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August 23, 2020
Nonpartisan Mission of Care
The coronavirus has altered every aspect of our lives—even the process by which we select our elected leaders. The unconventional party conventions have gone digital, and many more people are expected to vote by mail in November.

And, while this election promises to be among the most bitterly fought than any in recent memory, it is important to recognize that people may be partisan, but hospital care never is. Our nurses, doctors, and front-line workers deliver the best possible care to all, no matter what.

Yet, we are not oblivious to the weight of health care on elections. Health care still ranks among voters’ top priorities, and elections have a direct impact on payers, providers, and patients.

Now, with just over 70 days until Election Day, the focus on health care is heightened as the coronavirus pandemic—and the incredible heroism of hospital employees—are front and center.

Emotions are running especially high this year, yet we maintain our focus on our nonpartisan mission of care. That doesn’t change when a new administration enters the White House. It is one reason MHA, as well as the American Hospital Association, does not endorse presidential candidates.

We do, though, recognize the important voice of those who work in the hospital field. We are working to identify additional ways to elevate those voices directly to elected officials—to demonstrate how they are Caring for Maryland and ensure leaders will listen when we make our case to them.

After the votes are tallied, we will continue to focus on what is most important: caring for the patients and communities who rely upon our services, with no thought about how we voted as individuals.
Bob Atlas
President & CEO
HHS Designates Data Liaison for Maryland Hospitals
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Maryland Department of Health and MHA on Tuesday discussed a new federal COVID-19 Data Reporting and Liaison program. The program launched in response to concerns about significant changes to the process for hospitals to meet HHS’ requirement of daily reporting on bed capacity, utilization, personal protective equipment, and in-house lab testing.

During the call HHS reported:

  • A dedicated HHS data liaison has been assigned to Maryland to field questions and concerns around Teletracking reporting
  • Questions should be routed to our assigned HHS data liaison through MHA’s Ahmed Elsayed
  • HHS strongly urges daily reporting but acknowledged this is challenging for hospitals. If your hospital misses a day or lacks staff to enter in weekend data, you can submit data retroactively using the upload template. Hospitals that want to report data from prior days to TeleTracking should contact the help desk (1-877-570-6903) before submitting data

For more information, contact Ahmed Elsayed.
HHS Alters Allocation Protocol for Remdesivir
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will no longer roll over declined amounts of remdesivir to the following distribution week. This means Maryland could lose any unclaimed allocations to other states and territories. To keep as much remdesivir in Maryland as possible, MHA collaborated with the Maryland Department of Health to implement a new protocol, which has been communicated to every pharmacy lead.

Under the new approach, the state will tell MHA the recommended allocations for each hospital, and MHA will ask pharmacy leads if hospitals intend to accept or decline that week’s allocation. This approach will allow us to know how much remdesivir could potentially be sent to another state and work with interested hospitals to have it reallocated—keeping as much as we can in the state.

