With one COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and another likely to gain approval soon, the end of the pandemic could be coming into view. In the meantime, though, testing remains a critical element of the response, particularly for skilled nursing facilities, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) […]
Department of Health and Human Services
A December survey of more than 900 nursing home providers —conducted by one of the largest trade groups in the sector — found that 65% of providers are operating at a loss or negative margin, while just 34% believe they can sustain operations for more than a year. The December survey was conducted by the […]
The emergency use authorization (EUA) granted to Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) COVID-19 vaccine late on Friday launched a flurry of promises and commitments to get the vaccine out to vulnerable long-term care residents as quickly as possible. Alex Azar, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suggested on Sunday in an interview […]
A smaller group of nursing facilities will split a larger pot of cash in the second round of the federal government’s four-part value-based competition for COVID-19 relief dollars. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday announced the pending distribution of $523 million in performance-based stimulus payments to about 9,200 nursing homes that […]
The federal government’s push to send out rapid point-of-care antigen test for COVID-19 to all nursing homes officially wrapped in the early months of autumn. But for many skilled nursing facilities, the use of the tests was fraught, with questions lingering about accuracy and refills of supplies. Those concerns began to ease as fall wore […]
The federal government’s top health care watchdog last week announced a plan to investigate whether nursing homes are following rules around discharges, specifically citing media reports about improper evictions from facilities. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) added a probe of facility-initiated discharges to its formal work […]
The federal government this week announced that Medicare will cover a recently approved antibody treatment for COVID-19 in a range of settings, including nursing homes. The Food and Drug Administration on Monday cleared on an emergency basis the use of bamlanivimab — a monoclonial antibody infusion — for adults with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. […]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working with the Department of Defense and various distributors to build a tracking system for nursing home orders of new COVID-19 test kits — and the supply for two of the major devices in the government’s nursing home testing initiative “far exceeds the demand from nursing […]
The federal government last week tapped a pair of retail pharmacy giants to distribute an eventual COVID-19 vaccine to nursing home residents across the country, and while there remain significant questions about the logistics of distributing an as-yet-unapproved vaccine, officials have continued to position the plan as the only workable solution to a massive public […]
One state’s ban on the use of point-of-care tests for COVID-19 in skilled nursing facilities has been withdrawn after sharp criticism from the assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). But the incident highlights the confusion around the use of the tests – and the need for clearer federal guidance on […]
HHS Warns Against Using Antigen Results for Nursing Home Cohorting, But Sharply Criticizes State Ban
A top U.S. coronavirus testing czar had harsh words for a Nevada directive banning the use of antigen point-of-care COVID-19 tests in skilled nursing facilities during a press call on Friday, calling it “an uninformed and unlawful unilateral prohibition.” But Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assistant secretary for health Adm. Brett Giroir also […]
The federal government on Thursday announced an additional tranche of $20 billion in coronavirus relief funding for a wide swath of health care providers, with the caveat that interested parties should apply as soon as possible. Starting October 5, the Department of Health and Human Services will begin accepting applications for the Phase 3 General […]
As part of an effort to bolster the implementation of evidence-based infection prevention and safety in nursing homes, a federal agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is establishing a National Nursing Home COVID Action Network, supported financially by the Provider Relief Fund. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part […]
The White House on Monday announced a plan to send 18 million more rapid COVID-19 tests from manufacturer Abbott to nursing homes over the coming weeks, as part of a larger move to ship 150 million of the units across the country in an attempt to reopen schools and businesses. Of that total, 50 million […]
A federal working group this week released a new report outlining how nursing homes and other long-term care facilities should marshal limited resources during future COVID-19 outbreaks and other public health crises. As operators stare down the fall flu season and the continued risk of coronavirus spread, leaders should focus on identifying the top challenges […]
The rate of false positive results from point-of-care COVID-19 testing units sent to nursing homes has not been higher than anticipated, a top federal official in charge of the program asserted Friday. “The last thing you said is wrong, that it was in excess of expectation,” Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assistant health […]
In an update to a report issued in July, two Democratic senators had sharp words for the federal response to COVID-19 in U.S. nursing homes, arguing that the Trump administration has failed to take sufficient action to protect nursing home residents and workers from the pandemic. They pointed in particular to policy solutions that multiple […]
About a quarter of nursing homes have seen at least one false positive COVID-19 result during an ongoing federal push to provide point-of-care antigen testing at most facilities across the country, according to an industry-led survey. “We found that about 20-25 percent of SNFs had a positive antigen test result later found to be incorrect […]
Under regulations instituted as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency, skilled nursing facilities are reporting a wealth of information to the federal government — on top of all the information they were required to submit pre-pandemic. And that information could end up being the guiding light for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) […]
Nursing home leaders should document all attempts to test workers for COVID-19 under strict new rules, officials said this week, as the federal government looks to balance enforcement with the reality of continued hurdles on the ground. “We want to ensure that we’re using enforcement discretion. We know that as we’re implementing this, there’s going […]
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