The Senate voted 50-49 to confirm Xavier Becerra as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Becerra, the first Latino to lead HHS, is charged with overseeing the country’s pandemic response while executing the Biden administrator’s health agenda. The vote to confirm Becerra was delayed due to concerns with his lack of healthcare experience, past support for Medicare for All, and abortion. Others were concerned that further delay would hinder the country’s pandemic response. Becerra is currently serving as California’s Attorney General, leaving another appointment up to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. In a tweeted statement following his confirmation, Becerra said he is “honored and humbled by the vote” and “ready to get to work.”

Consistent with President Biden’s national strategy to defeat COVID-19, the Department of Defense, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will deliver free masks to HRSA-supported health centers and Health Center Program look-alikes. The mask delivery timeframe has been updated to begin by late April. Health centers who want to opt out can do so by contacting Health Center Program Support online or via phone at 877-464-4772, 7:00 am to 8:00 pm, Monday-Friday (except federal holidays).

Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman announced that the Department of Insurance has issued guidance on health insurance-related services to protect consumers, and to call for clarity in insurers’ telehealth policies during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A notice, which was included in the March 6 Pennsylvania Bulletin, outlines expectations regarding coverage by insurers of testing and vaccine administration to Pennsylvanians, and urges continued telehealth flexibility to make both COVID-related services and non-COVID-related services available to consumers.

“As we continue our fight against COVID-19, it is vital to make sure all Pennsylvanians have access to the resources needed to combat this public health crisis, and that includes testing and vaccination options,” Commissioner Altman said. “Health insurers play a critical role in access and affordability of these services and should ensure that most consumers can access these services at no cost to the consumers. The carriers have been an important partner in the commonwealth’s response to COVID, and we look forward to that continued partnership as we forge through the next stages of our pandemic response.”

The notice highlights the expectation that insurers will continue to cover COVID testing and vaccination without cost-sharing as required under The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The notice also calls for health insurers to assist consumers in accessing in-network or publicly funded health services to avoid balance billing or surprise balance bills. Mechanisms should already be in place to prevent surprise balance billing for COVID-related services, but the department urges insurers to take steps now to make necessary changes to billing services in anticipation of the No Surprises Act, taking effect in 2022.

The notice also calls for clarity and consistency in insurers’ telehealth policies across the commonwealth while the COVID-19 health emergency is ongoing. A previous notice encouraged health insurers to allow for flexibility in telehealth services, and many insurers implemented flexibilities in their policies and coverage of telehealth services, some permanently. However, different approaches and timelines has caused confusion for both providers and consumers.

“We appreciate the insurers that have made an effort to expand access to telehealth services during the pandemic, allowing for continued routine and urgent health care for the duration of the public health emergency,” said Altman. “The department is now encouraging insurers to implement consistency in these policy flexibilities, most particularly by aligning policies with emergency declaration dates and offering network flexibility for providers that offer both telehealth and in-person services.”

The department notice encourages telehealth policy flexibilities to be extended through the end of the federal or Pennsylvania public health emergency and suggests a 60-day wind-down period for flexibilities to provide for an orderly transition for both providers and patients.

“As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the situation continues to evolve, we ask insurers for their continued readiness to make any necessary changes in policy to address the crisis head on,” added Altman. “We appreciate the commonwealth-wide response we have seen thus far in providing coverage and care for all Pennsylvanians.”

The department has submitted various notices to the Pennsylvania Bulletin to help ease the hardships that are being felt by Pennsylvanians during this crisis and ensure minimum disruption to the department and commonwealth-regulated operations.

If a consumer receives an unexpected bill related to COVID-19, or other healthcare services, they are encouraged to contact the department at 1-877-881-6388.

Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam today amended the existing Universal Face Coverings order, issued on November 17, 2020, to align with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. The amended order went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on March 17, 2021 and will remain in effect until further notice.

“The vaccines that are currently available across the state and country are highly effective at protecting vaccinated people against severe and symptomatic COVID-19,” Acting Secretary Beam said. “Research has shown that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection and potentially less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. However, there is still more to learn about how long protection lasts and how much vaccines protect against new variants of the virus, so some prevention measures will continue to be in place for all people, regardless of their vaccination status.”

According to the CDC, there are several activities that fully vaccinated people can resume now, as low risk to themselves, while being mindful of the potential risk of transmitting the virus to others. Those activities include:

• Visiting with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing;
• Visiting with unvaccinated people from a single household who are at low risk for severe COVID-19 disease indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing; and
• Refraining from quarantine and testing following a known exposure, if asymptomatic.

However, it is important that fully vaccinated people continue to take precautions in public like wearing a mask and practicing physical distancing; avoid medium- and large-sized in-person gatherings; get tested if they experience COVID-19 symptoms; follow guidance issued by employers; and follow travel requirements and recommendations.

Individuals who are fully vaccinated should also continue to wear a mask, practice physical distancing and follow other prevention measures when visiting unvaccinated people who are at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease or who have an unvaccinated household member who is at increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and when visiting unvaccinated people from multiple households.

People are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 more than two weeks after they have received the second dose in a two-dose series or more than two weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine. It is important to remember that the current mitigation Orders are still in effect and that physical distancing and capacity requirements for gatherings must still be followed.

The United Way of Pennsylvania is conducting a survey to look at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PA families. With it, they hope to learn how to advocate about the experiences of PA communities. It asks about child-care, food insecurity, housing, healthcare, and employment status. Please share  the survey with your networks.

Click here for the survey in English.
Click here for the survey in Spanish.

In response to the increased use and expanded coverage of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, From Coverage to Care (C2C) released two new resources to support providers and patients in making the most of virtual care:

• Telehealth for Providers: What You Need to Know – Providers can learn how and when to use telehealth. Topics include how to set up telehealth services, how to conduct a successful visit, and how to keep up to date on telehealth payment (particularly for Medicare and Medicaid).
• Telehealth: What to Know for Your Family – Patients can find out the types of care they can receive through telehealth, how to prepare for an appointment, what to expect during a visit, and more. This resource is also available in Spanish.

Providers and partners can download graphics to post on their social media channels and help spread the word about these new resources. All of these resources can be downloaded at go.cms.gov/c2ctelehealth.

Find COVID-19 information and links to patient resources in additional languages at go.cms.gov/omhcovid19.

Want to receive updates on From Coverage to Care? Subscribe to the C2C listserv. To learn more or download C2C resources, please visit go.cms.gov/c2c or email CoverageToCare@cms.hhs.gov.

This recording and transcript of a podcast from the Commonwealth Fund features experiences of nurses at rural hospitals and clinics discussing shortages of personal protective equipment, workforce challenges, and solutions to support nurses in the future.

ProviderBridge.org was created by the Federation of State Medical Boards through the CARES Act and the FORHP-supported Licensure Portability Program. The site provides up-to-date information on emergency regulation and licensing by state as well as a provider portal to connect volunteer health care professionals to state agencies and health care entities.