';
Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be hosting an informational National Office Hours call on April 25, 2023, at 3:30 pm. The call will focus on the ending of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) that will take place on May 11, 2023, and will help providers, facilities, and people with Medicare prepare. CMS leaders and expert staff will present an overview of the effects of the PHE’s ending on the current waivers and flexibilities and then answer questions.

In preparation for this webinar, CMS encourages participants to review the following resources to determine what questions remain that will support your efforts after the end of the PHE:

Speakers:

  • CMS Leaders from the Office of the Administrator, Center for Medicare, and Center for Clinical Standards and Quality
  • CMS Subject Matter Experts on Medicare policy and PHE-related waivers and flexibilities

RSVP — Register Here

After registering, a confirmation email will be sent containing information about joining the call. When you select the link to join the call on April 25, you will see a message stating that the host will allow you to join the event momentarily. Please continue to wait at that screen until the CMS team opens the call and admits everyone.

The Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) has issued a revised Health Alert to emphasize the need to avoid delay in seeking emergency medical care.

There are two key issues in reducing this risk for delay:

  1. Recognizing a medical emergency. Correctly interpreting and acting on these signs could potentially save a life.
  2. Seeking immediate attention for the emergency. With medical emergencies, time is of the essence.

Current provider policies should not instruct staff to contact a supervisor prior to calling 911 in an emergency. Failure to call 911, which can result in treatment delays, may contribute to serious injury or death of an individual that otherwise may have been prevented if 911 was called. This Health Alert is intended to help providers and staff respond to medical emergencies by contacting 911 without delay.

For more information, see the updated Health Alert.