The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made several important announcements concerning the distribution of the $175 billion Provider Relief Fund: The application process for the Phase 1 General Distribution, available to providers who bill Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) for any amount, is being reopened starting the week of August 10th. The process will remain open…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Announces Funding for Contact Tracing and Flu Prevention Today, Governor Cuomo announced that COVID-19 hospitalizations, infections, and deaths remain stable across New York State. There were 576 total hospitalizations yesterday and 5 deaths related to COVID-19. Of the 68,869 individuals tested yesterday, 644 (0.93 percent) were positive.On July 30th, the Governor announced over $30 million…
Continue readingThe U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program. This program supports innovative, community-based initiatives to improve the health status of infants, children, adolescents, and families in rural and underserved communities by increasing their access to…
Continue readingSenate Republicans Release COVID-19 Relief Package On July 27th, Senate Republicans unveiled a $1 trillion proposal for the next COVID-19 relief package. The bill includes a reduced unemployment benefit, as well as tax relief and liability protections for businesses – provisions that will likely be contended during negotiations with House and Senate Democrats. This proposal follows a $3 trillion…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Additional States Added to Travel Advisory, Steady Numbers in New York State Today (July 23rd), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced that COVID-19 hospitalizations, infections, and deaths generally remain stable across New York State. There were 706 total hospitalizations yesterday, the lowest since March 18th, and 13 deaths related to COVID-19.…
Continue readingHHS Extends Medicaid and CHIP Provider Relief Fund Deadline Today (July 17th), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the application deadline for the CARES Act Provider Relief Medicaid and CHIP distribution has been extended to August 3rd. HHS plans to distribute approximately $15 billion to eligible providers that participate in state…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Announces Steady COVID-19 Progress, Extension of Special Health Insurance Enrollment Today (July 16th), Governor Cuomo announced in a press release (available here) that special enrollment for uninsured New Yorkers through the NY State of Health insurance marketplace will be extended for another 30 days through August 15th. Consumers must apply within 60 days of losing coverage.…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Discusses Steady COVID-19 Status and Enforcement of Travel Advisory Today (July 13th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced that COVID-19 hospitalizations, infections, and deaths remain steady. Yesterday there were 792 hospitalizations, the lowest since March 18th, and 10 deaths related to COVID-19. There were 51,687 tests conducted…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Issues Executive Order 202.49 Today (July 8th), Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.49 (available here), which extends most of the provisions contained in Executive Orders 202.15-202.21 and Executive Order 202.29 through August 6th. These extended provisions allow for a wide range of provider flexibilities, as outlined in detail in SPG’s Waiver Timeline Tracker (available here).…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Issues Executive Order 202.48 On July 6th, Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.48 (available here), which extends most of the provisions contained in Executive Orders 202 through 202.14 until August 5th. The extended provisions include waivers that permit the State to establish additional telehealth provider categories and modalities and that allow for a wide…
Continue readingState Updates Continued Steady Progress on COVID-19 in New York State Today (July 6th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference during which he announced that New York continues to see low numbers of COVID-19 related hospitalizations, deaths, and positive tests. Yesterday, there were 817 total hospitalizations and 9 deaths. Of the 54,328 individuals tested for…
Continue readingFederal Update HHS Spokesman Says Public Health Emergency to Be Renewed On June 29th, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesman Michael Caputo stated on Twitter (available here) that HHS expects to renew the federal COVID-19 public health emergency declaration before its current expiration date of July 25th. This would extend current federal flexibilities, including…
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