourages each provider to include their own agency-specific information with regard to reporting incidents, along with other agency and client-specific information. The video also may be used in whole or part to refresh current DSPs on major unusual incidents, unusual incidents, and universal precautions.
Level II PASRRs go to desk review. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services' Level II PASRR contractor, Ascend, issued a notice that Level II reviews will be done using a combination of desk reviews and telephone interviews.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage. Contrary to previous information, we learned that the appropriate entity for providers to contact if they run out of PPE is the county emergency management agency (EMA). Please see this link to find the EMA for your county. AHCA assures us that supplies will become more readily available in a few weeks.
A request from vendors. Please inform vendors delivering supplies if you have a patient or resident who is known or suspected of having COVID-19 so they can take additional precautions.