Coronavirus update for Tuesday, June 30 as of 2:30 p.m.

Department of Health and Human Services

  • An HHS spokesperson tweeted yesterday that “@HHSGov expects to renew the Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19 before it expires.”
  • HHS announced that it has entered into an agreement to secure a supply of remdesivir, a drug used to treat COVID-19. Hospitals will have to purchase the drug from the pharmaceutical company and its distributor at the negotiated price of about $3200 a treatment, with the amount each hospital can purchase to be determined by the federal government and state health departments based on recent COVID-19 caseloads.  Those allocation decisions will be made every two weeks, and beginning on July 6 hospitals will be asked to submit their data through the TeleTracking web portal by Monday at 8 p.m. ET every two weeks.

 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

CMS has updated its toolkit on state actions to mitigate the prevalence of COVID-19 in nursing homes.

CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

CMS hosts recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19.  These sessions are open to members of the health care community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.

CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls

Tuesday, June 30th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 5125839

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 7th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3048844

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 14th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2550919

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 21st at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7477995

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Tuesday, July 28th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1492795

Audio Webcast link:  go here.

Nursing Homes Call

Wednesday, July 8th at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 2997138

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Wednesday, July 22nd at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1143564

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Home Health and Hospice Calls

Tuesday, July 7th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 9480618

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Tuesday, July 21st at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 6080197

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Dialysis Organizations Call

Wednesday, July 8th at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 8481378

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Wednesday, July 22nd at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7692208

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Nurses Call

Thursday, July 9th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 9386539

Audio Webcast Link:  go here.

Thursday, July 23rd at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7971869

Audio Webcast Link: go here.

Lessons from the Front Lines

Friday, July 17th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Code: 3096434

Web Link:  go here.

Conference lines are limited so CMS encourages interested parties to join via audio.  To listen to the audio files and read the transcripts for the COVID-19 Stakeholder calls, visit CMS’s Podcast and Transcripts page.

Food and Drug Administration

 

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

 

Department of Labor

The Department of Labor has issued guidance on child labor, paid sick leave, and expanded family and medical leave amid school and camp closures necessitated by COVID-19. See the announcement, which includes links to department policy bulletins.

American Medical Association

The American Medical Association has announced a new CPT code for antigen tests in the fight against COVID-19.

Federal Funding Opportunities for Hospitals

The National Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has prepared a document that collects and presents in one place the various new federal funding opportunities for hospitals resulting from legislation addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency.  Find that document here.