08/17/2020

Today's COVID-19 Report: Monday, August 17, 2020

Monday, August 17, 2020

Here are the latest need-to-know updates for Monday, August 17 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

You Asked... We Answered

You Asked: Our hospice received a CERT phone call message as a heads up to a CERT audit request being conducted. The call stated we would be receiving some CERT audit activity. We are familiar with these and have received them pre-COVID-19, but we were hoping with the PHE (Public Health Emergency) extension, these would have been on hold for a bit longer.

Are you familiar with other Ohio hospices receiving such notifications? Any other audit activity resuming in Ohio that you may be aware of?

We Answered: LeadingAge Ohio reached out to Palmetto GBA and a representative shared that ADR (Additional Documentation Request) and CERT audit activity would resume today, August 17, from Palmetto.

The ADRs will be issuing will be post pay from before the PHE and will be service-specific. Palmetto will do some random ADRs based on a topic, such as GIP, but have not decided on the hospice topics yet. Palmetto did clarify the TPE (Targeted Probe and Educate) activity that was initiated before the PHE will not resume at this time.

Be aware, if you receive an ADR or CERT audit from Palmetto, you have 45 days to respond and send the requested information to Palmetto.  If you have any questions regarding how to respond to an ADR or CERT audit, please contact Anne Shelley at ashelley@leadingageohio.org.

OBM Update on CRF 

As reported in a July 27 LeadingAge Ohio COVID-19 Daily Report, the state is distributing coronavirus relief funds (CRF) to eligible Ohio providers through an application process managed by the Ohio Office of Budget & Management (OBM). This morning, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) provided an update on the status of Ohio’s CRF distributions.

According to ODM, as of end of day on Friday, $132 million in CRF was being processed for 845 providers. ODM stated that if the provider has EFT set up, the provider should see the deposit to their bank account tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18. This could be a day or two later depending on how the bank processes these transactions. Those without EFT will receive paper checks. These are being mailed early this week.

Approximately 1100 providers did not fully match the validation file, so the ODM teams will be working together to followup. This may require individual contact with providers so members should keep an eye on their inboxes. Questions related to this coronavirus relief funding may be directed to Susan Wallace at swallace@leadingageohio.org.

Medicaid Eligibility: Monitoring Over-Resourced Individuals

The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) suggested that provider associations encourage facilities to monitor individuals that may be over-resourced when the health emergency is over. Providers can’t increase Patient Liability, so there is concern these individuals may risk losing their Medicaid eligibility after COVID. 

ODM indicated that they believe the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) may provide the opportunity for states to do a targeted disregard of amounts over the resource limit so that these individuals can retain coverage. The self-attestation process will take a while to unroll, and per ODM, CMS says it is working on “explicit guidance” to assist in the post-pandemic processing. CMS has acknowledged that states will be unable to quickly return to pre-COVID processing the instant the pandemic is over, so CMS plans to provide additional transition time, likely months. 

LeadingAge, LeadingAge Ohio to Congress: “COVID-19 Is Not Taking A Summer Recess—Neither Should You.”

On Friday, LeadingAge and LeadingAge Ohio held a media event as part of the Act For Older Adults campaign. In a virtual press conference with state and national media, organizations declared “COVID-19 Is Not Taking A Summer Recess—Neither Should You.” Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, was joined by Kathryn Brod, president and CEO of LeadingAge Ohio, and Danny Williams, CEO of Eliza Bryant Village in Cleveland, along with other state association executives and members from Indiana, Missouri, and Montana.

Participants discussed the challenges providers and older adults are facing and called on Congress to take the steps needed to protect millions of older adults from the worst pandemic in a century. Brod discussed the increasing costs of PPE, as well as the need for more strategic testing strategies in long-term care. Williams provided a first-hand account of the strain on entities that are more reliant on Medicaid reimbursement, as well as racial health disparities highlighted by COVID. 

LeadingAge released a new fact sheet and infographic on the immediate need for access and funding for rapid-response testing (both of which LeadingAge Ohio members can reuse with local media), as well as new “Situation Reports” on Indiana, Missouri, Montana, and Ohio. Members can access the full release and the telepresser recording, as well as early coverage from Cleveland, Statehouse news source Gongwer, and McKnight’s Long Term Care News.

Adult Day Workgroup Shares Data with State Leaders

LeadingAge Ohio recently surveyed adult day services (ADS) providers around the state to see what effect ADS closures have had on participants, caregivers, and providers. Last week, the group finalized and distributed a two-page infographic highlighting the survey data, which showed that continued closure could have increasingly detrimental effects on the older adults who rely on these services and their caregivers. 

LeadingAge Ohio continues to work with the Administration and other stakeholders on the reopening of adult day services. 

AGE-u-cate Launches Year 2 of Dementia Live CMP-Funded Training

The AGE-u-cate Training Institute has launched the second year of its CMP-funded Dementia Live training for Ohio nursing homes.  

Dementia Live is an evidence-informed experiential learning program simulating cognitive and sensory impairments, giving participants experience in living with dementia. The project is limited to 50 nursing homes, so space is limited. For more information or to register, visit ageucate.com or contact Mary Petersen at mary.petersen@ageucate.com. 

LeadingAge Need to Know: COVID-19 – August 17, 2020

LeadingAge shares the latest coronavirus news and resources with members twice each weekday. This morning's update featured information about the 2020 Collaborative Care & HIT Summit and a recap of Friday's “COVID-19 Is Not Taking A Summer Recess—Neither Should You" virtual press conference.

Check out the full report here.

Questions

Please send all questions to COVID19@leadingageohio.org. Additionally, members are encouraged to visit the LeadingAge Ohio COVID-19 Working Group facebook group to pose questions to peers and share best practices. LeadingAge is continuing its daily calls for all members.  To participate in these daily online updates, members should register here.  

LeadingAge Ohio is working to ensure that the information in our daily alerts, on our website, and all coronavirus-related communications is as accurate as possible. However, LeadingAge Ohio makes no guarantees about the accuracy of the information.