The United States Immigration and Customs Services (USICS) has announced several measures to extend time frames and loosen its requirements. COVID-19 social distancing, government agency closures and remote work requirements have made it impossible for employers to comply with the normal I-9 and E-Verify regulations. These measures include the suspension of the I-9 requirement to review physical documents and acceptance of expired documents for new hires who are unable to update driver licenses and state IDs. Read the release from USICS or check out this blog post by Valentine Brown with Duane Morris LLP.

The federal government caps yearly rollover of unspent dollars in a Health-Flexible Spending Account (H-FSAs) at $500. Internal Revenue Service Notice 2020-33 increases the amount that can be carried over from one plan year to the next to $550. This increase reflects indexing for inflation and parallels the indexing applicable to the limit on H-FSA salary reduction contributions ($500 reflected 20% of the initial maximum salary reduction election of $2,500). Please be advised that your Cafeteria Plan must be drafted to reflect that the $500 carryover amount will increase automatically if indexed. If it is not written in that way, then an amendment to increase the carryover limit must be adopted on or before the last day of your plan year. This means that 2020 Cafeteria Plans must be amended before the last day of their 2020 plan year to allow increased carryovers to a 2021 plan year.

In recent news from the Small Business Administration (SBA), Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) have now been capped at $150,000 and the SBA has also announced that they will only be accepting new applications for EIDL funds from agricultural interests due to the unprecedented number of applications already received. Applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information click here.

CMS published information for pharmacies and other suppliers that wish to enroll in Medicare temporarily as independent clinical diagnostic laboratories to help address the need for COVID-19 testing. Medicare-enrolled pharmacies and suppliers seeking to initiate temporary Medicare independent clinical diagnostic laboratory billing privileges should contact the hotline of the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) serving their geographic area. Pharmacies and other suppliers who are not currently enrolled in Medicare and want to enroll as an independent clinical diagnostic laboratory, must submit a CMS-855B enrollment application to the MAC serving their geographic area. See MLN Matters SE20017 for more details.

In an effort to consolidate COVID-19 resources and make it easier to find needed information, HRSA has launched a new COVID-19 Information for Health Centers and Partners webpage. HRSA and Health Center Program COVID-19 related resources, helpful links and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are now in one place with new search and filter features to help access information in the FAQs. HRSA will continually update the information on this page, as well as the information on the separate page for FAQs related to COVID-19 funding.

Representatives Adrian Smith (NE-03) and Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) introduced a bill (HR 6792) this week, which would allow payment equal to an otherwise in-person visit for telehealth services furnished by Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. Text for the bill, entitled the Improving Telehealth for Underserved Communities Act, will be found here.

The U.S. House of Representatives introduced a 4th Stimulus Package (HEROES Act). The full House is expected to vote on the bill on Friday, May 15. The U.S. Senate is not expected to consider the legislation until June. Highlights of the bill for FHQCs include:

• $7.6 billion in funding to provide resources to address health center revenue losses
• $100 billion for the health care emergency fund, which adds to the $175 billion that was already in the fund from the CARES Act and the CARES Act Add-On
• $75 billion for testing
• A 14% increase in FMAP in addition to the previous 6% FMAP increase

Click here for the full bill. Click here for a section-by-section summary of the bill. Of note, the bill does not include extensions of Health Center Program, Teaching Health Center or National Health Service Corps funding, currently set to expire in November.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued the following Health Alerts this week related to the COVID-19 pandemic:

• 2020 – PAHAN – 506 – 05-11-ALT: A pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, recently reported by authorities in the United Kingdom, is also being observed among children and young adults in New York City and elsewhere in the United States.
• 2020 – PAHAN – 507 – 05-11-ALT: As buildings have been shut down or used less frequently, building water quality degradation becomes a silent but serious issue. Legionella and other pathogens, lead, disinfection byproducts, and other health issues can result when water sits for an extended period. This alert provides various steps and recommendations to take in preparation for reopening.
• 2020 – PAHAN – 508 – 5-12-ADV: Test-based strategies for preventing transmission of COVID-19 in skilled nursing facilities.

Visit the DOH 2020 Health Alerts, Advisories and Updates website for the most recent information.