Home Health & Hospice Week

For now, surveys are suspended in the Carolinas.

Home care providers pray that they will never have to use their emergency preparedness plans, but that day eventually comes for some. This time, it’s when Hurricane Florence dumped heavy rains on the Carolinas and southern Virginia.

Background: On Sept. 12, HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar issued a Public Health Emergency (PHE) in the wake of Hurricane Florence for North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Once a PHE is declared, the HHS Secretary may invoke Section 1135 of the Social Security Act (SSA), which will allow Azar to waive or modify certain Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and HIPAA requirements. These actions and flexibilities are retroactive to Sept. 7 in North Carolina and Sept. 8 in South Carolina and Virginia, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services notes on its Hurricane Florence webpage.

“At the direction of President Trump, CMS is doing everything within its power to provide assistance and relief to those affected by Hurricane Florence in North Carolina and South Carolina,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma in a Sept. 13 release. “We are coordinating with federal and local officials to make sure that our beneficiaries, many of whom are some of America’s most vulnerable citizens, have access to the healthcare they need.”

Here are home health-related actions CMS has taken due to the hurricane:

• “CMS will suspend current survey and enforcement activities for healthcare facilities in North Carolina and South Carolina, but will continue to investigate allegations of immediate threat to patient health and safety,” it said in the release.
• Implemented a blanket waiver providing relief to all impacted HHAs on the timeframes related to OASIS Transmission.
• “To ensure the correct processing of home health disaster related claims, Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) are allowed to extend the auto cancellation date of Requests for Anticipated Payment (RAPs),” CMS says in an MLN Matters article about the hurricane response.

Many home care providers in North Carolina face daunting obstacles in the wake of the “devastating” storm, reports the Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina. Agencies are up against “enormous challenges, including the displacement and/or evacuation of staff and patients,” AHHCNC tells Eli in a statement. Because employees are also victims, “agencies are operating with minimal staffing, and road closures and flooded roadways have prevented staff who have previously evacuated from returning to work.”

Some agencies have been out of power since the storm’s arrival, and some have incurred physical damage — including “extensive water damage,” the trade group says. “One agency in particular will have to relocate altogether because the damage is irreparable,” AHHCNC reports. Gas for generators, medication, and medical supplies were all in short supply at press time, according to the trade group. Power was needed for oxygen-dependent patients “both in the home setting and at hospice inpatient facilities,” AHHCNC said. “Some vendors have been unable to deliver supplies to some of the affected areas.”

Home care providers have been receiving a helping hand from regulators, payers, and other provider types, said AHHCNC’s Tim Rogers. “There are medical shelters, nursing facilities and other inpatient hospice facilities that are partnering with our agencies to care for those with medical needs. For example, one particular home health agency is willing to provide home health care at a nearby medical shelter for those who have no home or are unable to return home.”

Take action: AHHCNC has set up a Hurricane Florence Disaster Relief Fund for Home Care and Hospice employees at www.ahhcnc.org/florence. Those interested can either donate to or apply for relief from the fund.