Articles and Blogs

On April 10, 2020, FEMA published a temporary final rule giving the Agency the authority to block the export of critical PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic, including masks, respirators (and their filters and cartridges), non-sterile gloves and surgical gloves. The rule is effective until August 8, 2020. Prioritization and Allocation of Certain Scarce or Threatened Health…Read More

HHS announced that it will begin to deliver the initial $30 billion of the $100 billion from the CARES Act Provider Relief Funding on April 10. Payments are being made via direct deposit to health care providers and suppliers (“Recipients”) in most cases. Several Recipients reported receiving the funds immediately after or even before the…Read More

On April 9, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued its third version of a memorandum entitled “COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers for Health Care Providers” (“Blanket Waiver Memo”) that announced additional blanket waivers for providers, including skilled nursing facilities (“SNFs”). The Blanket Waiver Memo adds several physician services waivers for SNFs….Read More

In a Public Notice released April 8, 2020, the FCC provided clarification as to the scope of equipment and services it would consider eligible for funding under the COVID-19 Telehealth Program, as well as the anticipated application process. Types of eligible equipment and services include, but are not limited to the following: Telecommunications services and…Read More

Thursday, April 9 Recap Note – ​We believe this is the most up-to-date information available at this time, but it is subject to change ​as circumstances warrant. Also, all finalized resources can be found ​on the COVID-19 ​Resource ​Center page ​of Hall Render’s website.​ CMS Releases New Waivers for Health Care Facilities COVID-19 Response CMS issued new…Read More

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recently issued new recommendations to state and local governments and skilled nursing facilities (“facility”) to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Two states also recently announced they will pay facilities a premium to identify as COVID-only facilities. CMS…Read More

Wednesday, April 8 Recap Note – ​We believe this is the most up-to-date information available at this time, but it is subject to change ​as circumstances warrant. Also, all finalized resources can be found ​on the COVID-19 ​Resource ​Center page ​of Hall Render’s website.​ Congressional Outlook Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck…Read More

In the midst of the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency and with 43 states issuing stay-at-home orders, both business and personal connectivity has become increasingly dependent on video-teleconferencing (“VTC”) platforms, such as Zoom, in order to stay connected. Unfortunately, these VTC platforms may be extremely vulnerable to hacking attempts by malicious actors and other cybersecurity…Read More