COVID-19 Updates and Resources

AMTA Government Relations Department Updates Regarding COVID-19

AMTA’s Government Relations Department continues to closely monitor updated information about COVID-19/Coronavirus, from local, state, and national officials. 

On March 6, President Trump signed an $8.3B emergency Coronavirus spending bill designed to provide relief to states already fighting to contain COVID-19. The bill will use grant funding as the method to distribute funds.  In addition to other provisions the bill includes:

• $3B for vaccine research. 
• $3.1B of funds designated for the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to use at his discretion with $100M designated for use by Community Health Centers for direct care to underserved populations. 
• $950 million for state and local public health response that's to be dispersed via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• $1.5B for international activities.

President Trump declared a national emergency on March 13th, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.  The declaration allows for the exercise of particular powers and authorities activated under both the National Emergencies Act (NEA) and the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.  The national emergency declaration allows the release of additional funding to use for further coordination of the Coronavirus response at the state and federal level.

Small Business Administration – Disaster Loan Information

March 16, 2020

The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.

The Small Business Administration (SBA), is frequently updating information about the availability of these loans.  As of March 16th, the SBA is not currently able to issue or process these loans due to additional disaster declarations and partnerships that must be established prior to establishing various program elements.

The application for loans for businesses in areas that have been declared a disaster will be accepted via an online system at the SBA’s website.  Please view the electronic form and the list of required documents here (https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Documents/Disaster Business Loan Application (SBA Form 5).aspx)  

The three-stage loan application process:

1. Apply online
2. Verification, documentation, credit review, and loan processing by the SBA
3. Loan closed and funds disbursed. Note: commonly a disaster loan is not disbursed all at once.

SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.  These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%. SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.

For additional information, please contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Resources

AMTA’s Government Relations Department continues to closely monitor updated information about Coronavirus from local, state, and national officials.  In addition, we will continue to share updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other reliable agencies providing information relevant to music therapy practice.  We will update information regularly.

Please find links to helpful resources below:

• CDC Coronavirus Resource Page https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
• Sign up for CDC Updates https://tools.cdc.gov/campaignproxyservice/subscriptions.aspx?topic_id=USCDC_2067
• OSHA/HHS Guidance on Preparing Workplaces https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf

We also recommend that you stay up to date on developments from the state (active link - https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/healthdepartments.html) and local (active link - https://www.naccho.org/membership/lhd-directory) health departments.

Additional Resources

Small Business Administration (SBA) (Business Resources)

• Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Documents/Disaster Business Loan Application (SBA Form 5).aspx 
• SBA Press Release: Providing Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19) Up to $2 Million in Disaster Assistance Loans https://www.sba.gov/node/1658220

US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

• COVID-19 & HIPAA Bulletin – March 2020 Update https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/hipaa-and-covid-19-limited-hipaa-waiver-bulletin-508.pdf
• COVID-19 Healthcare Planning Checklist https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/COVID19/Documents/COVID-19 Healthcare Planning Checklist.pdf
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for State Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Agencies https://www.medicaid.gov/state-resource-center/downloads/covd-19-faqs-20200312.pdf
• CMS Guidance for Infection Control and Prevention Concerning Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by Hospice Agencies https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-20-16-hospice.pdf
• CMS - COVID-19 Emergency Declaration Health Care Providers Fact Sheet https://www.cms.gov/files/document/covid19-emergency-declaration-health-care-providers-fact-sheet.pdf
• CMS – FAQ on Coronavirus and Essential Health Benefits https://www.cms.gov/CCIIO/Resources/Fact-Sheets-and-FAQs/Downloads/EHB-Benchmark-Coverage-of-COVID-19.pdf

US Department of Education (School Settings)

• COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus
• Q&A: Providing Services for Children with Disabilities During Coronavirus Outbreak https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/qa-covid-19-03-12-2020.pdf
• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) & Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) https://studentprivacy.ed.gov/sites/default/files/resource_document/file/FERPA and Coronavirus Frequently Asked Questions_0.pdf?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term

US Department of Labor (Workforce)

• Wage and Hour Division – Information on common issues employers and employees face when responding to influenza, pandemics, or other public health emergencies https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic
• Career One Stop – Updated Unemployment Insurance Guidance (Search by State) https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/UnemploymentBenefits/find-unemployment-benefits.aspx

Telehealth Information

The U.S. Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) defines telehealth as the "use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration" (HRSA, 2017).

HRSA (2017). Telemedicine and telehealth. Retrieved from: https://www.healthit.gov/topic/health-it-initiatives/telemedicine-and-telehealth

Telehealth is subject to all the standards of face-to-face music therapy practice including documentation and consent. Note, this is in contrast to remote music therapy informed supportive, informal leisure/social interactions, and adapted music lessons. Clearly, a fine line exists in some client contexts. Discretion and critical decision making may be needed to discern whether telehealth services are planned or needed for your individual clients.

Considerations for telehealth music therapy services should include:

• consent for telehealth MT
• security (cyber) for the technology/platform selected
• confidentiality (awareness of threats to confidentiality at each remote site)
• understanding related state and/or facility policies or guidance on use of telehealth

Sample Consent Form Template

Additional Resources

Center for Connected Health Policy - National Telehealth Policy Resource Center (map and pdf available with summaries of state policies) https://www.cchpca.org/telehealth-policy/current-state-laws-and-reimbursement-policies#

American Telemedicine Association http://hub.americantelemed.org/thesource/resources/telemedicine-forms

SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions https://www.integration.samhsa.gov/operations-administration/telebehavioral-health

MDLIVE, Inc. https://www.mdlive.com/informed-consent/

Place of Service Codes for Professional Claims

02---Telehealth: The location where health services and health related services or provided or received, through a telecommunication system.

CPT^®

CPT^® (Current Procedural Terminology) is a listing of descriptive terms and identifying codes for reporting medical services and procedures performed by physicians and other qualified health care professionals. This coding system, developed by the American Medical Association (AMA), is utilized by insurance companies for reimbursement purposes.  Coding information can be found in the CPT^® Professional Edition manual, which is updated each year, making it very important to check for any changes in codes used on a regular basis.  The manual is available for purchase through the AMA Amazon Store at https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/112D63A3-2DF2-490B-A8CA-79D03F0F0E99  

(Current Procedural Terminology (CPT^®) 2021 Professional Edition)

For a complete listing of possible procedure codes to document music therapy services, please visit, CPT Code - 2021 Information Sheet

Additional CPT^® codes for possible use in Telehealth include:

Non-Face-to-Face Nonphysician Services

• 98966 - Telephone assessment and management service provided by a qualified nonphysician health care professional to an established patient, parent, or guardian not originating from a related assessment and management service provided within the previous 7 days nor leading to an assessment and management service or procedure within the next 24 hours or soonest available appointment, 5-10 minutes of medical discussion.
• 98967 - 11-20 minutes of medical discussion
• 98968 - 21-30 minutes if medical discussion

Qualified Nonphysician Health Care Professional Online Digital Evaluation and Management Service

• 98970 - Qualified nonphysician health care professional online digital evaluation and management service, for an established patient, for up to 7 days, cumulative time during the 7 days, 5-10 minutes
• 98971 - 11-20 minutes
• 98972 - 21 or more minutes 

CPT^® codes and descriptions are copyright 2021 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

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