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 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.
- CMS amended terms for payments issued under the Accelerated and Advance Payment Program
- CMS updated the methodology used to determine the rate of COVID-19 positivity by county which impacts nursing homes who are required to test their staff at a frequency based on the positivity rate of their county.
- CMS released new tools to streamline certification to test for COVID-19
- CMS announces the availability of supplemental funding to 33 states, including New Jersey, who operate Money Follows the Person demonstration programs to transition individuals from institutions to home and community-based settings of their choosing.
- CMS Issues Urgent Call to Action Following a drastic decline for children in Medicaid and CHIP due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- CMS announced a new Radiation Oncology Model that provides bundled payments to participating providers for 16 different cancer types.
- CMS announced new End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Treatment Choices (ETC) value-based payment model with incentive for home dialysis and transplant programs.
- Quarterly Q&As from inquiries to the LTCH Post-Acute Care (PAC) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument
- New Roadmap describing how to accelerate adoption of value-based care to improve the quality of care for Medicaid beneficiaries.
- Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) COVID-19 PR Tip Sheet
- CMS released updated "tip sheets" to help Long Term Care Hospitals, Skilled Nurse Facilities, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities and Home Health providers understand CMS' public reporting strategy for quality reporting in the midst of the COVID-19 public health emergency
- CMS launched Care Compare, which is a redesign of eight existing tools to make it easier for patients to find doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care services.
- CMS' new proposal for accelerated Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology (MCIT) for FDA-designated breakthrough medical devices.
- CMS announced Targeted COVID-19 Training for Frontline Nursing Home Staff and Management. Details on how to sign-up can be found here.
- CMS released a new toolkit with recommended actions to mitigate COVID-19 prevalence.
- CMS released "Reducing Barriers to Using Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring for Pediatric Populations under Medicaid" which identifies best practices and potential solutions for services delivered via telehealth for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) among pediatric populations.
- CMS announced the community and ACO transformation tracks and funding that will be available through the Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) model to help providers ensure individuals living in rural areas have adequate healthcare.
- CMS released 2019 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance feedback and final scores. If data was submitted for the 2019 performance period, the MIPS performance feedback and final score on the Quality Payment Program website.
- CMS released the 2021 proposed rule for the quality payment program.
- 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

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):
- 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:

Health Resources & Services Administration:
The Environmental Protection Agency updated a list of disinfectants that work against the virus
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