EASTPOINTE AREA BOARD Special Meeting Minutes

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EASTPOINTE AREA BOARD Special Meeting Minutes

Meeting Date: March 24, 2020

Board Members Present: (Noted present with an "x" mark)

Albertson, English (Wayne County) Boyette, Rob (Wilson County) Carmon, Addie (Edgecombe County) G. Michael Cogdell (Bladen County) Hinson, Kay (Duplin County) Honeycutt. Craig (Wayne County) Jones, Jerry (Greene County) Judge, Rebecca (Duplin County) McCall, Carol (Scotland County)

McCallum, Monte (Robeson County) Moore, Nancy (Wayne County) Pait, Billy (Bladen County) Shackleford, James (Greene County) Simmons, J.W. (Sampson County) Starling, Joel (Sampson County) Stephens, Jerry (Robeson County) Washington, Lorrine (Greene County)

Staff: Sarah Stroud, Chief Executive Officer Kelli Carson, Chief of Clinical Operations Catherine Dalton, Chief of Business Operations Theresa Edmondson, Chief of Corporate Compliance Dr. Sid Hosseini, Medical Director Victoria Jackson, Chief of External Operations Jeanette Jordan-Huffam, Chief of Quality Management Lynn Parrish, Chief of Human Development Lisa Jarman, Board Clerk

Others: Jonathan Charleston, Eastpointe Board Attorney Catherine Bamba, The Charleston Group Lisa Jackson, Department of Health and Human Services Liaison June Cummings, Lenoir County Commissioner

Agenda Items: Call to Order CEO Report

I. CALL TO ORDER The Eastpointe Area Board special meeting was held via conference call on March 24, 2020. Board Chairman Mr. Jerry Stephens called the meeting to order at 3:06 p.m.

Chairman Stephens welcomed everyone and thanked them for participating on the call.

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INVOCATION Chairman Stephens delivered the Invocation.

II. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT Ms. Sarah Stroud explained that the March 24, 2020 special called meeting was in lieu of the regular meeting and will be used primarily to provide an update to Eastpointe's activities in relation to the COVID-19 crisis.

Ms. Stroud reviewed the March 20, 2020 memo from the Division that was sent to the CEO's of North Carolina's LMEs and MCOs. The memo outlined three major objectives:

1. Ensure uninterrupted provision of services 2. Stabilize and support providers to manage through the pandemic and prepare for potentially lasting

changes as a result of the pandemic, and 3. Reduce the need for hospitalizations and prevent avoidable re-admissions.

Some of the changes include providing additional financial support for the LMEs and MCOs by allowing them to use up to 15 percent of their risk reserve funds to help providers deliver quality services. Ms. Stroud stated that further clarification has been sought regarding the parameters for this option. The Division is also releasing an extra 30 million dollars, allowing greater flexibility in the use of single stream funds for COVID-19 purposes and allowing LMEs and MCOs to reprioritize Federal grant money to support the COVID-19 response.

Other changes include making telephonic and telehealth service codes allowable across a broader range of services, waiving any potential fines for HIPAA violations for non-public facing communication technology implementation, adding flexibility to opioid treatment options and expediting Medicaid in-lieu of services policy approvals to a maximum of seven days. More changes allow for reducing oversight that is not directly related to member health and safety and applying to CMS for delivery flexibility for all Medicaid waiver programs.

Ms. Stroud stated that Eastpointe is working on implementing and demonstrating flexibility as appropriate to ensure that all our providers can continue to deliver high quality services without interruption. Eastpointe continues to execute all core business functions at normal levels.

All community meetings and trainings that Eastpointe coordinates or hosts have been cancelled, postponed or moved to teleconferencing. All employees able to work remotely have been asked to do so and they have been instructed to contact their supervisor and not come onsite if they are sick or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.

Ms. Stroud stated that Eastpointe remains in frequent contact with all stakeholder groups and are working diligently to ensure they have the most up-to-date information and can make necessary adjustments. For providers, Eastpointe is closely monitoring for any challenges that impact their ability to deliver services and Eastpointe has created a system to collect their COVID-19 related questions and quickly respond.

Eastpointe is also participating in several DHHS led work group calls to share what we learn from our catchment area and contribute ideas for how to best manage the crisis. Eastpointe has also added a new page to our website to keep the public informed on our status and we are also monitoring both DHHS and CDC issued guidance.

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Ms. Stroud stated that Eastpointe anticipates that the Tailored Plan RFA release will be delayed beyond the anticipated early April. She will keep the Board apprised on any updates.

III. ADJOURNMENT Chairman Stephens asked for any further business to be brought before the Board. As there was none, he asked for a motion to adjourn.

Motion was made by Mr. Rob Boyette to adjourn the March 24, 2020 Board meeting. Ms. Lorrine Washington made a second. The motion carried.

_____________________________ Jerry Stephens, Board Chairman

_______________ _____________ Lisa Jarman, Clerk to the Board

5/1/2020

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5/1/2020

Date

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