Federal Updates Biden Announces HHS Secretary Nominee Xavier Becerra, Other Health Team Members Framing it in the context of day one readiness to address the COVID pandemic, on December 7th President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced its selection of an array of health care nominees and appointees for the incoming Federal administration. Biden will nominate Attorney…
Continue readingOn November 18th, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) hosted an informational webinar on the State’s approach to the future extension of and amendments to the 1115 Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) Waiver, which governs most of New York’s Medicaid program, including its managed care authorities. Currently, the MRT Waiver is set to expire…
Continue readingFederal Updates HHS Issues RFI on Making COVID-19 Waivers Permanent On November 25th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a request for information (RFI) regarding temporary regulatory waivers made available during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). HHS is considering making some of the various temporary adjustments to regulations and guidance permanent…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Announces Updated COVID-19 Micro-Cluster Focus Zones On November 23rd, Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced new micro-cluster zones across New York State, including new orange “warning” zones on Staten Island and in Monroe and Onondaga Counties, and new yellow “precautionary” zones in Upper Manhattan and Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The…
Continue readingFDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization for First At-Home COVID-19 Test On November 17th, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the first prescription at-home COVID-19 test. The test, which was developed by Lucira Health, uses molecular amplification technology for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in patients with known or suspected COVID-19. It can be used…
Continue readingSPG COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy Federal-State Crosswalk SPG has created a new Vaccination Strategy Crosswalk which compares policy and guidance elements of the federal and New York State COVID-19 vaccination playbook and strategy documents released so far. We will update this document when more information is published, and we continue to update our other COVID-19 Resources on an ongoing basis.…
Continue readingOn October 23rd, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a Request for Applications (RFA) for research projects to promote the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Proposed projects should: Implement published, evidence-based tools to support providers in assessing patients for PrEP indications in clinical settings, with the goal of increasing the frequency…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Announces New COVID-19 Restrictions in New York Today (November 11th), Governor Cuomo announced that due to a rise in COVID-19 infections, some restrictions will be reimposed on New York State activities. Starting on Friday, November 13th at 10pm, bars and restaurants with state liquor licenses and gyms must close at 10pm. New York State will also…
Continue readingDFS Extends Emergency Regulations Requiring Insurers to Waive Cost Sharing Today (November 9th), the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) extended emergency regulations which were initially published March 16th that require DFS-regulated insurance plans to waive cost-sharing for: COVID-19 testing/visits, including in-network laboratory tests for COVID-19 and visits to diagnose COVID-19 through telehealth, the emergency department, or at an in-network provider or…
Continue readingOn October 19th, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) Center for Community Health released a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Comprehensive Family Planning and Reproductive Health Program. Through this program, DOH will provide up to $49.3 million in total annual funding to support the provision of comprehensive family planning and reproductive health…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Announces New Out-of-State Travel Guidelines On October 31st, Governor Cuomo announced new guidelines that will allow out-of-state travelers coming to New York to “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Effective November 4th, out-of-state travelers may test out of the mandatory quarantine as follows: For travelers who were in another state for more than…
Continue readingFederal Updates HHS Releases Interim Final Rule on COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage, Other Flexibilities On October 28th, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alongside the Department of Labor and the Treasury Department, released an interim final rule with request for comments (IFC) (available here) in response to COVID-19, with particular emphasis on establishing coverage policies…
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