COVID-19 Federal Responses: Monday, June 22, 2020

Congress

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said hebelievesthat certain temporary federal telehealth policies should be made permanent. Chairman Alexander is focused on three main changes: provider reimbursement regardless of the originating site, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement for telehealth services, and providing telehealth services through common apps like FaceTime or texting.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)introducedthe Equal Access to Care Act that would allow providers to provide telehealth services outside of their licensed state for 180 days after the COVID-19 emergency period is over.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)introducedthe Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program (P4) Act. This legislation would expand upon the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) by:

• Authorizing lending to small businesses with 100 employees or less who have already exhausted an initial PPP loan.
• Extending the application deadline for an initial PPP loan to Dec. 30.
• Using existing PPP funding to create P4 loans.

White House and Federal Agencies

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)publishednew demographic and financial data on national COVID-19 cases.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnanyannouncedthat the Coronavirus Task Force will stop conducting public briefings.

Director of the White House National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, expressedoptimismthat we can control a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. However, White House Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, Peter Navarro, said that the White House ispreparingfor a possible new wave of cases in the fall as a precaution.

AU.S. Census Bureau pollfound that millions of Americans are going without healthcare due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders.

CMS is hostingOffice Hours Callson Tuesdays from 5:00- 6:00 p.m. to answer questions about CMS’s temporary actions. Call info for this week:

• CMS is hosting weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls to provide targeted updates and guidance for certain types of organizations.
  • Home Health and Hospice(2^ndand 4^thTuesdays at 3:00 p.m. ET)
  • Nursing Homes(2^ndand 4^thWednesdays at 4:30 p.m. ET)
  • Dialysis Organizations(2^ndand 4^thWednesdays at 5:30 p.m. ET)
  • Nurses(2^ndand 4^thThursdays at 3:00 p.m. ET)
• CMS also posts recordings and transcripts of its calls on itswebsite.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)is increasing flexibilities高的健康计划(HDHP)包括the use of telehealth and remote care services and reimburse enrollees for over-the-counter and menstrual care products through tax-advantaged health plan accounts.

The Government Accountability Officereportsthat HHS still has a less than half of the recommended number of providers responding to national emergencies through the National Disaster Medical System.

The National Institutes for Health (NIH)introducedthe National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) effort, a centralized, aggregate platform for COVID-19 patient data.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Ned Sharpless said heexpectsthat the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to at least 10,000 excess deaths from breast and colorectal cancers in the next ten years due to delays in cancer screenings, treatments, and clinical trials.

Nursing Homes

CMS hasannouncedthat Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans will cover COVID-19 laboratory testing for nursing home residents and patients.

• The CDC also released testingguidelinesfor nursing home residents and patients.

New data from CMSsuggeststhat the number of nursing home deaths in the U.S. has declined from approximately 32,000 in May to 29,457 through the first week of June.

The Coronavirus Commission for Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes, an independent commission established by CMS consisting of 25 experts, will begin conducting anassessmentregarding nursing homes’ response to COVID-19.

Vaccines, Testing and Reopening

The National Institutes of Health hasstopped clinical trialsevaluating the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in treating COVID-19 after only 20 people enrolled for the study.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) conducted aninternal investigationthat found that a batch of COVID-19 test kits distributed at the beginning of the pandemic may have contained contaminated reagents.

Rather than another widespread lockdown, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Faucirecommendsa localized approach for responding to new regional outbreaks.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will join Friends of Cancer Research in theCOVID-19 Diagnostics Evidence Accelerator, a collaborative project to advance diagnostic developments.

Congressional Hearings

TheHouse Committee on Energy and Commerceis holding a full committee hearing on Tuesday, June 23 at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the oversight of the Trump Administration’s response to COVID-19

TheHouse Committee Repositoryis holding a joint committee hearing on Tuesday, June 23 at 1:00 p.m. to discuss the expansion and impact of telehealth for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA)

TheHouse Budget Committeeis holding a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m. to discuss how COVID-19 made clear the health and wellness inequalities in the U.S. and necessary changes to combat these inequalities.

TheSenate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensionsis holding a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and how to prepare for future pandemics.

TheSenate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairsis holding a hearing on Wednesday, June 24 at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the role of the Strategic National Stockpile in pandemic response.

TheHouse Committee Repositoryis holding a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 at 11:30 a.m. to discuss how to support healthy air travel during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

TheHouse Committee on Financial Servicesis holding a hearing on Thursday, June 25 at 12:00 p.m. to discuss capital markets and emergency lending during the COVID-19 pandemic.

TheHouse Committee Repositoryis holding a hearing on Thursday, June 25 at 12:00 p.m. to discuss how to serve the public during the pandemic.

TheHouse Ways and Means Committeeis holding a hearing on Thursday, June 25 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss the nursing home crisis during COVID-19.

TheHouse Committee on Financial Servicesis holding a hearing on Friday, June 26 at 12:00 p.m. to discuss the challenges and solutions for policyholders and insurers during the pandemic.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold ahearingon Tuesday, June 30 on how to safely return to work and school. The hearing will feature testimony from:

• Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
• Dr. Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.
• Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Adm. Brett Giroir, MD, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services.

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