COVID-19-Only Homes Organized for Resident Treatment Act of 2020 or the COHORT Act of 2020
This bill requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a program in which Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) may elect to be designated as COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) treatment centers.
Participating SNFs must agree to only care for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and must transfer all other residents to other facilities. The bill increases the applicable Medicare resident per diem for participating SNFs.
In order to qualify for the program, SNFs must meet minimum quality measurements with respect to staff, health inspections, and infection control. Participation may be voluntarily terminated by the SNF or revoked by the CMS.
The CMS must implement the program within two weeks of enactment of this bill. The program terminates at the end of the public health emergency relating to COVID-19.