COVID-19 Information

Employees
Virginia Employment Commission
FAMILIES FIRST COVID-19 LEGISLATION – SUMMARY OF PAID LEAVE LAWS (Cheat Sheet PDF)
Department of Labor Poster on Employee Rights
- HB6201
  - Guarantees 10 paid sick days (80 hours) to full-time workers at 2 different tier levels (IF they qualify):
    
    Tier 1 - 100% of salary (up to $511/day) ONLY IF they are affected by Coronavirus in any of these ways:
    
    The employee has COVID-19
    
    The employee is under either a state-issued quarantine (as of March 24, this is not the case in Virginia) or directed to self-quarantine by their own physician
    
    Caring for an “individual” in either 1 or 2
    
    Tier 2 - 2/3 the salary (up to $200/day) if they are affected by Coronavirus in any of these ways
    
    Caring for a son or daughter whose school closed or caregiver is unavailable
    
    Employee has a substantially similar medical condition as COVID-19 (more details on this coming, but for example, if an employee has flu-like symptoms and has not necessarily been diagnosed with COVID-19, then this would apply)
  - Effective date: April 2; no retroactivity
  - No waiting period, can be an employee for <30 days
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  - Provides: 10 days unpaid leave followed by paid leave at 2/3 wages (capped at $200/day), for up to a total of 12 weeks
  - For whom?; If employee cannot work or telework due to child’s (under 18) school closing or caregiver unavailable
  - Effective date: April 2; no retroactivity
  - Must be employed for 30 calendar days
Note: Details are coming, but the talk now is that businesses will be reimbursed for these employee benefits via credits given to your business when filing your Form 941s quarterly. The percentage is hoped to be "dollar for dollar" or 100%,of your expenses, but it is as yet unclear.

Legal Advice: Members with employment questions specific to their situation should contact their attorney for legal advice as may be necessary.
Business Info
- The Federal Tax deadline and all Federal estimated payments have been extended 90 days
- Virginia Tax deadline and all Federal estimated payments have been extended 30 days
- Most creditors will extend your loan/mortgage/rent payments for 60-90 days, but only if you call and ask
- Federally-backed student loans have been placed on hold (no interest or or payments required) for 6 months. (Call to see if yours is federally-backed, however, 90% are)
Telemedicine
Expanded Telehealth Benefits for Medicare Beneficiaries During COVID-19 Outbreak
- You can now use non-HIPAA compliant video platforms for TeleMedicine (FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, etc. Zoom is free for up to 40 mins and works well. FaceTime is possible, but patient will have your number)
- You can bill a 992XX code for TeleMedicine provided these are true:
  - patient gave either verbal or written consent for TeleMedicine encounter
  - patient gave verbal or written consent for you to bill their insurance or them directly
  - You must use video teleconferencing (audio-only not allowed for 992XX)
  - you use a -95 modifier when billing
  - you use location 02 when billing
- Printable CMS Guideline Cheat Sheet PDF
- To read the Fact Sheet: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-telemedicine-health-care-provider-fact-sheet
- FAQ: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/medicare-telehealth-frequently-asked-questions-faqs-31720.pdf
CMS Guidance
COVID-19: Relief for Quality Reporting Programs and Provider Enrollment
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking action to protect the health and safety of our nation’s patients and providers in the wake of the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. CMS has released a Virtual Toolkit to help you stay up-to-date on CMS materials available on COVID-19.
Coronavirus Info
This guidance, and earlier CMS actions in response to the COVID-19 virus, are part of the ongoing White House Task Force efforts. To keep up with the important work the Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19 click here www.coronavirus.gov. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.

COVID maps, data, and graphical predictions
Healthcare Provider Links
Board of Optometry

Update from Virginia Board of Optometry - 3/19/2020

The Board of Optometry has granted an extension of continuing education requirements for a period of six months after the deadline for the current renewal cycle that ends on March 31, 2020. In addition, an exemption is granted to alleviate the “real-time, interactive activities” requirement found in 18VAC105-20-70(A)(3). The number or hours and topic requirements are still required, only the method of obtaining the CE is exempted.

Licensees are encouraged to complete continuing education hours on-line in place of real-time activities, before the renewal deadline. Please note that hours completed after the renewal deadline of March 31, 2020, will not be able to double count as CE hours for the renewal period of April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

If the required number of continuing education hours have not been completed prior to renewal, please check “no” to the question on the renewal form about completion of continuing competency requirements. Do not falsify information on the form by checking “yes” if using the six-month extension. Checking “no” will not affect the ability to renew. There will be a notation in the system that a licensee has a six-month extension.

Questions may be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Board of Optometry