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CMS releases hurricane support for dialysis providers in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina
CMS announced this week that efforts are underway to support dialysis and other health care providers in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in response to Hurricane Dorian.
On Sept. 2, HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared public health emergencies in the three states. CMS is working to ensure hospitals and other facilities can continue operations and provide access to care despite the effects of the hurricane.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who is in the path of this powerful and dangerous hurricane and CMS is doing everything within its authority to provide assistance and relief to all who are affected,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in a press release. “We will partner and coordinate with state, federal and local officials to make sure that in the midst of all of the uncertainty a natural disaster can bring, our beneficiaries will not have to worry about access to health care and other crucial life-saving and sustaining services they may need.”
Help for dialysis providers
The Kidney Community Emergency Response (KCER) program has been activated and is working with the ESRD Network of Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, ESRD NW6, to assess the status of dialysis facilities in the potentially impacted areas related to generators, alternate water supplies, education and materials for patients and more, CMS said. KCER is also assisting patients who have evacuated ahead of the storm to receive dialysis services in the location to which they are evacuating.
Patients have been educated to have an emergency supply kit on hand that includes important personal, medical and insurance information; contact information for their facility; the ESRD NW hotline number (800-524-7139 for Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina); and the contact information of those with whom they may stay or for out-of-state contacts in a water-proof bag. They have also been instructed to have on-hand supplies to follow a 3-day emergency diet.
During the 2017 and 2018 hurricane seasons, CMS approved special purpose renal dialysis facilities in several states to furnish dialysis on a short-term basis at designated locations to serve patients with ESRD under emergency circumstances in which there were limited dialysis resources or access-to-care problems due to the emergency circumstances.
Insurance coverage
CMS said it will be temporarily waiving or modifying certain Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP requirements and will issue a number of blanket waivers, which can be found at www.cms.gov/emergency. The CMS regional office will grant other provider-specific requests for specific types of hospitals and other facilities in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The agency will also make available special enrollment periods for certain Medicare beneficiaries and certain individuals seeking health plans offered through the Federal Health Insurance Exchange.
“This gives people impacted by the hurricane the opportunity to change their Medicare health and prescription drug plans and gain access to health coverage on the exchange if eligible for the special enrollment period,” CMS said.
To find additional hurricane preparedness and response resources for the health sector and the latest regarding HHS activities for Hurricane Dorian, visit www.phe.gov/dorian.
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