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Today, President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package that will bring much-needed relief to a wide swath of the country including: an extension of jobless supplement programs, direct $1,400 payments to most Americans, an expansion of the child tax credit, support for restaurants, rental assistance, support for schools, and billions of dollars to state and local governments.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the following updates this week:
Medicare Part A Cost Report Appeals Listening Session — March 16
April 2021 Update of the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS)
CHART Model Community Transformation Track Letters of Interest Accepted Due April 13, Application Deadline Extended to May 11
CMS Revises Timelines, Application for Medicare Shared Savings Program Cycle for January 1, 2022 Start
Kidney Care Choices Model’s First Performance Year Start Date Now January 1, 2022
Save the Date: March 30 CMS Quality Programs Bi-Monthly Forum
Action needed:
Write state Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), chair of the Senate Labor, Public Employment and Retirement Committee, and call your state senator to voice your opposition to his legislation, Senate Bill (SB) 213.
CHA has developed a template letter and key messages for members’ use. Please send a copy of your letter to Dawn Vicari at dvicari@calhospital.org.
Find senators' contact information on the state Legislature’s site.
Timing:
Write Sen. Cortese by March 15 and call your senator by March 19.
Background:
Similar to many unsuccessful efforts over the past decade, SB 213 would create a rebuttable presumption in the workers’ compensation system that an infectious disease, musculoskeletal injury, or respiratory disease arose out of work for any hospital direct patient care worker. The bill would also extend indefinitely a presumption for COVID-19. Aside from recent COVID-19-specific and time-limited workers’ compensation presumptions that cover all industries, presumptions have been limited to the public sector.
Because it is virtually impossible to overcome a workers’ compensation presumption, hospitals would be required to accept more claims with little to no evidence that they are work-related. Such claims can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars in temporary and permanent disability payments and medical costs for a single case.
Please personalize the primary messages below with your hospital’s unique experiences when you call and write the senators:
Hospitals highly value their employees and prioritize their well-being. Without healthy employees, hospitals could not fulfill their mission of care.
According to the California Workers’ Compensation Institute, health care employers have one of the lowest denial rates of any industry — including public safety. In 2019, denial rates for health care ranged from 7.7% to 9.3%, while public safety/government ranged from 13.8% to 18.3%, and the average denial rate for all industries ranged from 10.4% to 12.6%.
These increases in workers’ compensation costs will directly and immediately impact hospitals’ financial ability to protect access to high-quality care, especially considering that 39% of hospitals already operate in the red.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the comment period for the proposed rule that makes changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy rule. Comments are now due to HHS by 2 p.m. (PT) on May 6.
CDPH Adopts CDC Guidance on Quarantine of Vaccinated Persons; CDC Releases New Recommendations on Vaccinated Persons in Non-Health Care Settings On March 5, at CHA’s request, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) revised All Facilities Letter (AFL) 21-08 to adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) guidance that — as a strategy to alleviate staffing shortages — hospitals...
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has issued all facilities letter (AFL) 20-22.6 which updates previous guidance for limiting the transmission of COVID-19 in long term care facilities including skilled facilities (SNFs). Specifically, this AFL updates the California Department of Public Health's (CDPH's) visitation guidance, including: expanded opportunities for indoor, in-room visitation and physical touch, as well as infection control measures for fully vaccinated residents and visitors.
On Jan. 20, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services posted a memo limiting federal survey activity by the California Department of Public Health and other state survey agencies to immediate jeopardy allegations, with some exceptions. The original expiration date of Feb. 20 has been extended to March 22.
Labor Code 6403.3 requires general acute care hospitals to maintain a stockpile of specified personal protective equipment, beginning April 1, in the amount equal to three months of normal consumption.
On March 5, at CHA’s request, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) revised All Facilities Letter 21-08 to adopt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) guidance that — as a strategy to alleviate staffing shortages — hospitals can forgo quarantining vaccinated health care personnel following a high-risk exposure if they are fully vaccinated, were vaccinated in the last three months, and are asymptomatic.
