Federal Resources:

The President's Coronavirus Guidelines for America
Coronavirus.gov
Office of National Drug Control Policy COVID-19 Fact Sheet
From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):
- CMS has released their monthly COVID data information which highlights how the COVID-19 virus is effecting the Medicare population. This snapshot covers the time from of November 20^ththrough January 1^st.
- CMS issued a final rule that provides a new, accelerated Medicare coverage pathway for innovative products that the FDA deems “breakthrough.”
- CMS launched a web-based platform to help standardize “Section 1135” waiver requests and other Public Health Emergency (PHE)-related inquiries submitted on or after January 11, 2021.
- CMS released the list of quality and efficiency measures under consideration for collection of data on effectiveness, safety, efficiency and timeliness.
- Coverage and Reimbursement of COVID-19 Vaccines, Vaccine Administration and Cost Sharing under Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and Basic Health Program
- CMS announced it is implementing 21 new procedure codes to describe the introduction or infusion of therapeutics, including monoclonal antibodies and vaccines for COVID-19 treatment and the CDC is implementing six new diagnosis codes, all effective January 1st, 2021.
- CMS has updated the payment allowances and effective dates for COVID-19 vaccines and their adminstration during the Public Health Emergency.
- CMS issued a proposed rule and correspondng fact sheet to improve the electronic exchange of health care data among payers, providers and patients, as well as streamlining processes related to prior authorization.
- CMS announced policy changes under the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and aggregated resources and program components.
- CMS announced a permanent expansion of Medicare telehealth services and increased payments to physicians and other practitioners for the additional time they spend with patients, especially chronic conditions.
- CMS announces comprehensive steps to increase the capacity of the American health care system to provide care to patients outside a traditional hospital setting amid a rising number of COVID-19.
- CMS announced new flexibilities aimed at increasing hospital capacity during COVID-19 surge by allowing services to be provided outside a traditional hospital setting.
- CMS announced plans to modernize The Physician Self-Referral Law which has prohibited a physician from making referrals to an entity for certain healthcare services, if the physician has a financial relationship with the entity.
- CMS extends Dec. 13, 2020 deadline for 25,000+ physicians who were notified in September 2020 that they were eligible to receive an APM payment but needed to update their billing information. Check the list for your name and the forms that are required.
- CMS urges nursing homes to complete five training modules available on the CMS Quality, Safety & Education Portal (QSEP) which is designed to help staff combat the spread of COVID-19 in their facilities .
- CMS announces the retirement of all the original Compares Tools on December 1st and encourages providers to make use of Care Compare and update all public facing links to the new Care Compare.
- CMS announced that during the COVID-19 public health emergency, Medicare will cover and pay for the infusion of monoclonal antibodies use to treat specific instances of COVID-19.
- CMS' new Nursing Home Resource Center that contains the latest information guidance and data for facilities, providers, residents and families.
- Medicare open enrollment gets underway with lower premiums and new insulin benefit.
- CMS announced new actions to pay for expedited COVID-19 test results.
- CMS expanded the list of telehealth services that Medicare Fee-For-Service will pay for during COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
- CMS announced amended terms for payments issued under the Accelerated and Advance Payment Program.
- CMS announced new actions to pay for expedited COVID-19 test results
- CMS expanded the list of telehealth services that Medicare-Fee-For-Service will pay for during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency.
- Older Resources
Medicare.gov: Medicare and Coronavirus (including info. on Telehealth and Related Services)
- Medicare open enrollment with lower premiums and new insulin benefit.
- Medicaid State Plan Amendments
The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services released updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies.
- CHIP State Plan Amendments
- Updated Affordable Care Act Federal Upper Limits (FUL) calculated in accordance with the Medicaid Covered Outpatient Drug final rule with comment is available on the Pharmacy Pricing page.

