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COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 Resources

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COVID-19 Information and Resources

As new information continues to emerge on coronavirus (COVID-19) on a daily basis, we are receiving many types of questions relating to how these challenges are impacting medical practices and our physicians’ ability to care for their patients efficiently and safely.

MDAdvantage is available to assist you with any situations or concerns that may arise. Our risk management, claims and policyholder services staff continue to be readily available to answer questions you may have, and can be reached at 888-355-5551.

Our priority continues to be protecting our physician insureds and their practices, while looking out for the health and safety of our MDAdvantage team, our families and our communities.

We would also like to express our gratitude to the tireless and selfless physicians and healthcare workers who are on the front lines fighting this pandemic.

We will continue to update this page as more information becomes available. You will also find important updates from us on our Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook pages and the eblasts we are pushing out on a regular basis.

Important Information Sources:

As the coronavirus pandemic strains our communities and we collectively try to mitigate its spread, many practices are considering the use of virtual office visits.

You can feel secure in the fact that your MDAdvantage coverage has you protected.

Physicians should always aim to provide the same standard of care in a virtual setting as in your office setting. As long as you are following all applicable state laws, your MDAdvantage coverage protects you just as it does for normal practice activities, pursuant to the terms of your MDAdvantage policy.

Please remember to document clearly in your patients’ medical records their verbal understanding of a telemedicine visit and their consent to utilize telemedicine during this pandemic. All documentation regarding the patient visit should meet the same standards as an in-person visit.

The Office for Civil Rights at HHS announced it will exercise its enforcement discretion and will not impose penalties for noncompliance with the regulatory requirements under the HIPAA Privacy Rule against covered healthcare providers in connection with the good-faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency. This allows health professionals to utilize a large variety of non-public facing telecommunications tools to treat patients remotely even if such tools are not fully HIPAA compliant.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will temporarily pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for beneficiaries residing across the entire country. This decision waives many limitations on the type of health professionals who may provide telehealth services and the locations in which the care may be provided or received.

The HHS Office of Inspector General issued a policy statement that healthcare providers will not be subject to administrative sanctions for reducing or waiving any cost-sharing obligations beneficiaries of federal healthcare programs may owe for telehealth services.

Congress passed the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 6074) that provides the Secretary of HHS the ability to waive Medicare requirements in order to allow for increased use of telemedicine services during an emergency.

  • Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) that provides immunity from liability lawsuits to a manufacturer or user of a personal respiratory protective device during the course of the national emergency related to the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • Secretary Azar of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a letter to Governors requesting that they take actions to “extend the capacity of the health care workforce.” Among the actions recommended were to waive in-state licensure requirements, relax scope of practice requirements, develop a list of liability protections for in-state and out-of-state health professionals, temporarily modify or rescind MPL insurance policy provisions that may deny coverage to those who travel out-of-state to provide COVID-19 coverage, and ask insurers to waive MPL insurance policy provisions that limit such practices.

  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a declaration stating that immunity from liability was granted for the manufacture, distribution, or administration of any “antiviral, any other drug, any biologic, any diagnostic, any other device, or any vaccine, used to treat, diagnose, cure, prevent, or mitigate COVID-19, or the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 or a virus mutating therefrom, or any device used in the administration of any such product, and all components and constituent materials of any such product.”

HHS will promulgate a regulation to allow all physicians to work across state lines to provide surge capacity in the most heavily affected states.

  • CMS released guidance to limit non-essential adult elective surgery and medical and surgical procedures, including all dental procedures, so that resources may be targeted to reducing the spread of COVID-19.
  • The Office of Civil Rights within the HHS issued guidance regarding how protected health information may be shared under HIPAA during an outbreak of infectious disease without violating the Rule.