NASH’s coronavirus update for March 30, 2020 as of 4:15 today.

The White House

• Vice President Pence has written to all hospitals asking them to provide to the Department of Health and Human Services daily statistics on all of their in-house COVID-19 testing and results.
• The White House has published its executive order on exercising the president’s authority under the Defense Production Act on matters involving health and medical resources.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• CMS has posted a fact sheet explaining to health care provider how to apply for stimulus bill-authorized accelerated and advance Medicare payments during the COVID-19 crisis.  See a more detailed memo about this process.
• CMS has published a toolkit for long-term-care facilities to help them make better use of telehealth services during the COVID-19 national emergency.
• CMS’s Office of Civil Rights has published a bulletin addressing civil rights, HIPAA, and COVID-19.  The bulletin answers questions and points users to other resources.

Department of Health and Human Services

The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a statement regarding the discretion the OIG will employ when investigating any conduct during this emergency that may be subject to OIG administrative enforcement. The office also advised providers to contact the OIG for extension of any OIG investigation deadlines during this time.

Food and Drug Administration

•  A new update outlines FDA efforts to increase the supply of ventilators and respirators.
• The FDA has outlined its steps to help mitigate supply interruptions of food and medical products.
• The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) addressing the use of hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate to treat COVID-19.  Go here and scroll down.
• The FDA also has issued a letter warning against the use of chloroquine phosphate intended for fish as treatment for COVID-19.
•  The FDA has published an updated list of COVID-19-related emergency use authorizations (EUAs).
• The FDA has posted guidance on its enforcement policy for sterilizers, disinfectant devices, and air purifiers during the COVID-19 crisis.
• The FDA has published a letter clarifying its approval of the use of the Battelle CCDS Critical Care Decontamination System for use in decontaminating D95 and N95 respirators.
• The FDA has issued guidance on its enforcement policy for gowns, other apparel, and gloves during the COVID-19 crisis.  This guidance includes non-binding recommendations.

Department of Veterans Affairs

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has published its emergency response plan for the COVID-19 emergency.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA has published a memo outlining the discretion it intends to exercise in fulfilling its inspection and compliance efforts during the COVID-19 emergency.

Department of Homeland Security

In a new document with guidance on the essential critical infrastructure workforce, the Department of Homeland Security specifies essential jobs within the workforce during the COVID-19 emergency.