OAR 411-070-0439: COVID-19 Emergency Response Incentive Program

(1) ESTABLISHMENT. The Department establishes the COVID Response Incentive Program (Program). The Program is designed to support nursing facilities in adopting employment policies that protect employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) The Department will provide additional compensation to nursing facilities who meet the criteria contained in paragraph (3). Such compensation shall be 2.5% of their Medicaid Resident Revenue for services provided during the effective dates of the Program. A facility may be eligible for any continuous 90-day period between May 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020. (3) CRITERIA. All three of the following criteria must be met in order for a nursing facility to be eligible for the incentive payment. (a) Increased paid time off: The nursing facility must demonstrate that it increased paid time off for workers who become sick with COVID-19 or for individuals who are being asked to quarantine by their employer or medical professional or who are waiting for test results. Employees receiving paid time off due to COVID-19 illness must receive pay equal to their regular hourly compensation for scheduled work shifts. Sufficient evidence must be submitted with the required claim form referenced in paragraph (5) and may include: (A) For facilities with collective bargaining agreements, a copy of any collective bargaining agreements or addendums with such provisions if changes were made; (B) A letter to all staff stating that this protection has been granted; (C) Amended staff policies or handbooks; or (D) Copies of payroll records showing paid time off for ill employees. (b) Employee Retention: The nursing facility must demonstrate that it did not terminate or discipline the employment of any employee who notified their employer that they were taking leave because: (A) They had, or were suspected to have, COVID-19; (B) A family member had, or was suspected to have COVID-19; or (C) They have been asked to quarantine by their employer or medical professional or are waiting for test results. (c) Enhanced Compensation: The nursing facility shall submit documentation that it provided enhanced compensation for frontline caregivers who were at risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to an exposure or confirmed case of COVID-19 in the nursing facility where they worked. The documentation shall be submitted on the claim form referenced in paragraph (5) and may include: (A) A copy of a collective bargaining agreement or addendums with such provisions; (B) Amended policies or handbook that includes a definition of who is a “frontline caregiver at risk of exposure to COVID-19”; (C) Notification to staff of increased compensation due to COVID-19 risk or exposure; or (D) Payroll records demonstrating enhanced payments for COVID-19 exposure risk. (4) PAYMENT. The Department of Human Services will provide an incentive payment equal to 2.5% of Medicaid resident revenue for services provided between May 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020, for nursing facilities who meet all of the criteria contained in paragraph (3). A facility may be eligible for any continuous 90-day period between May 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020. (5) CLAIM. Nursing facilities shall submit a claim for the incentive payment on the form mandated by the Department of Human Services. (6) APPLICABILITY. The Department will only provide the incentive payment for services provided during the time period May 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, in which the facility was in compliance with the criteria contained in paragraph (3) and for a continuous 90-day period only. (7) TIMELINESS. Claims for the incentive payment may be submitted no earlier than October 1, 2020 and no later than December 31, 2020. Nursing facilities may submit one claim form and one supplemental claim for Medicaid resident revenues not previously submitted on the initial claim form.