SAMHSA's latest compiled resources is available here.
- SAMHSA's COVID-19 Guidance and Resources includes the following resources:
- Training and Technical Assistance Related to COVID-19
- SAMHSA's Behavioral Health Spanish-Language Resources
- SAMHSA/DEA Guidance: Buprenorphine and Telemedicine COVID-19 Guidance
- SAMHSA Virtual Recovery Resources
- Telebehavioral Health Training and Technical Assistance
- COVID-19 Guidance for Opioid Treatment
- Considerations for the Care and Treatment of Mental and Substance Use Disorders in the COVID-19 Pandemic
- FAQs: Provision of Methadone and Buprenorphine for the Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder in the COVID-19 Emergency
- Sample OTP COVID-19 FAQs Tips for Social Distancing, Quarantine, and Isolation during Infectious Disease Outbreak
- Use the Telemedicine While Providing Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT)
- TAP 34: Disaster Planning Handbook for Behavioral Health Treatment Programs
- Medicare Telemedicine Health Care Provider Fact Sheet- Medicare Coverage and Payment of Virtual Services
- Notification of Enforcement Discretion on Telehealth Remote Communications
- TIP 42: Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders
- Taking Care of Your Behavioral Health During an Infectious Disease Outbreak
- Resources in the Hmong and Somali Languages:
  - Somali:
    - Talking with Children: Tips for Caregivers, Parents and Teachers During Infectious Disease Outbreaks
    - Behavioral Health Tips for Social Distancing, Quarantine, and Isolation During an Infectious Disease Outbreak
  - Hmong:
    - Behavioral Health Tips for Social Distancing, Quarantine, and Isolation During an Infectious Disease Outbreak
    - Talking with Children: Tips for Caregivers, Parents and Teachers During Infectious Disease Outbreaks
- The Northeast Caribbean Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network (MHTTC):
  - Click here for a list of upcoming webinars
  - Tools for Behavioral Health Professionals During a Public Health Crisis
  - Tools for Educators During a Public Health Crisis
  - Taking Care of Yourself During a Public Health Crisis
  - Responding to COVID-19
  - Responding to COVID-19: School of Mental Health Resources
  - Responding to COVID-19: Telehealth
  - Responding to COVID-19: School Mental Health Resources
  - Educator Wellness Webinar
  - Learning From and With the School Mental Health Workforce
- New England Mental Health Technology Transfer Center:
  - School and Community-Based Trauma-Skilled Practices Supporting Youth Virtal Workshop
- Central East Mental Health Technology Transfer Center:
  - Tip Sheet: Burnout and Virtual Fatigue in Teletherapy
  - Tip Sheet: Teletherapy for Individual Services
  - Tip Sheet: Group Teletherapy
  - Guiding the Shepard and Sheparding the Flock in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Part 3 Recording
- Southeast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center:
  - Southeast MHTTC August 2020 Newsletter
- The Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network published a virtual learning guide.
  - Culturally Responsive and Socially Distanced Suicide Prevention: Safely Planning and Other Resources in Pandemic Times
- Northwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network:
  - Town Hall On Leading Our School Systems & Communities Through and After Wildfire
  - Considerations for Systematic Screening PK-12: Universal Screening for Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in the COVID-19 Era
  - Anxiety in the Classroom - Managing Anxiety during COVID-19 (Part 2)
- National American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network:
  - Leadership Academy Update during COVID-19
  - K-12 COVID-19 Weekly Series Flyer
- National Hispanic and Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network:
  - Implications of the Psychological First Aid among Hispanic/Latinx Populations during the Pandemic Part I
  - Implications of the Psychological First Aid among Hispanic/Latinx Populations during the Pandemic Part II
- The Addiction Technology Transfer Centers (ATTC)'s Pandemic Resources
