Knowledge Base Article

This week we highlight key updates spanning from March 10th through 15th of 2021.

Resource Spotlight: Long COVID Alliance

The Long COVID Alliance began in 2020 with a group of 21 science, post-viral disease and patient advocacy organizations calling for the government to invest in Long COVID research. To date 50+ partners have joined this alliance. Why is this collective so important? Long COVID also known as Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, Long Haulers, Long-term COVID-19, or LTC-19 as a group, have lingering symptoms and has to date impacted 3.2 million Americans. In fact, “these symptoms persist in an estimated 25-35% of COVID-19 patients, regardless of infection severity, even after the patient no longer tests positive for the virus or antibodies…Long COVID generally refers to cases where symptoms continue to persist for 90 days or more.” I encourage you to check out the Alliance’s website to learn about their goals, and the impact to date that their efforts have made.

March 10, 2021: Trust for America’s Health Ready or Not 2021 Report

The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) “develops reports and other resources and initiatives, and recommends policies, to advance an evidence-based public health system that is ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.” On March 10th, TFAH released the report, Ready or Not 2021: Protecting the Public's Health Against Diseases, Disaster and Bioterrorism, measuring states’ performance on specific indicators. John Auerbach, President and CEO of TFAH is quoted in the announcement about this report that “The importance of this report is that it gives states actionable data to adopt policies that save lives. The COVID-19 crisis shows that we have much more work to do to protect Americans from health threats, particularly in the ways in which structural racism create and exacerbate health risks within communities of color. States need to take aggressive steps to shore up their preparedness for all types of public health emergencies.”

March 10, 2021: CMS Revises Nursing Home Visitation Recommendations

CMS has updated the September 17, 2020 memorandum titled Nursing Home Visitation – COVID-19. Revisions include new guidance for visitation in nursing homes during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE), including the impact of COVID-19 vaccination. First and foremost, the Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention remains in place. The first principle has been updated to now include denial of entry to a facility for “those who have had close contact with someone with COVID-19 infection in the prior 14 days (regardless of the visitor’s vaccination status).” You can also read more about the revisions in a related CMS Fact Sheet.

March 11, 2021: HHS News: Vaccine Program Expanded to 950 Community Health Centers

HHS announced in this Press Release that an additional 700 Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA) supported health centers are to be invited to join the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program. These 700 centers “serve high proportions of low-income and minority patients, provides services to rural or frontier populations, operate Tribal/Urban Indian Health Programs, and/or utilize mobile vans to deliver services.” 

March 11, 2021: Adults 18 and over Eligible for Vaccination no later than May 1st

President Biden announced in his first Prime Time speech to the nation that “All adult Americans will be eligible to get a vaccine no later than May 1. That's much earlier than expected. Let me be clear. That doesn't mean everyone's going to have that shot immediately, but it means you'll be able to get in line beginning May 1. Every adult will be eligible to get their shot, and to do this, we're going to go from a million shots a day that I promised in December before I was sworn in to beating our current pace of two million shots a day, outpacing the rest of the world.”

March 12, 2021: Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Propofol-Lipuro

The FDA’s March 12th COVID-19 Update Bulletin included the announcement of an EUA for Propofol-Lipuro 1% injection emulsion for use in patients older than 16 requiring sedation via continuous infusion who are in an intensive care unit on mechanical ventilation. The FDA notes that “Propofol-Lipuro 1% injectable emulsion for infusion is not FDA-approved and has important differences in its formulation compared to FDA-approved propofol drugs; providers should consult the Health Care Provider Fact Sheet for more information before administering it.”

March 12, 2021: Palmetto GBA Article – COVID-19 Laboratory Test Place of Service Limitation

Included in Palmetto GBA’s March 12, 2021 Daily Newsletter was an article indicating that “CMS has directed Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to make any necessary Part B claim editing changes to ensure the following COVID-19 laboratory tests when billed with place of service 19 (off-campus outpatient hospital), 21 (inpatient hospital), 22 (on-campus outpatient hospital), or 23 (emergency room-hospital) are denied.”

March 15, 2021: OIG COVID-19 Portal Redesign

The OIG announced that their COVID-19 Portal has been redesigned and features additional resources, including a searchable list of their COVID-19 reports and downloadable graphics.

March 15, 2021: CMS Increases Medicare Payment for Administering COVID-19 Vaccine

CMS announced in a Press Release that the payment amount for administering the COVID-19 is increasing and noted that “this new and higher payment rate will support important actions taken by providers that are designed to increase the number of vaccines they can furnish each day.” Effective for COVID-19 vaccines administered on or after March 15, 2021, the national average payment rate for physicians, hospitals, pharmacies and other immunizers is increasing from approximately $28 to administer each dose of the vaccine to $40.