Hurricane Harvey Public Health Emergency Clears Hurdles For Elderly

WASHINGTON, DC — Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price on Saturday declared a public health emergency in Texas, untangling some of the red tape that will make it easier for Medicare and Medicaid recipients separated from their health records by Hurricane Harvey to get assistance.

Price’s declaration comes on the heels of an earlier announcement by President Trump that he had declared disasters in several Texas counties, clearing the way for federal assistance to help in state and local recovery efforts. (For more information and updates on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch.)

Trump’s declaration covers Bee, Goliad, Kleberg, Nueces, San Patricio and Refugio counties. Assistance may include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to assist individuals and businesses recover from the hurricane.

Thousands of Texans fled their homes in preparation for the monster storm, including more than 10,000 in the seaport town of Rockport, where Hurricane Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 storm Friday evening. Harvey has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, but the danger is far from over for Texans, who are bracing for 3 or 4 feet of rainfall in some areas. At least one person is dead

“We recognize the gravity of the situation in Texas, the declaration of a public health emergency will provide additional flexibility and authority to help those who have been impacted by the storm,” Price said in a statement.

Price said evacuees who are Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries may have gone to hospitals and nursing homes without their records, information on their current health status or even any kind of verification of their status as a beneficiary. The emergency declaration allows the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid to waive certain documentation requirements so care won’t be interrupted. More information is found here.

Also as part of the health emergency declaration, Price released to public health officials in Texas and Louisiana the names of Medicare recipients whose lives and mobility depend on 14 different types of services, as well as the number of Medicare clients who rely on dialysis, oxygen, and home health services. These citizens are among the most vulnerable in their communities and most likely to need life-saving assistance in prolonged power outages, Price said.

More than 500 emergency medical personnel are on the ground in Texas and another 1,000 are on alert. Those on standby include teams of doctors, nurses, health care providers and disaster medical system teams from California, North Carolina, Connecticut, New York, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Colorado, Utah, Arkansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington have been placed on alert.

Two 250-bed field hospitals have been moved to Seguin, Texas, to prepare to provide care in that area. Two more similar facilities are pre-positioned in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and additional field hospitals are available in Dallas for patient care. The field hospitals are staffed by U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers.

The Disaster Distress Helpline, a toll-free call center, is available at (800) 985-5990 to aid people in coping with the behavioral health effects of the storm and help people in affected areas connect with local behavioral health professionals.

In addition to full-scale coordination across the federal cabinet agencies, HHS remains in regular contact with Texas and Louisiana health officials to maintain awareness of the local situation and stands ready to augment support to the states as the situation unfolds, Price said.

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President Trump is seen on screen in the White House Situation Room, as he conducts a video teleconference regarding an update on Hurricane Harvey, Saturday, August 26, 2017, from a conference room at Camp David, near Thurmont, Maryland. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks)