FCC Establishes New Covid-19 Telehealth Program

Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services Expands The Accelerated And Advance Payments Program For Participating Providers And Suppliers

What Documentation Should Employees Provide Employers In Order To Obtain Federal Covid-19 Leave Benefits

CMS Issues Stark Law Blanket Waivers in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic  

New York State Budget Implements Major COVID-19 Liability
Protections for Health Care Facilities and Providers

In an effort to consolidate COVID-19 related provider guidance the Department of Health has developed the attached provider compendium. The publication shows only current NYSDOH and CDC guidance for any given topic and will be updated weekly, or as significant guidance emerges, to reflect new guidance. 

Weekly Provider Update

Missed this week's Healthcare Provider Update? You can access it here.

Health Advisory

Updated Protocols for Personnel in Healthcare and Other Direct Care Settings to Return to Work Following COVID-19 Exposure or Infection

Due to a shortage of ventilators and urgent public need, Governor Cuomo has issued an executive order requiring all unused ventilators or equivalent devices to be reported and made available to the state. 

Any institution, office, or person whose ventilator or equivalent device is used by the state will have their ventilator or equivalent device returned to them in the same condition, be provided with a newer replacement device, or receive financial compensation from the state to purchase a replacement.

Please fill out the following information and you will be contacted to arrange pick up of your device if it is needed.

Read our legal counsel's legal alert on the Executive Order.

We invite ACS-member surgical residents and associate fellows to submit ONE case worthy of a discussion at the annual Spectacular Cases panel at Clinical Congress 2020. 

Seven selected spectacular cases will be selected.  This is an opportunity for residents and associate fellows to present a case with spectacular significance (hint: because of a multidisciplinary approach in how the case was managed).  Cases will be presented in an M & M style of case discussion.  Selected spectacular cases (NOT case reports) will be presented to a group of expert panel members, followed by an interactive discussion. 

The discussion will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, from 8:00 – 11:15 am at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2020, in Chicago, IL.

Submissions are due by 5:00 pm CST on May 3, 2020.    No exceptions for late entries. 

You will need for your application:

1. Name
2. Title
3. Institution you are working at/training at
4. City, state
5. PGY level
6. Phone number, preferably cell phone
7. Email address
8. Twitter handle
9. One-page, 300 words (or less) abstract that includes the title and description of the case.   Pictures and/or graphs are permitted.  The references included can be outside of the 300-word limit.

Submit your ONE case here:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MY8HLJN

Contact Alison Powers at apowers@facs.org with any questions.

Governor Cuomo has issued an executive order giving the state the power to seize and redistribute medical equipment, including ventilators and PPE, from all private sector companies, medical practices, ASCs and hospitals with lower needs, in response to the number of COVID-19 patients flooding New York City hospitals.

The order calls for all office-based and ASC facilities to immediately inventory and surrender their ventilators and PPE (N95 masks, surgical masks, sterile gloves, surgical gowns and face shields). The order is expected to take effect this weekend.

The move is in response to Lenox Hill and other New York City hospitals, which have reached a crisis point in the need for ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients. New York now has more than 100,000 confirmed cases and its death toll is nearly 3,000 after its largest one-day increase. The state's death toll has nearly doubled in the last three days.

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-announces-executive-order-allowing-state

Access the advisory

Healthcare entities should continue to submit requests for PPE through their local Office of Emergency Management. New York State continues to fulfill requests for PPE, as available. However, NYSDOH has become aware of instances in which healthcare providers, facilities, or practices are using or considering alternative means to manage PPE shortages,such as:

• Use of dubious means to attempt to disinfect N95 respirators or facemasks (e.g. putting them in the dishwasher).
• Use of a ventilator circuit filter attached to a disposable anesthesia facemask and strapped to the face in place of an N95 respirator.
• Use of homemade cloth masks.

If all efforts to obtain PPE through vendors and local Office of Emergency Management are exhausted or unsuccessful, healthcare providers should refer to the CDC guidance entitled “Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of PPE” 

Conventional, then contingency, then crisis capacity strategies should be used in that order, as feasible.

Many of the options from the CDC guidance document are summarized in the advisory.

For general guidance on the use of PPE in healthcare settings, please refer to CDC guidance entitled “Healthcare Supply of Personal Protective Equipment”

> Read the complete advisory

"As we all know the growing coronavirus cases are threatening the capacity of our hospital system. The state-owned Javits Center has been turned into a 2,500-bed emergency medical facility being run by the US Army. The original plan for Javits was that it be used to take non-COVID patients from hospitals to open up hospital beds. However, the number of COVID positive patients has increased so dramatically that it would be beneficial to the state if Javits could accept COVID positive patients. 

"I asked President Trump this morning to consider the request and the urgency of the matter, and the President has just informed me that he granted New York's request. I thank the President for his cooperation in this pressing matter and his expeditious decision making."

- Governor Cuomo

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-andrew-m-cuomo-announces-temporary-hospital-facility-javits-convention-center-will

The Governor announced that, through June 1, 2020, consumers and businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 may defer paying premiums under individual and small group health insurance policies. DFS shall consider any liquidity or solvency concerns of the health plans. During this period, health plans will be required to continue to pay claims, not to report late payments to credit rating agencies, and to work with individuals to help them transition to new coverage, if appropriate. In addition, insurers are reminded that they cannot impose late payment fees. Governor Cuomo thanked Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont for his collaboration on this initiative.

Access the complete release
(Information found on page 2)

The NYS Department of Health is hosting weekly provider calls to update the medical community on outbreak.  The calls take place on Thursday afternoons from 1-2pm. 

Recordings of the weekly healthcare provider COVID-19 calls are posted within a few days of the initial presentation.

> Recordings can be found here

Loans Expected to be Exhausted Quickly: Prepare Your Materials Now

Surgeons in private practices impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak are advised to begin preparing necessary materials now to apply for assistance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) – a key portion of the CARES federal economic stimulus package that authorizes up to $349 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses.

The Treasury Department and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) expect to have this program operational as early as Friday, April 3, with loan applications approved the same day.  Most banks are expected to require a pre-existing banking relationship with the applicant for a PPP loan; therefore, it is strongly recommended to first apply for a loan at a bank where you already have an account.

Surgeons should immediately begin preparations to finalize their PPP applications and remain in contact with their lenders to identify the earliest opportunity to make their loan available.

All loan payments will be deferred for six months. Most importantly, the SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds that are used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities and mortgage interest. Small businesses and individuals who are self-employed or independent contractors – including plastic surgeons – are eligible if they also meet program size standards.

Applications will be accepted through June 30, but many experts believe the funds will be exhausted in a very short time period.

• Overview of the Program
• PPP Application