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Learn More About This Day in History by Clicking on the Picture
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Benchmarks' Written Friday Update
June 5, 2020
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Benchmarks' Bill Tracker Through June 5, 2020
NC Cases:
32,074
NC Cases Hospitalized:
659
NC Deaths:
960
Access To COVID-19 Testing
Many providers with residential facilities have been struggling to identify companies that will come out to the facility to test clients for COVID-19 when needed. There have also been challenges in finding companies to test staff as well. Many agencies found that when they did identify a company to do the testing, the cost was too high and many weren't willing to bill Medicaid or Medicare for the agency.
We reached out to DHHS to see if they had lists of companies that would come on site AND would be willing to bill Medicaid directly. They provided us a list of companies that are providing the tests -to see them click here. Of the companies on the list, DHHS confirmed that LabCorp, Mako, and Quest are billing Medicaid for the tests. There may be other companies on the list that are billing Medicaid, but those are the only ones that DHHS had confirmed as billing Medicaid. Mako will also do testing of uninsured patients and will bill HRSA (Health Resources Services Administration) on behalf of the uninsured patient.
For agencies that need staff tested (with and without insurance), they recommend reaching out to your local FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Center). Some of them have the capacity to bring teams out to the facility to do testing, but all can provide testing at their center. FQHCs can bill Medicaid and private insurance. They can also provide testing to your staff without insurance as they have funding to be reimbursed for those tests. To find a an FQHC near you go to their
locator website here.
Virus Disparities
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed an
executive order
to address disparities in health care. African-Americans have been among those hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic accounting for 30% of the state's confirmed coronavirus cases and 34% of the deaths but making up only 22% of North Carolina's population. Latinos account for 39% of North Carolina's COVID-19 cases, yet make up only 10% of the state's population. "I want to be clear - there is nothing inherent to black or brown people that makes them more susceptible to severe COVID-19 illness," Cooper said in a Thursday press briefing. "The data should not be used to further racism or fear. The disparity is because people of color have historically had less access to healthcare, housing, economic opportunity and more.
This virus is exploiting those inequalities and it's up to us to do something about it."
The executive order establishes a task force to addresses long term disparities and directs the North Carolina Pandemic Recovery Office to make sure relief funds are fairly distributed.
Evictions Moratorium
Gov. Roy Cooper issued a three-week, statewide moratorium on evictions effective Saturday May 30th. The executive order also extends the prohibition of utility shut-offs for another 60 days. It's meant to reduce the risk of homelessness due to financial struggles during COVID-19. New eviction hearings have been paused since mid-March as part of a larger curtailing of court activity during the coronavirus pandemic.
Some court activity resumed Monday, June 1st but the courts in North Carolina are prioritizing cases by urgency and severity, and eviction hearings likely won't likely begin until July.
Child Care Subsidy
A child care subsidy, set up by DHHS for frontline essential workers is set to expire this weekend, but a bill making its way through the General Assembly could help fill the gap. The new bill in the North Carolina House would allocate more than $121 million to help childcare facilities cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. It would provide personal protective equipment and bonus pay for care providers, and access to consultants to offer strategies for stemming the spread of disease.
Unemployment Insurance
North Carolina has surpassed $3 billion in paid state and federal unemployment insurance benefits as the state approaches the 1 million claimant mark. The N.C. Division of Employment Security reported that as of Monday morning, $3.12 billion in state and federal UI benefits have been paid. With the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund at close to $3.85 billion before the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic began to be felt, 20.7% of that money had been used as of Monday morning. DES reported 980,952 claimants have filed a combined 1.38 million state and federal claims.
With the drop in the labor force over the month, currently, 24.6% of the 3.99 million North Carolinians considered in the state's workforce as of mid-April have filed a state or federal unemployment claim.
Coronavirus Hospitalizations
Cases of COVID-19 grew at a smaller rate as the percentage of positive tests stayed at 8% Tuesday, but deaths and hospitalizations due to the disease increased. NC DHHS reported 626 new cases on Wednesday June 3rd, with 13,013 tests completed. That daily total of new cases is the smallest number since 488 new cases were reported last Wednesday. At the same time, the number of deaths attributed to the virus rose by 23 to 921. The number of patients hospitalized by COVID-19 jumped by 66 to 716.
On Thursday, June 4th
N.C. Department of Health and Human Services showed 684 people hospitalized by COVID-19. That's a decrease of 32 from Tuesday's single-day high of 716. During a Tuesday news conference to update where the state stood in dealing with the pandemic, state DHHS secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said rising cases and hospitalizations over the last week were a sign more people are getting seriously ill with COVID-19.
