Extra pay for Arkansas healthcare workers not yet approved; COVID-19 cases rise above 1,000

Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday (April 8) a plan to provide extra pay of up to $2,000 a month to healthcare workers on the front line of the COVID-19 response has not yet been approved by federal authorities.

As of Wednesday, 14.4% of the state’s 1,023 COVID-19 cases were among healthcare workers, including physicians.

The governor on March 26 announced a $116 million plan that included an additional $1,000 a month for nurses and other healthcare workers and $2,000 a month for those in facilities with COVID-19 patients. The extra pay was estimated to cost $55 million. Other parts of the overall plan included $19 million for workforce safety and training measures, and $15 million for capital improvements and payroll support for hospitals with 65 beds or less.

The Centers for Medicaid Services, the division of the U.S. Health and Human Services that oversees Medicaid funding, did not approve the waiver to shift Medicaid dollars for the additional pay, Gov. Hutchinson said. State officials are still pushing for the approval of the waiver, he added.

“If that waiver is not granted, we’re going to look for other ways to be helpful to meet those needs,” he said.

COVID-19 cases in Arkansas totaled 1,023 as of Wednesday afternoon, up from 946 on Tuesday. The number of deaths remained the same at 18. The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Arkansas was 76 on Wednesday, up from 74 on Tuesday. Of the COVID-19 patients, 30 were on ventilators, up from 26 on Tuesday, and 147 were healthcare workers, up from 134 on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday at 1 p.m., there were 402,923 U.S. cases and 13,007 deaths, with 4,009 in New York City. Globally, there were 1,464,852 cases and 85,397 deaths.

BRIDGE LOAN RESPONSE
Gov. Hutchinson also said Wednesday he is pulling another $1 million from his Quick Action Closing Fund – used to recruit and retain jobs in Arkansas – to the Quick Action Loan Guaranty Program administered by the Arkansas Department of Commerce. To date, more than $3 million has been allocated for qualified loans.

The fund was created to provide bridge loans and other financial support to businesses harmed by the COVID-19 outbreak. The governor initially allocated $4 million for the program and another $3 million was provided by Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge from the agency’s Consumer Education and Enforcement Fund.

Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston said the department has approved 138 loans in 47 counties. The 0% interest loans allow for no payments of up to 12 months and are focused on allowing companies to keep workers employed, Preston said.

Preston also said it is likely 150,000 Arkansans will have filed for jobless claims by the end of the week. He said the state has more than 80 people answering phone calls, and the number of calls is declining because more people are able to use the website to file claims.

He also said the state finally received guidance from U.S. Department of Labor on how to process claims for independent contractors, small business owners, gig economy workers and others who typically fall outside the eligibility for unemployment insurance. Unfortunately, it will take the state at least three weeks to begin processing the claims because an entire new system is required to meet the federal guidance, Preston said. He said the claims will be back-dated to when employment was lost, and those filing the claims will not be penalized for the time it takes to set up the new system.

MEDICINE INFLUX, EASTER GUIDANCE
Also on Wednesday, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson announced a donation of hydroxychloroquine by Amneal Pharmaceuticals in response to the COVID-19 health emergency. The drug has been touted by President Donald Trump for use in treating COVID-19, although most medical experts say it has not been proven to be fully effective.

“Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are under investigation in clinical trials for pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and treatment of patients with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19,” notes updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Bridgewater, N.J.-based Amneal donated 100,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets through Lt. Gov. Griffin to UAMS. Amneal has provided the drug to other states, including 1 million pills to Texas and 400,000 to Louisiana.

The Health Policy Board of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) on Wednesday asked faith leaders to follow recommendations of the CDC, Gov. Hutchinson, and Arkansas health officials and not hold gatherings that could further the COVID-19 spread.

“We recognize that Easter is one of the most significant religious holidays of the year and that not gathering together in person to celebrate the day will be a difficult sacrifice for church members to make,” ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said in the statement. “However, with church events in Arkansas and elsewhere already linked to outbreaks of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new strain of coronavirus, the risk of further spread is too great.”