The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced the distribution of the first $30 billion of the $100 billion stimulus fund included in the CARES Act.

AHCA has developed a FAQ document to help providers navigate how the various CDC and CMS COVID-19 guidance and Section 1135 waivers interact with current MDS-RAI coding guidance and payment models in SNFs, specific to situations where it is determined that a resident requires isolation related to the COVID-19 virus.

CMS released a COVID-19 Provider Burden Relief FAQ document that states that the Agency has suspended most Medicare Part A and Part B Fee-For-Service (FFS) medical review during the emergency period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CMS has responded to member concerns that the ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes identified by the CDC as appropriate to code for COVID-19 were not compatible with the Medicare Part A SNF PPS PDPM payment model. Specifically, none of the CDC identified codes could be used to represent the Primary Reason for SNF Stay on the MDS assessment Item I0020B.

CMS has not made any changes to the MDS coding guidance associated with item O0100M – Isolation for active infectious disease (does not include standard precautions) located in Chapter 3 of the MDS 3.0 RAI Manual v 1.17.1 October 2019 .

Mass Senior Care has launched a website for donations of PPE for nursing home staff fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 battle. All donations will directly go to nursing homes most in need.

Mass Senior Care recognizes nursing facilities are in need of 12,000 additional direct care staff to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. To assist members with staff recruitment, Mass Senior Care has been working with the state and MIT to bring additional resources to members.

Our healthcare heroes continue to rise to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to keep our residents safe, healthy and connected to their loved ones. Every day we witness truly extraordinary care being provided by all levels of staff for which residents and family members are extremely grateful.

In this memo we are providing you with several updates related to testing and moving a loved one from a long term care facility as well as a correction notice on PASRR. Please continue to visit our dedicated COVID-19 webpage for resources and updates.