Great News on Testing for AL and SNFs -Abbot Webinar with Details Announced
AHCA/NCAL has learned today that this week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be sending 1 million Abbott BinaxNOW™ test kits to skilled nursing facilities and 540,000 test kits to assisted living communities certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) Certificate of Waiver.
You are invited to a webinar on Friday, September 18 at 12:00 pm ET (10:00 am MT) with HHS and Abbot to get more information on the tests themselves, including training, and use in assisted living facilities. During the webinar, Abbott will demonstrate the training tools available and representatives from the U.S. government will be online to speak about the program.
Register now for the webinar.
Our understanding is that HHS will ship test kits to all ALs with CLIA Certificates of Waiver this week to be used for residents and staff. Kits will also be sent to some SNFs for use with staff. Replenishment of kits will be weekly thereafter with enough kits varying by the county the facility is located in and based on the CMS ratings for COVID-19 test positivity in that county (red, yellow, or green). HHS has also provided a training portal here.
We have also heard that some providers have received an invoice from Abbott. We confirmed with Abbott yesterday that these were sent in error and you do NOT need to pay these invoices. Similarly, some members received information about “shipping specifications” that also includes an error that they would be receiving large pallets of test kits. The number of test kits will be based on estimates of the number of residents and staff you have in your facility and to last you for 1-2 weeks until the next shipment arrives.
CMS Memorandum: QSO-20-39-NH
• CMS is committed to continuing to take critical steps to ensure America’s healthcare facilities are prepared to respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency (PHE).
• Visitation Guidance: CMS is issuing new guidance for visitation in nursing homes during the COVID-19 PHE. The guidance below provides reasonable ways a nursing home can safely facilitate in-person visitation to address the psychosocial needs of residents.
• Use of Civil Money Penalty (CMP) Funds: CMS will now approve the use of CMP funds to purchase tents for outdoor visitation and/or clear dividers (e.g., Plexiglas or similar products) to create physical barriers to reduce the risk of transmission during in-person visits.
NMHCA/NMCAL is working with the state to reconcile the CMS orders with current State orders.
Download here
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National Nursing Home Safety Pilot Project
Wednesdays | 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm (MDT)
September 16, 2020
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Project ECHO® invites you to participate in a state-wide teleECHO program focused on supporting nursing home staff. Join weekly sessions with others working in nursing homes in New Mexico and experts on nursing home care and infection control. This community of practice will share best practices, challenges, and solutions in ensuring strong infection prevention and control procedures to protect staff and residents responding to COVID-19.
Each session is designed to be interactive and to learn from you and other nursing home staff about the challenges you are facing. Time is built-in to each session to discuss real cases of problems taking place right now. By discussing collectively, nursing home staff have a chance to share best practices and learn from their peers while also benefiting from the guidance of nursing home and QI experts.
Part 1: 8-Week Boot Camp: Weekly 90-minute teleECHO sessions will be held over an 8-week period. Each session will include a short presentation/lecture on best practices, followed by a discussion of cases presented by participating nursing homes, with feedback and input from local and national QI and nursing home experts.
Part 2: 8-Week Improvement Practicum: In this phase, nursing home teams will receive ongoing training and technical assistance to implement their quality and safety goals.
The ECHO Institute at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC), in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), is working with our national partners to launch National Nursing Home Safety ECHO programs nationwide. |
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State Testing Insurance Mandate Compliance
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Testing Mandate Compliance
The NM Department of Health (DOH) has mandated that TriCore bill insurance companies for COVID-19 testing when it exists for both residents and staff of long-term care facilities. TriCore may bill DOH ONLY if the individual is uninsured or if the insurance denies the bill/claim. Currently, TriCore has approximately 60,000 unbilled testing claims from long-term care facilities. TriCore has provided facilities with spreadsheets identifying claims that need corrections, and NMHCA/NMCAL is asking facilities to expedite these corrections. While there are currently no penalties for failing to comply, this is something that has been brought up in communications with the state.
The following appear to be the predominant issues around TriCore being able to bill.
- No insurance information is provided for residents.
- No insurance information is provided for staff. Please note: per mandate of the Office of Superintendent of Insurance, individuals shall not incur any out of pocket expense for COVID-19 testing.
- Marking client bill or patient bill on the requisition form. This should be left blank. TriCore is working on the release of a new requisition form that will help minimize confusion.
- Missing diagnosis code – Use Z11.59 for no symptoms of COVID. Codes for symptomatic testing will vary. The WHO has provided a summary here.
- Missing ordering provider and NPI
It is important that facilities take note of the issues above and make every effort to provide accurate information to facilitate the billing process for TriCore.
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Assisted Living Application Deadline: Extended through September 20, 2020
Private-pay assisted living communities may now apply for funding under the Provider Relief Fund phase 2 general distribution allocation, the Department of Health and Human Services announced earlier this week. Newly eligible operators will receive an amount equal to 2% of their 2019 resident care revenue.
Assisted living operators and all other providers applying for the current phase 2 general distribution funding will have until Sept. 20 to begin their application by entering their tax identification number for validation.
HHS has posted previously recorded phase 2 application webinars, answers to frequently asked questions, and other information about how to apply for the funding on its website. For updated information and data on the Provider Relief Fund, visit hhs.gov/providerrelief.
All assisted living providers are eligible for this funding but you MUST apply. If you completed the data collection portal for NCAL recently, this is NOT sufficient and you still have to apply for the funding.
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Upcoming Events & Trainings
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Important Contact Information
Requests for PPE should go to your local Emergency Manager via Form ICS 213RR.
Report possible COVID-19--505-837-0006.
NM Division of Health Improvement Incident Reporting: (800) 752-8649
NMHCA Staff Contact Information
Vicente Vargas, Executive Director,
v.vargas@nmhca.org, 505-710-8560
Patricia Whitacre, RN, Director of Clinical and Quality Services,
pwhitacre@nmhca.org, 505-301-3085
Tracy Alter, Senior Director of Member Services,
talter@nmhca.org, 505-440-3806
2020 Workshops
2020 Virtual Convention
August 25-27 and September 1-3
Certified Medication Aide
October 27-November 6, 2020
Passenger Assistance Train-the-Trainer
September 22, 2020
AHCA/NCAL Online Training
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