Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf signed SB67, which authorizes Pennsylvania to join the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT). PSYPACT is an interstate compact designed to facilitate the practice of telepsychology and the temporary in-person, face-to-face practice of psychology across state boundaries. The Act is expected to take effect in 60 days.

As part of the ongoing White House Task Force efforts taken in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), following is a summary of recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions. To keep up with the important Task Force work being done in response to COVID-19, click here www.coronavirus.gov. For information specific to CMS, please visit the CMS News Room and Current Emergencies Website.  CMS updates these resources on an ongoing basis throughout the day; the information below is current as of May 15, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Deadline Approaching: Notification Requirements of Confirmed and Suspected COVID-19 Cases Among Nursing Home Residents and Staff

On April 19, CMS announced the agency will be requiring facilities to report COVID-19 information to the CDC and to families. Within three weeks of that announcement, on April 30, CMS issued an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period with new regulatory requirements. With the new regulatory requirements, nursing homes are required to report the first week of data to the CDC beginning May 8 but no later than May 17. For the first time, all 15,000 nursing homes will be reporting this data directly to the CDC through its reporting tool.

In order to report, facilities must enroll in the CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). Information on how to enroll is available here. As nursing homes report this data to the CDC, CMS will be taking swift action and publicly posting this information so all Americans have access to accurate and timely information on COVID-19 in nursing homes. More information on the CDC’s NHSN COVID-19 module can be found here.

CMS Releases Nursing Home Toolkit with Best Practices and Additional Resources

CMS released a new toolkit developed to aid nursing homes, Governors, states, departments of health, and other agencies who provide oversight and assistance to these facilities.  These additional resources will help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic within nursing homes. The toolkit builds on previous actions taken by CMS, which provide a wide range of tools and guidance to states, healthcare providers and others during the public health emergency. The toolkit is comprised of best practices from a variety of front line health care providers, Governors’ COVID-19 task forces, associations and other organizations, and experts, and is intended to serve as a catalogue of resources dedicated to addressing the specific challenges facing nursing homes as they combat COVID-19.

Press Release

Toolkit

Trump Administration Announces Call for Nominations for Nursing Home Commission

CMS announced a call for nominations for the new contractor-led Coronavirus Commission on Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes. The commission’s work will build on the Trump Administration’s long history of decisive actions to protect nursing home residents. The commission will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the overall response to the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes and will inform immediate and future actions to safeguard the health and quality of life for an especially vulnerable population of Americans.

Press Release

Nursing Home Commission Nominations

CMS Outlines Medicaid Managed Care Options in Responding to COVID-19

CMS released a new Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services Informational Bulletin (CIB) that provides states guidance on how to temporarily modify their Medicaid managed care contracts to address the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The guidance provides several options that states can consider to adjust provider payment methodologies and capitation rates within Medicaid managed care contracts while preserving systems of care and access to services for Medicaid beneficiaries.

Informational Bulletin

CMS Gives States Additional Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic

CMS has approved over 190 requests for state relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent approvals for California, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, and Rhode Island. These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools they need to combat COVID-19. This is done through a wide variety of waivers, amendments, and Medicaid state plan flexibilities, including support for programs that care for the elderly and people with disabilities. CMS also developed a toolkit to expedite the application and review of each request and has approved these requests in record time. These approved flexibilities support President Trump’s commitment to a COVID-19 response that is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.

Section 1135 Waivers

Section 1115(a) Waivers

1915(c) Waiver Appendix K Amendments

Medicaid State Plan Amendments

CHIP State Plan Amendments

The USDA Food Nutrition Service (FNS) has extended the following waivers nationwide through August 31, 2020:

• Non-Congregate Feeding: FNS is allowing meals to be served to children outside of the normally-required group setting to support social distancing.

• Parent Pickup: FNS is allowing parents and/or guardians to pick up meals and bring them home to their children.

• Meal Times: FNS is waiving requirements that meals be served at certain standard times to allow for grab-n-go options. This also allows for multiple days-worth of meals to be provided at once.

TheCDC has published new interim guidance on COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing, available online at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/case-investigation-contact-tracing.pdf.

 This interim guidance document is intended to assist state, local, territorial, and tribal health departments develop jurisdictional plans for the implementation and enhancement of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts. For more information on guidelines, tools, and resources for states, tribes, localities, and territories, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/open-america/index.html.

