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03/08/2021
Today's COVID-19 Report: Tuesday, March 9
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Here are the latest need-to-know updates for Tuesday, March 9 regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and other topics of importance.
A REMINDER TO ALL MEMBERS
Check LeadingAge's FAQs and Resources on COVID-19 Vaccines and Issues Surrounding Vaccinations frequently.
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released a toolkit with talking points, language tips, social media language, and trusted resources to help providers better communicate information regarding the COVID-19 vaccines.
In Today's Report
- ODM shares new information on prior authorizations and/or pre-certification requirements
- CDC loosening restrictions on vaccinated individuals in non-healthcare settings
- LeadingAge Ohio state budget advocacy issue briefs
- Brod, Wallace testify in House on workforce issues
- LeadingAge Virtual Lobby Day: April 21
- LeadingAge Need to Know
ODM shares new information on prior authorizations and/or pre-certification requirements
On Friday afternoon, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) released a policy memo and sent it to the Medicaid managed care plans (MCPs) and MyCare Ohio plans (MCOPs). This memo rescinds the ODM memo dated November 12, 2020. Effective April 1, 2021, MCPs and MCOPs will be allowed (again) to establish prior authorizations and/or pre-certifications requirements for long-term acute care facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and skilled nursing facility admissions.
CDC loosening restrictions on vaccinated individuals in non-healthcare settings
Yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released public health recommendations to guide the activities of fully vaccinated individuals in non-healthcare settings. LeadingAge has provided its analysis here. “Fully vaccinated” means 2 weeks since the final dose in the vaccination series. Healthcare settings include nursing homes, assisted living, and inpatient hospice. Non-healthcare settings would refer to other LeadingAge Ohio membership settings and healthcare personnel in their personal lives. This guidance does not refer to healthcare settings, so does not change current nursing home visitation guidance. We also do not believe it impacts testing requirements for nursing home staff.
“We ..know CMS is working with CDC separate and apart from this work to coordinate on nursing home visitation,” said Ruth Katz, senior vice president of public policy and advocacy for LeadingAge, after Politico broke news of the pending CDC announcement last week. “We actually thought we would have that by now.”
CDC officials said that there is “a growing body of evidence” intimating that fully vaccinated individuals are less likely to be asymptomatic carriers and are “potentially less likely to transmit the virus that causes COVID-19 to other people.”
Other highlights of the CDC’s five-page “Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People” included:
- Vaccinated individuals should still continue to avoid anything but small gatherings. The CDC, however, did not define what would qualify as “medium” or “large” gatherings.
- Fully vaccinated individuals can forego masks and social distancing in their private homes. They also may gather with unmasked, unvaccinated individuals who are deemed not to be at risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19 should they become infected.
- As long as symptoms of infection do not appear, vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine or get tested. If symptoms arise, isolation and consultation with a physician should ensue.
- Masks, maintaining social distancing, washing hands and avoiding poorly ventilated spaces in public, as well as other safety protocols, shall continue to be observed.
LeadingAge Ohio state budget advocacy issue briefs
Thank you to the many, many LeadingAge Ohio members who have already participated in this week’s LeadingAge Ohio Virtual Lobby Week visits. LeadingAge Ohio has prepared issue briefs for SFY 22-23 state budget advocacy work. The following documents are available to help inform legislators about the needs of LeadingAge Ohio members:
In addition, a coalition of members working on expanding the Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) have prepared the following document to assist with advocacy efforts:
LeadingAge Ohio staff are available to assist you in having discussions with your legislators if you missed the opportunity to sign-up for this week’s meetings. Please reach out to Susan Wallace at swallace@leadingageohio.org for additional information.
Brod, Wallace testify in House on workforce issues
Last week, LeadingAge Ohio President/CEO Kathryn Brod and Chief Policy Officer Susan Wallace were invited to testify before the House Families, Aging & Human Services Committee. Their testimony highlighted workforce challenges experienced in the sector preceding the pandemic, and how COVID-19 exacerbated shortages and drove wages up as providers struggled to keep pace with competing employers. Their presentation highlighted findings from the AARP LTSS Scorecard which found that, while Ohio rose from 44th in the nation to 19th in the nation over the past six years, in certain areas, including family caregiver support, Ohio still lagged far behind. Recent data indicate that compared to contiguous states, nursing and aide shortages in Ohio’s nursing homes are second-most severe in the six-state region, while physician shortages are more severe than any neighboring state.
LeadingAge Virtual Lobby Day: April 21
LeadingAge is excited to announce the first ever Virtual Lobby Day for the national association. This will replace the originally scheduled in-person lobby day this year. Given LeadingAge's success with their virtual congressional meetings last year, members will appreciate the opportunity to meet with their congressional offices and advocate for our key policy priorities and tell their stories. LeadingAge will once again be utilizing the services of Advocacy Associates and they have an innovative way to manage the coordination and virtual schedules for our members.
Please Save These Dates On Your Calendar:
Virtual Advocacy Training Session Wednesday, April 14 3:00-4:00PM
Preparing members for visiting virtually featuring Carol Silver Elliott, Katie Smith Sloan and the LeadingAge Policy Team
Lobby Day Office Hours: Friday, April 16 2:00-3:00PM and Monday, April 19 2:00-3:00PM
LeadingAge Policy Team is available for questions for members and state partner staff.
State Delegation Planning Meetings: April 15-20
LeadingAge Ohio delegation meetings will be scheduled. Details to follow.
Virtual Lobby Day: Wednesday, April 21 8:00AM-5:30PM (Reception 4:30PM)
Keep whole day open for now. As meetings are scheduled, you can add them to your calendar. At 4:30PM, LeadingAge is going to host a fun virtual networking reception to celebrate our day and allow our advocates to share their stories from the day.
Additional details regarding these events can be found here.
LeadingAge Need to Know: COVID-19 – March 9, 2021
LeadingAge shares the latest coronavirus news and resources with members twice each weekday. This morning's update featured additional information on Lobby Day and the Global Ageing Network Webinar taking place this Thursday.
Check out the full report here.
Questions
Please send all questions to COVID19@leadingageohio.org. Additionally, members are encouraged to visit the LeadingAge Ohio COVID-19 Working Group facebook group to pose questions to peers and share best practices. LeadingAge is continuing its daily calls for all members. To participate in these daily online updates, members should register here.
LeadingAge Ohio is working to ensure that the information in our daily alerts, on our website, and all coronavirus-related communications is as accurate as possible. However, LeadingAge Ohio makes no guarantees about the accuracy of the information.