  - Listening Session and Strategic Discussion Series
  - Substance Use Disorder Services in the Days of a Pandemic
  - Telehealth Learning for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Providers and Recovery Support Providers
  - Online Telephone and Support Groups
  - Healing the Healer: Employing Principles of Neuroscience, CBT, and MI to Understand and Treat Compassion Fatigue Among Human Service Professionals
  - A Guide to Using Text Messages to Improve Substance Use Treatment Outcomes
  - Advancing Clinicians' Videoconferencing Skills: An Audio-Consultation Series
  - Building Recovery Capital through Digital Health Technologies
  - Mid-America (region 7) Substance Use Disorder Pandemic Resources
  - Great Lakes ATTC and Mid-America ATTC: Substance Use Disorder Treatment Webinar
- Mid-America Addiction Technology Transfer Center:
  - Telehealth Survey
- Mountain Plains Addiction Technology Transfer Center:
  - Best Practices in Supporting Recovery During a Pandemic
  - Guidance on Federal Health Privacy Laws for Behavioral Health Practitioners and Peers Support Specialists for Virtual Service Delivery during COVID-19
- Prevention Technology Transfer Centers (PTTC)'s Pandemic Resources
  - Self-Care in a Selfless Field Webinar
  - Prevention Practitioner's Role in a Disaster Response
  - Social Development Strategy Slide Deck for You by Northwest PTTC
  - Connecting Prevention Specialists to Native Communities During Times if Crisis: Listening Sessions
  - The Role of Stigma in Substance Misuse Prevention: What Prevention Practitioners Can Do To Reduce Stigma
  - Prevention Tools for Latino Families During COVID-19
    - Spanish Version
    - Portugese Version
  - Listening Sessions Summary: COVID-19's Impact on Prevention Practitioners
  - Self-Care in a Selfless Field Webinar
  - Prevention Practitioner's Role in Disaster Response
- SMI Advisor Resources
  - Managing the Mental Health Effects of COVID-19
  - Telepsychiatry in the Era of COVID-19
  - Serious Mental Illness and COVID-19: Tailoring ACT Teams, Group Homes, and Supportive Housing
- National Center for Excellence for Eating Disorders:
  - Eating Disorders and COVID-19: What Healthcare Providers Need to Know
  - Eating Disorders and COVID-19: What Individuals and Families/Caregivers Need to Know
- Center for Excellence for Protected Health Information
- - Tips to Keep Your Telehealth Visit Private
  - Federal Guidane for SUD and Mental Health Treatment Providers
- Providers Clinical Support System's COVID-19 Resources
  - Telehealth Tip Sheet
  - Calander of Events
  - Telepsychiatry's Role in Medication Assisted Treatment
  - Use of Buprenorphine in the Management of Opioid Dependence in Underserved Communities
  - Telemedicine-Delivered Buprenorphine Treatment in the Age of COVID-19
  - Optimal MOUD Prescribing Practices for the Future: During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
  - How COVID-19 Impacts Clinical Practice
  - Online Trainings:
  - Initial Patient Contact about Buprenorphine Checklist
- Opioid Resource Network's Resources:
  - Telemedicine: Getting Started, Regulations and Privacy Issues
  - The Opioid Epidemic and COVID-19: How Social Determinants of Health Create Differential Impacts
  - American Osteopathic Academy of Addiction Medicine Webinar- Telemedicine Getting Started, Regulations and Privacy Issues
  - Compassionate Fatigue and Self Care: For Helping Professionals Working Opioid Related Disorders
  - Adapting Your Practice: Recommendations for the Care of Homeless Patients with Opioid Use Disorders
- Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information:
  - Tips to Keep Your Telehealth Visit Private
  - Federal Guidance for SUD and Mental Health Treatment Providers
  - Fact Sheet: SAMHSA 42 CFR Part 2 Revised Rule
  - Recorded Webinars:
    - Understanding the new changes on 42 CFR Part 2
    - Understanding New SAMHSA/OCR Guidance for Telehealth SUD and MH Services
    - Maintaining Patients Confidentiality When Providing Medicine for Opioid Use Disorder in Community Health Centers

