335 COVID Cases, 3 Deaths; $116M Package Includes Medical Pay Raises; PPEs are Coming

UPDATE Mar 26, 2020 6:00 p.m.

Hospitals are getting more funding and medical workers are getting more pay. The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) is submitting a Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Project (“waiver”) to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide support to Arkansans in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Governor Asa Hutchinson announced at a news conference on Thursday.

The waiver will provide $116 million in additional Medicaid funding to support a number of initiatives to protect Arkansas health care workers and their patients and to support health care providers. Additional funding is aimed at helping the Long-term Services and Supports (LTSS) sector to ensure Arkansas’s vulnerable populations continue to receive care whether they reside in facilities or in their homes. The initiatives also provide additional support to rural hospitals, independent physician practices, and other Medicaid providers struggling as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

: Proposals for Financial Support

: Cost for Initiatives

This new waiver is just one piece of federal and state efforts to help our hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians. Regulatory relief and additional payments to providers will also be provided through federal legislation.

To accomplish the specific goals of this waiver, the state is requesting approval for federal funding to support the care continuity initiatives which include:

Environmental modifications payments to eligible hospitals, independent physicians, rural health clinics, and behavioral health agencies to modify their facilities to add protective features such as drive-through testing or to reconfigure patient intake areas to allow for adequate social distancing or the purchase or lease of specialized equipment.
New flexibility and financial support to allow health care providers to adjust operations that are unique to their clinic so that they can continue to safely provide face-to-face services. This may include extending clinic hours or shifting schedules to accommodate sick visits versus healthy visits.
Payments to expand and upgrade telemedicine and to provide non-emergency transportation so that patients may continue to connect with health care providers.
Additional pay for health care workers who provide direct long-term services and supports (LTSS) in institutions as well as in homes. This would be an additional $250 per week for non-physician direct-care workers and $500 per week for non-physician direct-care workers who are employed in a facility that treats COVID-19 patients.
Additional payments to nursing facilities that treat a disproportionate share of COVID-19 patients.

With this additional funding, providers will have the flexibility to continue efficiently responding to the needs of Arkansans in ways that Medicaid does not typically finance. This method of structuring payments also ensures program integrity, as DHS must approve the request for funding in advance.

To help prevent negative impacts to the physical and mental health of a Medicaid-eligible child in foster care, DHS would also provide an additional monthly payment of $500 to all foster families during the emergency period.

“Health care today cannot be delivered as it was just two weeks ago,” Governor Hutchinson said at the news conference. “Hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, residential facilities, other licensed practitioners must now re-engineer their practice patterns to protect the lives of their patients and their employees. This proposal places a particular emphasis on Arkansas’s rural providers who face even greater challenges due to distance and less infrastructure compared to more populous areas.”

Cindy Gillespie, Secretary of DHS, joined the Governor at the news conference. “This is designed to address COVID-19 related expenses that are hitting small hospitals, independent physicians, community providers,” Gillespie said. “These are things that Medicaid normally can’t pay for, and will help ensure continuity of care at a very critical time for Arkansans.”

ORIGINAL March 27, 2020 3:40 p.m.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson held a news conference on Thursday, March 26th to update on the number of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) cases and to give details of a financial aid package for the state’s healthcare system, as well as the order that’s coming with PPEs (personal protective equipment.

STATS

According to statements at the conference, there are 335 cases of COVID-19 and 3 deaths. There are 14 that are 18 and under, 213 that are aged 19-64, and 108 that are 65 or older. There are 12 recovered patients.

TREATMENT

The Department of Health is asking those patients to donate plasma, since it will have antibodies that may be helpful in treating current COVID patients.

FUNDING

There will be a financial package for healthcare facilities and workers. There will be payments to hospitals and certain physicians. There will be funds going to safety and training for staff taking care of COVID patients. There will be an expansion in telemedicine and transportation programs. There will be a payment for nurses of $1,000 per month, and for nurses attending COVID patients, it will be a $2,000 per month payment. There will also be payments for facilities with a high percentage of patients.

EQUIPMENT

There was an announcement that the large order of PPEs that the Governor referred to earlier in the week includes the following: