Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update – April 1, 2020

Dear Friends,

I hope everyone is healthy, adjusting to new routines and staying positive as we weather this challenge together. We appreciate everyone who has reached out with questions, requests for assistance or simply words of encouragement and we hope these frequent updates are helpful for you and your family.

Our leaders continue to collaborate daily as this pandemic develops and affects several aspects of our lives. Each day brings numerous conference calls with leaders in government, education, public safety and public health. I can assure you that we are keeping the health and well-being of all Texans on the forefront of every conversation and decision.

Here are some of the developments since our last update.

Governor Abbott announced the extension of state-wide social distancing orders through April 30^th. As part of the Governor’s order- only “essential services” may continue operations, and non-essential services may only operate remotely through that date. To view a list of essential sectors, or to request an exception waiver for your business, visit the Texas Department of Emergency Management webpage.

All of Dallas County remains under a shelter in place order until at least Friday, April 3 as ordered by County Judge Clay Jenkins, and it is likely that this order will be extended.

The Governor announced that Texas schools are to remain closed through May 4th, unless otherwise extended. For more information on closures, and to access virtual learning resources, you can visit the TEA website.

Governor Abbott has waived regulations to ensure public safety employees who contract COVID-19 will be reimbursed for medical expenses related to the virus. Public safety employees and first responders are some of the Texans leading the fight against this disease and this order by Gov. Abbott will ensure they are not financially penalized for the high-risk associated with the job of keeping us safe.

Texas has an order mandating 14-day quarantine for those traveling from certain areas. Under the order, those traveling by car from California, Louisiana, Washington state, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit and Miami must self-quarantine for 14 days upon entering Texas. Those traveling by air from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or the city of New Orleans must also self-quarantine for 14 days. This is in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 and minimize exposure from areas that have the highest rate of known COVID-19 cases.

In an effort to expand healthcare capabilities, Gov. Abbott removed a licensing barrier for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses. This action allows for APRNs who have had inactive licenses for short periods of time to re-enter the healthcare workforce to assist in the COVID-19 care effort.

Gov. Abbott has waived certain licensing renewal regulations for Texas pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy technician trainees. With these waivers, the Governor is temporarily extending expiration dates for licenses and temporarily suspending continuing education requirements for pharmacists.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) was approved for a waiver granting flexibility of Medicaid administration. The waiver allows for:

• Temporarily extending existing prior authorizations for services so that Texans can get the care they need without delay.

• Extending deadlines for state fair hearings and appeals.

• Allowing services to be performed by telehealth, telemedicine, or telephonic contact.

• Extending current medical necessity, service authorizations, and level of care authorizations for Medicaid programs.

• Allowing the state to waive any requirements that require the signature of a physician, durable medical equipment provider, or Medicaid recipient.

• Streamlining provider enrollment for out-of-state and new providers to increase the number of providers in Texas, which will ensure continued access to care.

• Waiving requirements that health care professionals be licensed in the state in which they are providing services, so long as they have equivalent licensing in another state.

On March 29^th, HHSC requested additional flexibilities through the Section 1135 waiver. This waiver allows for flexibility in administering Medicaid to mitigate potential health care workforce shortages during the COVID-19 outbreak. If approved, the waiver will allow for:

• Fully trained nurse aides to provide home health and hospice services even if they have not been employed and paid as an aide within the preceding 24 months, which will help expand the eligible pool of direct care workers and help providers facing any critical staffing shortages.

• Non-clinical staff to provide feeding assistance to residents in nursing facilities without completing the required 16-hour training course. Since group meals are no longer served due to social distancing, additional feeding assistants are needed for one-on-one assistance. These assistants would be supervised and assigned only to non-complex cases.

• Individuals with intellectual disabilities in the Home and Community-based Services and Intermediate Care Facility programs to temporarily receive their same services in either setting. This will give providers greater flexibility to meet staffing and resource challenges while continuing to provide critical services in both programs.

Governor Abbott requested that businesses throughout TX be eligible to receive low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Admin. TX was approved and the process for applying is open. Small businesses who are eligible can apply online.

TX has waived the 10-day investigation period for individuals applying for unemployment benefits in an effort to get those who lost their jobs to COVID-19 their benefits as quickly as possible. Those seeking benefits can apply online.

The Texas Comptroller has set up a web page with information for taxpayers affected by COVID-19. They’ve also introduced a hotline for businesses that find themselves seriously impacted by COVID-19. The Comptroller’s office is offering assistance in the form of short-term payment agreements and, in most instances, waivers of penalties and interest. The hotline number for businesses to discuss their options is 800-252-8800.

Here in HD 108, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is being prepped for use as a temporary healthcare facility if needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes as a proactive measure to prepare for a large increase in serious cases of the virus. Texas hospitals are not currently at (or near) capacity for treating patients and they will remain the primary location for people to receive treatment. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will lead the effort to set up the location, which will initially have 250 beds, with room to increase capacity to 1,400.

Testing is continuing at two Dallas sites, the American Airlines Center and the Ellis David Field House. The criteria for who may obtain a test at these drive-thru locations is updated to those experiencing:

• Shortness of breath

• Cough

• Temperature above 99.6

• Dallas County is still under a shelter-in-place order. For answers to FAQs about the order, visit their webpage.

As a reminder, we’ve set up a COVID-19 webpage in coordination with the United Way.  We encourage you visit the page to submit your questions, requests for assistance or to learn more about how to help those in our community who are deeply impacted by this crisis.

I’ll send further updates and information as needed. In the meantime, should you have questions or concerns, please feel free to reply to this email or call us at (469) 554-0428.