Questions concerning the guidance may be directed to the CDC COVID-19 Response proponent, the Workforce Development and Innovation Task Force, at eocevent404@cdc.gov.

With more than half of the U.S. starting to reopen at least partially but almost 36.5 million Americans having lost their jobs during the pandemic, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to the Coronavirus, along with accompanying videos.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (May 4) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A. To see the states most impacted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

Increase in Pennsylvania Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

•  590.84% Increase in Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs May 2019)
  • 75,557 the week of May 4, 2020 vs 10,937 the week of May 6, 2019
  • 5th lowest increase in the U.S.
•  176.79% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (May 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 75,557 the week of May 4, 2020 vs 27,298 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 4th lowest increase in the U.S.
• 1,937.73% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 1,787,128 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of May 4, 2020 vs 92,228 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of May 6, 2019
  • 18th lowest increase in the U.S.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-biggest-increase-in-unemployment-due-to-coronavirus/72730/.

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance program on April 17, 2020. CFAP will use funding and authorities provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and other USDA existing authorities. This $19 billion immediate relief program includes direct support to agricultural producers as well as the Food Box Distribution Program. This webpage has more information on the direct support for farmers and ranchers, which include:

• CFAP will provide direct support based on actual losses for agricultural producers where prices and market supply chains have been impacted.
• CFAP will assist producers with additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand and short-term oversupply for the 2020 marketing year caused by COVID-19.

USDA has hosted webinars to provide basic information on how producers can prepare for the upcoming signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. This includes information on how to apply once signup opens and how to initiate contact with FSA.

More information can be found at their website.

Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Dennis Davin has reminded all Pennsylvanians to be a good neighbor and respond to the 2020 Census.

This year marks the 22nd year of the United States Census, and commonwealth residents began receiving invitations to fill out the 2020 Census in the beginning of March. All households should have already received their initial invitation.

Taking time to respond to the 2020 Census now means a Census taker will not need to visit your home later. Beginning May 13, 2020, Census takers will begin a phased restart of on-field operations in the commonwealth by dropping off 2020 Census invitation packets at the front doors of households in areas where the majority of households do not receive mail at their home.

The deadline to respond has been extended from August 14, 2020, to October 31, 2020.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf proclaimed Friday, May 22, the 143rd day of the year, as 1-4-3 Day, a statewide day of kindness in honor of Pennsylvania native Fred Rogers. Fred Rogers, best known from his beloved television series, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, exemplified compassion and regularly used 1-4-3 as another way of saying “I love you,” with 1-4-3 representing the number of letters in each word.

As the state continues to navigate the COVID-19 crisis, Governor Wolf is encouraging all Pennsylvanians to spread even more kindness, more love, and more generosity to essential workers and neighbors on 1-4-3 Day.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has outlined the order of enforcement actions that would be taken against restaurants offering dine-in services to patrons in violation of Governor Tom Wolf’s March 19 business closure Executive Order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth.

The Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Food Safety will enforce this order for retail food facilities under the department’s jurisdiction that are re-opening and offering dine-in services. In Governor Wolf’s plan to reopen Pennsylvania, restaurants in counties in both the red and yellow phases are prohibited from offering dine-in service and are limited to take-out and delivery options only.

Food safety inspectors will follow up on reports of restaurants offering dine-in service in violation of the order. Once confirmed, the following actions will be taken by the department:

• Warning letter from the Departments of Agriculture and Health;
• Follow up inspection;
• If still in violation of the order at follow up inspection, adjudication to suspend the businesses retail food license;
• If the business continues to operate after license is revoked, citations will be filed with the magisterial district judge;
• The department may pursue civil penalties of up to $10,000 per day of violation.

The department will work with the Pennsylvania Department of Health and collaboratively across other agencies – such as with the Pennsylvania State Police, and Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board – to report and follow up on violations.

“We know that people dining together in a restaurant puts many people at risk of exposure, including patrons and employees,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “It is essential that restaurants comply with guidance and continue with carry-out and delivery options at this time. Social distancing is a primary tool to fight this virus, and we must stay the course.”

Restaurants under the department’s jurisdiction that are inspected as a result of such complaints will have public reports with details of violations filed in Pennsylvania’s restaurant inspection database, publicly accessibly via the department’s website or the free EatSafePA mobile app for both Apple and Android devices.

Reports related to food safety concerns or restaurants offering dine-in services can be made online through the department’s Food Safety Complaint Form.