March 21, 2020

Governor closes ID/DD day programs. At his daily press conference, Governor Mike DeWine announced he is ordering closure of most day programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Programs serving 10 or fewer people will be allowed to continue functioning. OHCA worked with Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) Director Jeff Davis before the order to mitigate the damage to programs from the closure. In addition to allowing smaller programs to remain open, the Director secured two weeks of funding for those that are closed. Later in the day, DODD published guidance on implementing the Governor's order. While neither the order nor the guidance specifically mention day service settings for people in ICFs/IID, Director Davis assured us that they are included.

Essential worker documentation for shelter in place. Although Governor Mike DeWine did not issue a shelter-in-place order in today's press conference, he continued to hint that one might be in the offing. To prepare for this eventuality, Aric Martin of OHCA legal counsel Rolf Goffman Martin Lang prepared an essential health care worker document that long-term services and supports (LTSS) providers can give their employees to allow them to travel to and from work. The form is broadly designed for use by all LTSS providers, facility-based or home-based. You may download the document in Word format from our COVID-19 web page and customize it for your organization (be sure to allow pop-ups when you try to download).

Need a COVID-19 testing lab that works directly with you? Members alerted us to a laboratory, Chemisys, that sends testing supplies directly to health care providers to do the swabbing and claims a 24-hour turn-around with online results. Reportedly the testing is at no charge to the provider (Medicare, Medicaid, and other third-party payers cover the test without a co-pay). You may use the client service email address, cs@chemisyslabs.com, to request an account.

DODD guidance of the day. DODD released some additional guidance last night for ICF-IID providers that includes the required elements of the Department of Health’s order and some additional recommendations for prevention and containment protocols.

DODD also published additional guidance for waiver providers in group home settings and individual or family home settings that contain preventive measures they can implement.

In addition, DODD released guidance specific to Pre-Admission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR), Level of Care, and Pre-Admission Counseling.

COVID-19: Workers' Compensation and health insurance. Today, Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted announced that Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) premiums are deferred until at least June 1, allowing Ohio employers to retain $200 million that they otherwise would have paid into the fund. See this frequently asked questions document for more about how BWC will handle COVID-19 issues.

Yesterday, Lt. Gov. Husted said he would issue an order mandating a two-month grace period for employers to pay health insurance premiums and prohibiting insurance companies from canceling employees' coverage because they do not work enough hours. This order has not yet appeared officially.

Key clarification on paid leave requirements. According to AHCA legal counsel Reed Smith, "[e]xisting Department of Labor (“DOL”) regulations indicate that the number of employees within a family of commonly owned or operated business entities (e.g., a family of facility-specific special purpose entities that employ individuals at the facility level and each have less than 500 employees) will be aggregated, such that many organizations comprised of commonly owned or operated business entities will not be covered by the Coronavirus Response Act’s paid-leave provisions."

Medicaid renewals suspended. OHCA learned that like a mounting number of governmental functions, Medicaid renewals are suspended. This means long-term services and supports recipients do not need to be concerned about potential auto-termination of their eligibility or about submitting eligibility-related verifications. We are not aware of any specific end date for the suspension.

New ODH notice on SNF admissions, essential personnel. Today the Department of Health posted a letter in the Enhanced Information Dissemination and Collection system from James Hodge, the department's enforcement chief. The letter emphasizes portions of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Quality, Safety, and Oversight letter 20-14-NH stating that SNFs should not refuse all COVID-19 admissions automatically but should base admissions (as always) on whether the center has the ability to care for the patient. Mr. Hodge also reminded SNFs that outside health care personnel providing essential services are not covered by the ODH visitation ban.

Short of facemasks? Volunteers are making them. Please email Mandy Smith at msmith@ohca.org if you are desperate for facemasks. Volunteers in the community are fabricating them, and Mandy can help connect you.