"We continue to have capacity in our healthcare system to take care of people if they become seriously ill, so that is good," Cohen said during Tuesday's news conference. "But we would like to see this number declining, not increasing."
The COVID-19 Community Team
The COVID-19 Community Team is made up of trained Local Health
Department staff and Community team members who are serving as contact tracers across the state.
Team members reach out to people who have tested positive for COVID-19, or anyone who has been near someone with COVID-19, and get them the information and support they need. This support can include helping someone understand what it means to have been exposed to COVID-19, how to monitor their symptoms, when to get tested, if needed, and how to protect their loved ones.
When the COVID-19 Community Team reaches out, it is important that people answer the call. Individuals being contacted would get an initial text from the number 45394 or email from
NC-ARIAS-NoReply@dhhs.nc.gov with follow-up phone calls from NC OUTREACH (844-628-7223) or the Local Health Department. The Community Team represents North Carolinians across the state and will be available to provide support and information in multiple languages.
A Promotional Toolkit to Help Spread the Word
To help you get the word out about the COVID-19 Community Team and the new tools announced today, we have created a promotional toolkit that we hope you will use. This shared message helps us all overcome misinformation and ensure that everyone is getting the right information.
The toolkit includes
:
- Flyers about getting tested for COVID-19 and using the Check My Symptoms online tool.
- A flyer reminding people to practice the 3Ws of prevention: Wear. Wait. Wash.
- Sample Facebook and Twitter posts with images for you to share on social media.
- COMING SOON: An infographic explaining the COVID-19 Community Team and the contact tracing process.
You can find the toolkit resources at
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Benchmarks' Recording
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Child Welfare Membership Webinar
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Reminder, Please Consider
Supporting
This Important Campaign
Please don't forget that CareForNC is launching a COVID-19 #FacesOfTheFrontline campaign during May and June. We work amongst healthcare warriors every day in our field and we're asking you to send in photos and short videos we can share to help our state and communities see the many faces of frontline workers!
These images will be used in our CareForNC campaign #FacesOfTheFrontline. Make sure you sign up to receive our #CareForNC posts and on our Facebook page so your agencies can repost the CareForNC posts! Be sure to use one or all the hashtags listed below on your agency posts.
- #FacesoftheFrontlines
- #NCHeroes
- #CareforNC
- #TogetherOnTheFrontLine
If you do not have a google account to use the Google drive, you can email your pictures and videos to
carefornc@gmail.com.
Many video attachments may be too large to send via email. In that case, please upload your videos to YouTube privately, Dropbox, or use WeTransfer and send a link to the CareForNC email so we can download the file. Be sure to include:
- Your Name
- Organization Name
- County or Counties You Serve
- Email
- Description of Content
- Any Additional Information
Below are some links to provide you additional information to help you create your own #FacesOfTheFronline posts and for video and picture submissions to CareForNC.
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Updates and Announcements
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DSS Dear Director Letter and Guidance
Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer for Providers of Foster Care Services
Pursuant to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the Secretary of Agriculture approved state agency plans for temporary emergency standards of eligibility and levels of benefits under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. Therefore, North Carolina has been approved to administer the Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program.
The P-EBT program will help caretakers, including foster parents, residential childcare providers and relative care providers, purchase food for children in their care while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Benefits are available for children who are eligible for free and reduced lunch including children receiving foster care services. The P-EBT program is a collaboration between the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
Please refer to the enclosed guidance document for additional information. Should you have questions, please contact your regional child welfare consultant.
Thank you for your anticipated participatio
n and cooperation in this important process.
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Understanding New Remittance Advice Refund Message
Beginning June 2020, the Remittance Advice (RA) will include a detailed explanation of any refund (Lump Sum / Miscellaneous Payment) issued to the provider. This message will be on the Financial Transactions page.
Providers are encouraged to review the refund message before contacting NCTracks as it will include the reason funds are being returned, original check number, check amount and TCN(s) if applicable.
There are various reasons a refund could be issued to a provider, including those described here.
No Checkwrite June 30, 2020
As stated in the published approved 2020 checkwrite schedules, "NCTracks will issue 50 checkwrites per fiscal year. The payment cycle will be weekly, exceptions being the last week of June (end of state fiscal year) and the last week of the calendar year."
The last checkwrite date for the State fiscal year will be on June 23. There will be no checkwrite on June 30. The first checkwrite for the new State fiscal year will be on July 7, 2020.
No Provider Training in June 2020
There are no provider training classes scheduled for June 2020.
Providers are encouraged to utilize the User Guide and Fact Sheets page, the Provider Training Tool Kits page and Skillport resources for additional help. Skillport may be accessed through the NCTracks Secure Portal on the Provider User Guide and Training page.