MHA will continue to closely monitor Maryland’s allocation and communicate weekly to your pharmacy leads. For questions, contact Nicole Stallings.
Giving Birth During COVID-19
MDMOM Program will host its fourth webinar in a series on caring for pregnant and postpartum women in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Giving Birth During COVID-19 is scheduled for Aug. 26 at noon. Registration is open, and more information is available on the MDMOM Program website for more information about the webinar series.
MDH: Nursing Home Observation Admissions Require Single Room
The Maryland Department of Health (MDH) updated its FAQs on managing nursing home admissions to clarify that newly admitted or readmitted residents placed in a COVID-19 observation area must be in a private room. This includes residents who were COVID-19 positive and discontinued contact-based precautions more than 90 days ago. There is some limited flexibility for readmitted residents. However, MDH guidance indicates that if a private room is not available for a new admission, the nursing home should not accept new admissions.
MHA Confirms Medicare’s Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Does Not Apply to Hospital Outpatient Services
MHA confirmed with Novitas-Solutions, Maryland’s Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), that Medicare’s Appropriate Use Criteria guidelines do not apply to hospital outpatient services in Maryland because Maryland hospitals are not subject to Medicare’s Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS). Section 218(b) of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) requires hospitals to append AUC consultations information to a hospital claim. According to the response from Novitas, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is determining how to identify the related professional claims as they too would not be required to append consultation information to claims. For more information, please contact MHA Senior Vice President Brett McCone.
CMS Updates Guidance for State Survey Agencies
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated its guidance to state survey agencies to expand survey activities and authorize onsite revisits and other types of surveys. The guidance re-prioritizes certain types of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments and temporarily extends the desk review policy following removal of immediate jeopardy.
Healthy People 2030 Sets National Population Health Goals for the Decade
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released Healthy People 2030. The 10-year plan to address the nation’s most critical public health priorities is meant to guide national efforts, and to inform local and regional priorities. The 2030 plan includes measurable objectives with 10-year targets, including new objectives related to opioid use disorder, diabetes, and pregnancy and childbirth—areas of special interest in Maryland. For the first time, Healthy People 2030 also sets 10-year targets for objectives related to social determinants of health.
MHA Convenes Telehealth Work Group
MHA formed a member-led telehealth work group to support advocacy efforts to sustain access to telehealth services. This group will advise MHA on data demonstrating the value of telehealth, the return on investment, and benefits for patients and providers, while establishing appropriate safeguards for provisions such as audio-only. Members statewide who serve on the work group will share their medical expertise and experiences with telehealth.

MHA recently convened a subset of the work group to seek advice on behavioral health services delivered via telehealth. The group shared positive outcomes from the expansion of telehealth, barriers for continuation, and concerns that lifting waivers could disrupt care. MHA will consider their unique approaches within our advocacy priorities. In recognition of the interplay between federal and state components to the expansion of telehealth programs, MHA recently submitted letters to Congressional Delegation and Maryland Medicaid emphasizing the importance of permanent policies. MHA will continue to engage on both fronts to advocate for policies that support our members’ enthusiasm for more telehealth flexibilities. For additional information, contact Jennifer Witten.
Community Health Worker Certification Extended
Community health workers (CHWs) may continue to submit certification applications based on experience until 30 days after the state of emergency ends in Maryland.

Things to know about certification for CHWs in Maryland:

  • Certification is voluntary, not mandatory
  • There is no fee to apply for certification
  • Certification for experienced CHWs (formerly known as the grandparenting process) is based on CHW paid or volunteer experience and proficiency in the Maryland CHW core competencies
  • Applications for certification for experienced CHWs will be accepted until 30 days after the state of emergency has been terminated in Maryland
  • Certification for CHWs in Maryland is new and there is assistance in helping you with completing your application and materials. Contact the CHW Certification team at 410-767-5971 or MDH.CHWapplications@Maryland.gov
Online Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Training Webinar Series
The Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA) will offer online advocate training through September, including safety planning and crisis intervention. The Sept. 7 training will focus on neurobiology of trauma and include updates on the Maryland Sexual Assault Kit Initiative. As a member of the Maryland Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Policy & Funding Committee, MHA supports of the goals of the initiative, which include inventorying all sexual assault kits in the state and establishing a kit tracking system. Continuing education units are available for each training. The schedule and registration information is available on MCASA’s website
MHA Comments on MIA Rate Review
Earlier this month, MHA submitted a letter to the Maryland Insurance Administration commenting on insurers proposed 2021 rates. The letter follows MHA’s testimony at last month’s MIA rate review hearing. At both the hearing and in the letter, MHA noted the variation in hospital trends across the different insurer rate filings and urged MIA to address underlying affordability by collecting and measuring insurer success on care management programs for enrollees. MHA also emphasized the need to permanently expand telehealth coverage and address reimbursement parity. MIA has indicated that rates will be finalized in mid-September. For more information, contact Maansi Raswant.
Webinar: Prescribing Buprenorphine Via Telemedicine
Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance (ROTA) will host a webinar Aug. 26 on prescribing Buprenorphine via telemedicine. ROTA was established by the University of Maryland in collaboration with state and local partners and is funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The goal is to offer training and technical assistance to rural communities to help them respond to the opioid crisis. Additional information and registration information is available on ROTA’s website
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