Legislation:
- The CARES Act:
  - A summary of the CARES Act that is found on Senator Menendez's website.
  - The office of US Senator Cory Booker prepared The Small Business Owner's Guide to the CARES Act
  - Questions and answers about the CARES Act from the National Association of Count Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors.
  - Food and Drug Administration- The CARES Act: Relief for Health Care Providers
  - Expanded Unemployment Insurance Access and Benefits: 4 Key Takeaways From the CARES Act
  - New SBA Regulations Provide Clarity on the Application of the CARES Act Payment Protection to Tax-Exempt Nonprofit Organizations
  - From Mercaiden:
  - Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Questions and Answers
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act:
  - Summary of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act from the Pro Bono Partnership
  - The U.S. Department of Labor published a temporary rule focusing on paid leave.
    - The USDOL has provided Questions and Answers regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Click here.
- Federal Legislation and Funding Enacted to Address COVID-19
- Forum Selection Clause Not Enforced and Parties May Seek Relief in Alternate Forums Due to COVID-19

CDC Resources: CDC's COVID-19 Webpage
- COVID-19 Vaccine:
  - The CDC published a toolkit for all Long-Term Care Facilities with links to all pertinent information from the CDC regarding COVID-19 vaccination preparation.
  - Frequently Asked Questions about COVID-19 Vaccination
  - The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' Interim Recommendation for Allocating Initial Supples of COVID-19 Vaccine
- CDC published clinical mitigation strategies to ensure adequate provision of care for COVID-19 patients, and delivery of other non-COVID-19 essential health services during the COVID-19 outbreak and community mitigation strategies that individuals, partners, and ministries of health can take to slow the spread of COVID-19.
From U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:
- COVID-19 Prevention and Response for Homeless Providers: Daily Resource Digest

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
- HHS' "Combat COVID" website now available in Spanish here.
- HHS has launched a web-based locator for COVID-19 outpatient treatment sites to help healthcare providers and patients find potential locations for treatment with monoclonal antibody therapeutics.
- HHS announced that the Trump Administration Purchased an Additional 100 Million Doses of COVID-19 Investigational Vaccine from Pfizer
- HHS announced it has purchased another million doses of the investigational vaccine from Moderna bringing the total count of doses owned by the Federal government to 200 million. Doses will begin shipping immediately after authorization is provided by the FDA.
- HHS, in coordination with NIH and Operation Warp Speed, launched a central web portal called Combat COVID. Visit the website here.
- HHS announced expanded guidelines to include additional providers that have not yet received Provider Relief Fund distributions.
- HHS and the Department of Defense announced a partnership with CVS and Walgreens to provide and administer vaccines, when available to residents of LTCF.
- HHS, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced a $2 billion Provider Relief Fund (PRF) performance-based incentive payment distribution program for nursing homes.
- The Healthy People 2030 Report details the U.S.' 10-year-plan for addressing our most critical public health priorities and challenges including opioid use disorder, youth e-cigarette use and emerging public health threats like COVID-19.
- HHS has extended the application deadline to August 28th for Phase 2 general distribution to Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and dental providers and provided certain Medicare providers who experienced challenges in the Phase 1 Medicare General Distribution application period a second opportunity to receive funding.
- New Coronavirus hospitalization database and website to correspond with the updated guidance on reporting
- Important Updates to Privacy Rule 42 CFR Part 2 which is intended to make it easier for Americans to discuss substance use disorders with their doctors, seek treatment and find the road recovery.
- Child Care Resources
- HHS Approves Purchase of Rapid Point-of-Care Tests
- Additional HIPAA information
- Comprehensive and Updated FAQs for Employers
- Notification of Enforcement Discretion for telehealth remote communications
- National Institutes of Health- The National Library of Medicine Expands Access to Coronavirus Literature Through PubMed Central
- Office of Civil Rights:
  - OCR Issues COVID-19 Information-Sharing Guidance for First Responders
  - Cyber Threat Resources:
- National Institutes of Health:
  - Event Recording: Managing Stress and Anxiety

Health Resources & Services Administration:
Food and Drug Administration:
- The FDA released an infographic illustrating the more than 309 tests and sample collection devices approved for use in COVID-19 diagnosis.
- The FDA issued an emergency use authorization of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and a fact sheet for healthcare providers who will administer the vaccine in the U.S. in individuals 18 and older.
- FDA announced it has authorized the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test, as the first over-the-counter fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19.
- FDA issued an emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and a fact sheet for any providers administering the vaccine.
- FDA posted an easy-to-follow video with helpful instruction for staff and patients on safely using hand sanitizer.
The Environmental Protection Agency updated a list of disinfectants that work against the virus
Social Security Administration: January 2021 Edition of The Social Security Star publication in English and in Spanish.
Masks:
- National Council for Behavioral Health: COVID-19 Medical Update Presentation
- The Joint Commission: Take 5 Podcast Episode- Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in Behavioral Health Organizations

New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies

Federal Resources:

609-838-5488