Last week, we learned about big changes to school testing policies tied to the end of the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11. According to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), non-medical staff are no longer permitted to administer COVID-19 tests in schools as the state standing order allowing this flexibility has expired. There are some exceptions, but we understand that these changes have immediate and significant impacts to your testing program, and may preclude most schools from continuing their testing programs as originally designed.

Given that the end of the school year is approaching and there are still some unknowns about these policy changes, we want to recommend two courses of action:

• Consult with your school administration about how these changes will impact your school testing program and if you want to move forward with testing activities that may still be permitted under state law, such as testing administered by a registered nurse (RN) or RN-delegated personnel. 
• The DOH testing team is working with the Nursing Commission and to provide further guidance on permitted RN roles and RN-delegation.
• As your school determines changes to your testing strategy, consider sunsetting your onsite testing at this time and focusing on testing distribution. We encourage schools to stock up on OTC at-home tests (which remain free for L2R schools) and provide these as needed to sick students and staff or upon request. We recommend sending any sick student or staff member home with an OTC test.

Please note that as of Thursday, May 11, all PCR testing through Learn to Return has been paused until further notice. 

• The Washington State Department of Health is working to clarify policy changes tied to the ending of the PHE that affect an RN’s liability coverage when administering or supervising sample collection for PCR tests, including individual and pooled PCR tests. 
• We will follow up with schools when we have more clarity on this issue. 

We realize this is an abrupt change to the programs you have built over the past several years and L2R Project Managers and ESD coordinators are here to assist you with questions and the transition process. Questions around nursing scope of practice and delegation should be sent to NursingPractice@doh.wa.gov for assistance.  

On May 18, DOH, OSPI, and Health Commons will be speaking to these changes and more during the Learning Network event, “What’s next for school-based testing? Looking forward to the 2023-24 school year.”

We encourage you and your team to register for this event to get more clarity about next steps, policies, and resources available next school year. 

The Labor Fund officially ends on Monday, July 31, 2023, but schools have until Wednesday, August 9, 2023, to submit their final reimbursement claims. Any claims submitted after August 9th will not be reimbursed. There will be no exceptions made to extend this deadline since this opportunity is supported through federal funds.

If your school or district has payroll or financial reporting cycles after August 9th, please reach out to mikeb@healthcommonsproject.org and/or jasminek@healthcommonsproject.org for assistance. 

Here’s how to submit your claims:

• Use this reporting form to submit your reimbursement claims.
• Here’s a step-by-step guide for how to use the form 
• You must submit a separate form for each month in which you incurred costs. You cannot submit costs from multiple months in one form. 

We strongly recommend having someone who works in finance or works closely alongside finance to complete the reporting form.

We highly encourage schools to get started today to identify the required documentation and available staff on hand to support submission of the final claim/s this summer. 

Early submission allows for time to address any discrepancies or exceptions, as well as to ask schools any questions that may arise.

Need help?

Read our FAQs on reporting requirements and processes for more information on reimbursable costs, required documentation, and special reporting situations. 

If you have questions about submitting your claim or troubleshooting the form, contact Jasmine Kaneshiro at jasminek@healthcommonsproject.org.

The federal public health emergency (PHE) has ended and along with it, many of the federal and state programs that have provided free COVID-19 testing throughout the pandemic. Although these testing resources are going away, DOH will continue providing schools with free COVID-19 tests through the Learn to Return program until the end of July 2023.

Be prepared for an increase in demand for OTC COVID-19 tests. Many of your school community members may be looking to your school district for COVID-19 tests now that other pipelines are shutting down. Make sure you are stocked up on tests. 

Here’s what has changed with the end of the PHE:

Say Yes! COVID Test

• The Washington State Department of Health program that has provided more than 15 million free rapid antigen tests to Washingtonians since it began in January 2022 has ended on May 11, 2023.

COVID.gov/test

• Every household in the US can order four free at-home COVID-19 tests through this federal program. 
• According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, this program will continue as long as supplies last; that is, until the national strategic stockpile has been depleted.

Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) 

• The CDC’s ICATT program provides free COVID-19 testing in communities that are at high risk of being affected by the pandemic. 
• This program is also contingent on availability of federal supplies but is likely to decrease in scope after May 11.

Private Insurance Coverage

• The requirement for private insurance companies to cover COVID-19 tests without cost sharing, both for at-home tests and laboratory tests, ends with the PHE.
• Some insurance companies may decide to continue coverage for COVID-19 testing, but plans will vary.

Medicare (“Apple Health” in Washington state)

• Access to free over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests has ended for Medicare or “Apple Health” beneficiaries in Washington state.
• Those enrolled in Medicare Part B will continue to have coverage without cost sharing for laboratory-conducted COVID-19 tests when ordered by a healthcare provider.

