OHCA guidance on staying safe at home. Federal and state agencies have issued a great deal of guidance about such on-the-job matters as workplace exposure to COVID-19, when health care workers should return to work, and screening of workers to detect signs and symptoms of possible infection. Information about good hygienic practices for the general public also is plentiful. Not so common, however, are guidelines for health care personnel on how to minimize the greatest risk to the people they serve on the job: exposure to COVID-19 at home. OHCA designed a guidance document on this topic in an effort to fill that gap by sharing recommendations that are not as well-known.
Essential health care personnel and COVID-19 exposure. Speaking of health care workers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on when a worker is considered to have been exposed to COVID-19 and should be quarantined is quite detailed and comprehensive. The criteria are based on the extent of the worker's contact with the COVID-positive person and each party's use of personal protective equipment (PPE). If the health care worker did not have prolonged, close contact or was using appropriate PPE as explained in the guidance, self-monitoring for symptoms is sufficient and the person does not need to be excluded from work. Simply being in the same building where someone has COVID-19 does not require exclusion. These same standards apply to contractors who perform essential health services such as chest x-rays to help rule out COVID-19 in patients.
DODD update. Today, OHCA participated on a call with the Department of Developmental Disabilities (DODD) and other associations on the department’s Statewide Residential Plan. The department is creating regional leadership teams to identify resources (e.g., ICF/IID capacity, vacant buildings, beds, supplies) available locally. These resources then could be used when regional needs resulting from COVID-19 are identified. The plan allows the issue to be escalated to the state if regional resources are insufficient. OHCA asked DODD to create a document for providers to complete to identify resources they have available. Once that document is ready, we will share it with members.
DODD issued updated Service Authorization Guidance specifying that any services billed and paid in excess of the authorization are subject to recovery and updated ICF Guidance that extends the ICF cost report deadline to April 28, 2020. DODD also shared Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights guidance regarding COVID-19 and the Health Insurance Portability and Affordability Act (HIPAA) when making disclosures to law enforcement and first responders.
In other DD news, the passage of the Coronavirus Aide, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act by Congress and signature of President Trump codifies the “hospital bill” language which allows providers to be paid for the time direct dupport professionals (DSPs) spend serving someone when they are in the hospital.
OHCA April events canceled/postponed, including convention. We continue to receive inquiries about our in-person events scheduled for April as well as about the OHCA 2020 Convention. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 emergency and the Director of Health's orders on mass gatherings and staying at home, we canceled all in-person meetings and events through the end of April, including convention. We gave full refunds to anyone who registered for any of our in-person events. Please allow up to 30 days for the transactions to take place.
At this time, in-person events in May and June remain on the schedule but could be postponed as new information is available. OHCA live webinars will be held as scheduled. Recordings are available for anyone not able to participate in the live programming. For a listing of live webinars, please review the second column on www.efohca.org.
ODM EVV changes. The Department of Medicaid (ODM) notified providers that they made the following changes to electronic visit verification (EVV) because of the emergency.
- New Medicaid providers will not need to complete EVV training to obtain a Medicaid provider agreement during the COVID-19 emergency.
- For visits under Department of Aging and ODM programs, the voice and signature verification requirement will be waived temporarily.
- Effective Tuesday, March 31, 2020, the visit verification, signature verification, and service verification exceptions will be turned off for the duration of the emergency. Exceptions that occur during that time do not need to be cleared.
OHCA advocated for suspending the EVV requirements altogether, but ODM did not allow that relief.
DOL poster for leave notification. The second federal stimulus bill, also known as the Families First Coronavirus Recovery Act, requires covered employers to notify employees of their rights to paid leave under the act. The Department of Labor published a poster employers can use to satisfy this requirement. Please note that the law does not take effect until April 1, so there could be last-minute changes to the poster.
License renewal resources amid COVID-19 crisis. Earlier this week, the Board of Executives of Long-Term Services and Supports allowed administrators to earn all necessary credit hours for renewals through December 31, 2020, through online learning or self-study. In addition to our webinar offerings listed on our education website, OHCA obtained discounted fees for online continuing education programming for a variety of licensed professionals. Please see this list for these options. We will keep the list updated as we receive additional resources to help meet the continuing education requirements for licensed professionals.
SNF Medicaid cost report deadline postponed again. Citing COVID-19's impact on facility operations, ODM provided a further extension of the Medicaid cost report deadline for SNFs. The new due date is April 28, 2020.
Social media showcase great work across Ohio. OHCA’s social media have been buzzing with the great work that our members are doing during these trying times. We encourage everyone to share positive messages to help residents and staff feel supported, giving them a boost of love that we all need now more than ever. Many organizations are looking to social media for activity ideas and ways to combat loneliness among the people we serve. To share your message, upload your video or image to Facebook or Twitter and use our campaign hashtag #CareNotCOVID or share your organization's post via messenger to OHCA so we can post it on our page too.