The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, January 19.  Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.

Public Health Emergency Declaration Renewed

• HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has renewed his department’s declaration of a public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The renewal took effect on January 16 and extends the declaration for three months.  Find the declaration here.

Free COVID-19 Tests and Masks

• Upon request, the federal government is now providing four free monthly home COVID-19 tests to every household.  Order those tests here.
• The administration will make 400 million N95 respirators from the Strategic National Stockpile free to Americans. The N95 respirators will be available for the public to pick up at local pharmacies and health centers.  The masks will begin shipping this week and will start to become available late next week.  The notice is posted here.

White House

The White House has issued a fact sheet elaborating on several recent policy developments:

• How individuals may get free COVID-19 tests delivered to their homes.
• Additional information about the new requirement that health insurers must cover the cost of at-home COVID-19 tests.
• The plan to provide more tests to schools.
• Federal plans to establish more free testing sites and more surge testing sites.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

COVID-19

• CMS has sent a memo to state survey directors addressing its interim final rule with comment period establishing requirements for COVID-19 vaccine immunization of staff among Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers.  The memo provides guidance and survey procedures for assessing and maintaining compliance with these regulatory requirements.  Find the memo here.
• CMS has published additional materials addressing its health care staff COVID-19 vaccination requirement.  Those materials include a state-by-state implementation timeline; previously issued implementation guidelines documents for different types of health care providers; an implementation infographic; and a decision tree infographic to help determine to whom the mandate applies.
• CMS has posted an FAQ about the applicability of CLIA standards for COVID-19 tests developed for home use.

Health Policy Update

• CMS has published a new edition of MLN Connects, its online newsletter with Medicare reimbursement information.  This latest edition includes articles on vaccine access in long-term-care facilities; the 2022 annual update of the clinical lab fee schedule and lab services subject to reasonable charge payment; new and expanded flexibilities for Rural Health Centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers during the COVID-19 public health emergency; changes in Rural Health Center payments that took effect on January 1; and more.  Learn more in this week’s MLN Connects.
• CMS has published a quarterly update of the national correct coding initiative (NCCI) procedure-to-procedure edits, version 28.1, which takes effect on April 1, 2022.  Find the update here.
• CMS’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has published a list of 2022 participants in its Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model, an advanced alternative payment model (APM) under its quality payment program.  Learn more about the program here and go here for a downloadable file with a list of the program’s 2022 participants.
• CMMI has published the annual report for its Comprehensive ESRD Care Model.  Learn more about the model here and go here for the annual report for the program’s performance year five.

Department of Health and Human Services

Health Policy Update

• HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) has announced the publication of the Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement (TEFCA).  Entities will soon be able to apply and be designated as Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs), which will connect to one another and enable their participants to engage in health information exchange across the country.  TEFCA supports multiple exchange purposes critical to improving health care and has the potential to benefit a wide variety of health care entities. This flexible structure should enable stakeholders – such as health information networks, ambulatory practices, hospitals, health centers, federal government agencies, public health agencies, and payers – to benefit from TEFCA through improved access to health information. Individuals also will be able to benefit from TEFCA and seek access to their health information through entities that offer individual access services.  Learn more about TEFCA from this HHS news release and from the TEFCA web page.  Interested parties also can go here for information about webinars that will offer an overview of the program and its implications.
• HHS and its Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) have announced the availability of $13 million in funding to increase access to behavioral health care services and address health inequities in rural America, including through evidence-based, trauma-informed treatment for substance use disorder.  Eligible applicants include entities such as Rural Health Clinics, federally recognized tribes, tribal organizations, and community- and faith-based organizations.  Learn more about the funding from this HHS news release and HRSA’s grant opportunity notice.  Applications are due by April 19.
• HHS’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) invites nominations of individuals to serve as members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.  Nominations are due March 15.  For further information, see this Federal Register notice.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

COVID-19

• The CDC has updated its recommendations for isolation for people with COVID-19.  The updated guidance includes new recommendations for the duration of isolation for people with COVID-19 who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.  Find the updated guidance here.
• The CDC has updated its consumer web page that describes the types of masks and respirators used to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.  The updated page describes the protection provided by available masks and respirators.  Find the updated page here.
• The CDC has published research on racial and ethnic disparities in receipt of medications for the treatment of COVID-19 in the U.S. between March of 2020 and August of 2021.  Find the report here.

Health Policy Update

• The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics has published new data on nation-wide health insurance coverage between July of 2020 and September of 2021.  Learn more from “Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Quarterly Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, July 2020–September 2021.”
• The CDC has published a data brief on the decline in perinatal mortality in the U.S. between 2017 and 2019.

Food and Drug Administration

• The FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health has published its “Health of Women Program Strategic Plan.”  The plan presents a framework to further the FDA’s mission by protecting and promoting the health of women, strengthening regulatory science, and identifying and addressing current and emerging issues in medical device research and regulation for the health of all women.  To learn more about the plan, its purpose, and its priorities see this FDA statement and find the plan itself here.

FEMA

• The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency participated in a White House news briefing to outline steps FEMA is currently taking to support COVID-19 testing and health care providers serving large numbers of COVID-19 patients in the states.  Find a transcript of that briefing here.

Congressional Research Service

• The Congressional Research Service has updated its report “State and Federal Authority to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccination.”
• The Congressional Research Service has updated its report “The PREP Act and COVID-19:  Limiting Liability for Medical Countermeasures.”
• The Congressional Research has updated its report “Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration (OSHA):  COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) on Health Care Employment and Vaccinations and Testing for Large Employers.”  The update reflects the January 13 Supreme Court ruling.  Find it here.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force

• The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has invited public comment on its draft recommendations statement and draft evidence review on behavioral counseling to promote a healthy lifestyle in adults without cardiovascular risk factors.  While an independent, non-government body, the group was charged by the Affordable Care Act with making an annual report to Congress that identifies gaps in the evidence base for clinical preventive services and recommends priority areas that deserve further examination.  For information about the public comment period and links to the documents with the recommendations, go here.  Comments are due February 14.

Stakeholder Events

MACPAC – January 20-21

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) will hold its next public meeting on January 20 and 21.  Go here for a meeting agenda and information about registering for the virtual meeting.