 Medicaid

• According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, state Medicaid programs must provide coverage without cost sharing for COVID-19 testing until the last day of the first calendar quarter that begins one year after the last day of the COVID-19 PHE. 
  • Since the COVID-19 PHE ended on May 11, 2023, this means that mandatory coverage will end on September 30, 2024, after which coverage may vary by state.

Testing Surveillance

• The Washington State Department of Health removed all testing data from its COVID-19 Data Dashboard on May 10, 2023. This will affect the Testing page, Demographics Tests page, and the Summary Data Tables. A note will be added to the site to explain the change. 
• As at-home testing has increased and tests reported to DOH have decreased, the value in reporting laboratory-based testing data has decreased. 
• DOH will continue to provide data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths via the DOH Dashboard.
• DOH is exploring future needs for monitoring ongoing COVID-19 testing activities related to a shift towards broader respiratory disease surveillance.
• With the end of the PHE, the Health and Human Services (HHS) requirement to report all positive and negative laboratory results will end as well. However, WAC 246-101 will continue to require laboratories in Washington state to report positive test results to LHJs and DOH.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) system for classifying community levels of COVID-19 (low, medium, and high, with advice on precautions for each level) has ended. The agency is in the early stages of developing a replacement metric.

WA Notify App

• Launched in November 2020, Washington state’s COVID-19 exposure notification tool has been sunsetted with the end of the PHE on May 11, 2023.
• Throughout the pandemic, 235,000 people confirmed a positive test result in WA Notify, generating more than 2.5 million anonymous exposure notifications.

Vaccine and Treatment Coverage

• COVID-19 vaccines will continue to be free for all as long as the supply of federally purchased vaccines lasts.
• However, starting May 11, 2023, coverage for COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, and treatment will vary by insurance type.

The end of the PHE doesn’t mean that COVID-19 is over. The CDC continues to recommend that you stay up-to-date on COVID-19 vaccinations, test if you have symptoms or have been exposed, and wear a high-quality mask when COVID-19 levels are high.

Related – Fact Sheet: End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (updated on May 9, 2023)

Join us on Thursday, May 18th from 10-11am for the last statewide Learning Network event! 

• What will COVID-19 management look like as we transition to a period of pandemic recovery?
• What resources can schools count on next fall to support school-based testing?
• Who will be authorized to administer COVID-19 tests at schools?

Get answers to these questions and more directly from DOH and OSPI leaders during the Learning Network event on May 18th.

Our guest speakers will discuss:

• Resources available next year to support school-based COVID-19 testing.
• DOH guidance updates and how these will be communicated.
• The development of a new respiratory disease dashboard.
• The release of a centralized website that will support ongoing communication between DOH and schools, and maintain resources for school and community members.  

Participants will get key takeaways about DOH support that will help them get ahead of planning for next school year.

DOH is ending its contracts with Atlas Genomics, CICH and Everywell in July 2023. Schools that are currently using these vendors should work with their L2R Project Manager to offboard these services and transition to an updated testing plan as needed, using other tests available on the DOH Supply Order Portal. 

Please note that as of Thursday, May 11, all PCR testing through Learn to Return has been paused until further notice.

• The Washington State Department of Health is working to clarify policy changes tied to the ending of the PHE that affect an RN’s liability coverage when administering or supervising sample collection for PCR tests.
• We will follow up with schools as soon as we have more clarity on this issue. If PCR services resume, they will do so until the end dates listed for each vendor below. 

Atlas Genomics testing services will end on July 27, 2023

• • The Atlas Genomics Offboarding Checklist includes steps and a timeline to help you offboard Atlas Genomics by the end of the school year.
  • The Atlas Genomics School Community Notification Template can be used to inform your school community of this change. 

CICH testing services will end on July 14, 2023

• • The CICH Offboarding Checklist includes steps and a timeline to help you offboard CICH by the end of the school year.
  • The CICH School Community Notification Template can be used to inform your school community of this change.

Everlywell testing services will end on June 30, 2023

• The Everlywell Offboarding Checklist includes steps and a timeline to help you offboard Everlywell by the end of the school year.
• The Everlywell School Community Notification Template can be used to inform your school community of this change.

Please reach out to your L2R Project Manager for assistance throughout this transition.

Each course is a deep dive into a different component of behavioral health with a focus on communication, healing, and building resilience. 

Join us for the final course on Thursday, June 1 from 10-11am PT and take a deep dive on “Personal Resilience and Avoiding Burn Out.”

COVID-19 NEWS