Governor Cuomo Addresses Bed Capacity, Staffing Shortages, and Availability of Supplies Today (April 2nd), Governor Cuomo announced at his COVID-19 press conference that all hospitals have increased their bed capacity by 50% as per the State’s recent mandate, and construction has begun on two additional temporary hospitals at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and the Staten…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Announces New Projections and Preventive Measures, Discusses FY 2021 Budget Today (April 1st), Governor Cuomo announced in his daily COVID-19 conference (available here) that updated McKinsey projections predict a slightly lower and later apex for the COVID-19 outbreak, estimated to be at the end of April. For the first time, these…
Continue readingFederal Update CMS Lifts Practitioner and Site Restrictions, Waives Oversight Requirements, and Expands Telehealth On March 30th, CMS issued a wide-ranging set of temporary regulatory waivers offering new flexibilities in response to COVID-19. The waivers pertain mostly to Medicare rules, with some Medicaid components, and will go into effect nationwide immediately and last for the…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Statewide Hospital Partnership Today (March 30th), Governor Cuomo announced that the State, in collaboration with its public and private hospitals, will create a central coordination system to handle surging demand due to COVID-19. This is intended to let hospitals who approach their “load threshold” to transfer incoming patients to other…
Continue readingOn March 26th, the Senate passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, an approximately $2.2 trillion relief package to address the rapidly growing COVID-19 public health emergency, on a vote of 96-0. The four missing Senators were in isolation due to confirmed or potential COVID-19 infection. The House then passed the law…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo Announces Executive Order 202.11 Today (March 27th), Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.11 (available here), containing new directives intended to address the COVID-19 emergency. The Order states that any guidance issued by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) related to prevention and infection control of COVID-19 will supersede any prior conflicting DOH…
Continue readingState Update Governor Cuomo Announces NYC Density Plan and Addresses Federal COVID-19 Response Today (March 25th), Governor Cuomo held a press conference (available here) during which he discussed the continuing efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak. Current projections indicate that the apex of hospital capacity need will occur in approximately 21 days and will be…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Expands Scope of Practice for Physician Extenders Yesterday (March 23rd), Governor Cuomo signed Executive Order 202.10 (available here), containing new directives intended to address the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency. This Executive Order focuses on: Expanding scope of practice and easing limitations on supervision of physician assistants, students, and other extenders; Further increasing…
Continue readingState Updates Governor Cuomo Announces Expanded Hospital, Staff, and Lab Capacity In press releases today and over the weekend, Governor Cuomo made several announcements and updates regarding the COVID-19 emergency, including: Hospital Capacity The Army Corps of Engineers will develop four temporary hospital sites at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old…
Continue readingGovernor Cuomo’s Press Conference and Executive Order No. 202.7 Today, Governor Cuomo held a press conference in which he announced that 100% of the workforce, excluding organizations that provide “essential” services (a list of which is available here), must work remotely. Medical practitioners, behavioral health services, and human services organizations who provide direct patient services…
Continue readingFederal Update Families First Coronavirus Response Act On March 18th, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the second federal COVID-19 aid bill. The bill contains provisions that would enact relief for people affected by COVID-19 through paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, diagnostic testing, food aid for children and adults, and other policies.…
Continue readingFederal Updates Revised Federal COVID-19 Bill Sent to Senate Yesterday (March 17th), the House of Representatives sent a revised version of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) to the Senate. The revised text includes “technical corrections” that reduce the scope of the bill’s provisions on paid sick and modify its payroll tax provisions.…
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