Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf directed the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) to submit an application today for President Trump’s temporary Lost Wages Assistance grant funds to provide an additional $300 per week in supplemental payments to some Pennsylvanians receiving unemployment benefits.

“By failing to put out of work Americans first and extending the extra $600 per week federal benefit that ended in July, Congressional Republicans are forcing our hand to apply for these funds,” said Governor Wolf. “The president’s convoluted, short-term program, which will likely only provide payments for five or six weeks, will pay those who are eligible only half as much as before and will make 30,000 Pennsylvanians ineligible to continue receiving an additional weekly benefit.

“There is still time for Congressional Republicans to pass a good and practical solution that simply extends the extra weekly benefit, and I urge them to act now. As I have said before and will continue to say, the extra $600 per week was the lifeline Pennsylvania families needed to get by. They deserve better.”

Last week, the Governor sent a letter to Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation reaffirming his support for an extension of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program. With Senate Republicans failing to pass a bill continuing FPUC, President Trump on August 8 authorized the Lost Wages Assistance plan.

The president’s plan is not a true unemployment insurance program and is, instead, funded by $44 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that is intended for storm disaster relief. Because of this very important distinction, payments to eligible workers will be delayed while states, including Pennsylvania, create a new computer system.

If approved, L&I will use this grant funding to provide an additional $300 per week in assistance payments to people receiving unemployment compensation benefits due to COVID-19-related impacts.

In order to qualify for the extra $300, eligible individuals must receive at least $100 per week in regular Unemployment Compensation (UC); Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC); Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA); Extended Benefits (EB); Short-Time Compensation (STC) or Shared Work; and Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA) and must self-certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.

Payments will be made to eligible claimants retroactively from August 1, 2020. The payment could end in a matter of weeks if FEMA funding is exhausted or the federal government enacts a new law or extends FPUC to replace the Lost Wages Assistance payment. It will end no later than December 27, 2020.

The FPUC program, funded entirely by the federal government, ended on July 25. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to continue the benefit, but the Senate has yet to approve its extension.

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited the Scattered Acres Dairy Farm in Reading, one of Pennsylvania’s many dairy farms that had to dump milk as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on dairy markets in the commonwealth. On the farm, Secretary Redding revealed that nearly $13.5 million of the $15 million CARES Act-funded Dairy Indemnity Program was still available for farmers to claim in direct relief payments.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the early days, we saw Pennsylvania’s dairy farmers face devastating losses. Hard work, sweat, and tears went – quite literally – down the drain,” said Secretary Redding. “We all saw it, the legislature recognized it, and we met it with a $15 million direct relief payment program. Don’t leave this money on the table – apply today and receive $1,500. It’s that easy.”

Any dairy farm that experienced financial losses due to discarded or displaced milk during the COVID-19 emergency disaster may apply for assistance. In addition to farms directly affected, farms that did not have displaced milk but have had COVID-19-related fees assessed on their milk check may also apply. Each farm with a documented loss will receive a minimum of $1,500 and can apply for an additional prorated share of the remaining funds, not to exceed the actual amount assessed by the handler. The deadline to apply for the Dairy Indemnity Program is September 30, 2020.

“At the height of the pandemic in Pennsylvania, many of our dairy farmers were forced to dump milk,” said state Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks), Democratic chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. “In addition to the emotional toll of literally pouring your product down the drain, our farmers have faced serious financial ramifications. I encourage every dairy farmer to take a look at this program.”

Currently, only 900 farms have applied for the $1,500 in direct relief, leaving more than $13.6 million to be claimed. Pennsylvania is home to nearly 7,000 dairy farms with an economic impact of $12.6 million and more than 52,000 jobs. The commonwealth’s more than 500,000 cows produce more than 10.2 billion pounds of milk annually, ranking Pennsylvania seventh in the nation for total milk production.

“Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is so very grateful for the recognition and leadership of the state legislature and Governor Wolf of the importance of utilizing federal funds in this manner assisting Pennsylvania’s dairy farmers to remain economically viable in this time of unprecedented challenges throughout the entire industry,” said Joel Rotz of the PA Farm Bureau. “It is important to understand these dollars don’t stop at the farm gate. They are immediately reinvested into local businesses that are critical to maintaining our rural communities.”

CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

Call details are below. Conference lines are limited so we highly encourage you to join via audio webcast, either on your computer or smartphone web browser. You are welcome to share this invitation with your colleagues and professional networks. These calls are not intended for the press.

Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page at: https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/PodcastAndTranscripts

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (twice a month on Tuesday at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern)

Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to:

• Increase Hospital Capacity – CMS Hospitals Without Walls;
• Rapidly Expand the Healthcare Workforce;
• Put Patients Over Paperwork; and
• Further Promote Telehealth in Medicare

Office Hours:

Tuesday, August 25^th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 8579003

Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=b0ee57aa-ecbb5eb9-b0ee6695-0cc47adb5650-7cf527ad219c44d5&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2371

 

Weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls

CMS hosts weekly calls for certain types of organizations to provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. One to two leaders in the field also share best practices with their peers. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters if time allows.

Home Health and Hospice (twice a month on Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern)

Tuesday, August 25^th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6782346 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=d56b6f04-893e66d4-d56b5e3b-0cc47a6a52de-db676249ca56a67f&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2391

 

Nursing Homes (twice a month on Wednesday at 4:30 PM Eastern)

Wednesday, August 26^th 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 5718509 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=4af88041-16ad8952-4af8b17e-0cc47adb5650-7a1a6bc3fec88107&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2416

 

Dialysis Organizations (twice a month on Wednesday at 5:30 PM Eastern)

Wednesday, August 26^th at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1834329 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=660ee5d6-3a5accfd-660ed4e9-0cc47a6d17cc-f3e0100acefbe41f&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2406

 

Nurses (twice a month on Thursday at 3:00 PM Eastern)

Thursday, August 27^th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1556623 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=9527d1a9-c972d879-9527e096-0cc47a6a52de-3cc6130cbe1e01ac&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2426

 

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (twice a month on Friday at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.

Next Lessons from the Front Lines:

Friday, September 4^th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3374248

Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=d6fe9688-8aaa8ff4-d6fea7b7-0cc47adc5fa2-6c86d8ff78da6ff4&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2474

 

For the most current information including call schedule changes, please click here

To keep up with the important work the White House Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19 click here: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=36fa2226-6aae0b0d-36fa1319-0cc47a6d17cc-2d06c219f858d641&u=http://www.coronavirus.gov/. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Project ECHO, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the New Mexico School of Medicine, the Public Health Foundation and Train.org have partnered to offer the HHS Telemedicine Hack Learning Community. HHS Telemedicine Hack is a 10-week learning community to accelerate telemedicine implementation for ambulatory providers. There are five sessions remaining in the series. Learn more or register.

The U.S. Postal Service has become a critical backbone of the country’s medication infrastructure, meaning slowdowns in mail delivery could have serious consequences for the millions of Americans who get prescription drugs through the mail. Treatments for cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other complex diseases increasingly are sent in the mail. And the coronavirus pandemic has spurred more people to get their routine prescriptions mailed to their homes as a safer alternative to visiting a pharmacy. Americans received 313 million adjusted prescriptions through the mail in 2019, often for common, generic medications that treat things like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

In an FAQ published on July 30, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that all funding received from the Provider Relief Fund must be fully expended by July 31, 2021. Any funds not fully expended by that date must be returned to HHS. The FAQ is under the heading “Terms and Conditions” on the FAQ website.

The public charge litigation roller coaster continues. On July 29, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a nationwide injunction blocking the federal government from implementing the public charge rule during the COVID Public Health Emergency. Then on Aug. 12, a Circuit Court judge narrowed the District court’s ruling, applying the injunction only in New York, Connecticut and Vermont. The regulation’s status may continue to change as other cases work their way through the courts.