Pharmacy Criteria Updates for Anti-Narcolepsy Drugs
Effective July 26, 2020, the prior approval (PA) criteria and/or forms for anti-narcolepsy drugs will be updated.
These changes will be implemented via system updates in the secure portal, as well as in existing paper drug forms and criteria on the public portal. Please see the summary of changes below.
Criteria Updates:
- Provigil/Nuvigil PA drug class will change to Anti-Narcolepsy
- Sunosi
- Wakix
Form Updates:
- Provigil/Nuvigil
- Sunosi
- Wakix
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CMS Issues Guidance on Alternative Care Sites
- Handing over operation of the ACS to a hospital or health system already enrolled in federal health programs (Medicare, Medicaid, or CHIP);
- Enroll the ACS as a new hospital or facility in federal health programs; or
- If neither of the first options are available, CMS will not be able to make facility payments to the ACS. However, it will be able to reimburse services provided in the ACS by enrolled physicians or non-physician practitioners.
The guidance provides additional detail on each of these options and includes appendices with additional information on Medicare hospital enrollment and flexibilities available to ACSs by partnering provider type.
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CDC Issues Guidance for HCBS Providers
Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance for a variety of HCBS workers providing information on COVID-19's impact on their work, their clients, and how to address mental health needs. We hope this is useful information for you and your HCBS stakeholders.
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Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act: Detailing Where Congress Added Flexibility and Kept Strings Attached
On June 3, Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA). The PPPFA aims to address some issues that borrowers and industry groups had raised regarding the PPP as originally passed on March 27, including giving businesses more time to use the funds and rehire employees. The PPPFA is not yet law but is expected to be signed by the president and become effective in the next few days.
As has been the case with the PPP, there are and will be various questions and ambiguities in the PPPFA and potential conflicts with previous guidance, so all borrowers should be prepared for continuing changes to the guidance and potential ongoing uncertainties. That being said, we expect that additional guidance in the form of further interim final rules (IFRs) and Small Business Administration FAQs will be forthcoming.
We previously discussed in our May 20 alert some highlights of the loan forgiveness application. Given the nature of the changes in the PPPFA, it is very likely that borrowers, even those choosing to stick with an eight-week covered period, will need to complete a different application. Therefore, we expect the Treasury and SBA to issue a new or modified loan forgiveness application, and borrowers should stay abreast of future guidance.
Importantly, most of the changes included in the PPPFA are retroactive and will automatically apply to all PPP loans. However, for PPP loans that were issued before the PPPFA was signed, (a) borrowers can choose to remain with an eight-week covered period and (b) PPP loan maturities will not automatically extend to 5 years. Click here to read our detailed analysis of the changes.
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Congressional Leaders Urge Dedicated Distribution of COVID-19 Relief Funds for Medicaid Providers
The Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate Finance and House Energy and Commerce Committees wrote to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar this week asking for a dedicated distribution from the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund (PHSSEF) for Medicaid-dependent providers and expressing concerns over the ongoing delay in funding.
The bipartisan, bicameral letter highlights the immediate needs of Medicaid-dependent providers, noting their status as safety net providers for vulnerable populations and thin margins under which they operate. Congress has, through two COVID relief bills, appropriated $175 billion for providers in the PHSSEF - tens of billions of which remain unallocated. The National Council thanks Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden and Reps. Frank Pallone and Greg Walden for their leadership on this critical issue.
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Did You Notice Online Module Goes Live
Director Jeff Davis talks about an exciting new training opportunity for anyone who supports people with developmental disabilities. The "
Did You Notice?
" training encourages providers to approach all behavior as a form of communication, which leads to increased observational skills, knowledge, and empathy.
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New: Monday: June 8, 2020
DHHS COVID19 Update Call for BH/IDD Consumers, Family
Time: 2:00 pm
Join Meeting Here:
PLEASE NOTE NEW NUMBER
Toll-Free:
888-557-8511
Access Code:
1410463
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New: Thursday, June 11, 2020
DHSR Call Residential/Longterm Care
Time: 10:00 am
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Monday: June 15, 2020
Connecting Expertise to Communities to Support Comprehensive Care for People with I/DD: Building on North Carolina's Assets
Time: 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
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Wednesday, July1, 2020
Ongoing Staff Development in Disability Services
Time: 2:00 pm EST
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Monday: July 20, 2020
Meeting number: 730 385 489
You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number. Or, join by phone: 1-650-479-3207 Access code: 730 385 489
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Please click on each of the following links to view details sent out from each LME/MCO.
Benchmarks' wants to be sure to make the following list handy for our members to visit and suggest a peek at least once per week to find information that may be pertinent to your agency and contracts.
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