HHS and Abbot to Host Webinar on
BinxsNOW Testing Kits for ALFS
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be sending 1 million Abbott BinaxNOW™ test kits to skilled nursing facilities and 540,000 test kits to assisted living communities certified by CMS with a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) Certificate of Waiver.
Join HHS and Abbot for a webinar on Friday, September 18 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm to get more information on the tests, including training, and use in ALFS. During the webinar, Abbott will demonstrate the training tools available and representatives from the US government will be online to speak about the program.
Register now.
September 18, 2020 | 12:00 pm
HHS is expected to ship test kits to all ALFs with CLIA Certificates of Waiver this week to be used for residents and staff. Kits will also be sent to some SNFs for use with staff. Replenishment of kits will be weekly thereafter with enough kits varying by the county the facility is located in and based on the CMS ratings for COVID-19 test positivity in that county (red, yellow or green). HHS has also provided a training portal
here.
AHCA/NCAL has also heard that some providers have received an invoice from Abbott. AHCA/NCAL confirmed with Abbott that these were sent in error and you do not need to pay these invoices. Similarly, some members received information about “shipping specifications” that also include an error that they would be receiving large pallets of test kits. The amount of test kits will be based on estimates of the number of residents and staff you have in your facility and to last you for 1-2 weeks until the next shipment arrives.