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Post-Tropical Cyclone Francine

SPOTREP #2

September 13, 2024 / TLP: CLEAR

Healthcare Ready is ENGAGED for this event. We are monitoring potential concerns for supply chain disruptions and impacts on healthcare services on our Alert Hub.

Contents

• Situation Overview and Key Updates

• Impacts to Health Care

• Impacts to Supply Chain

Situation Overview and Key Updates

• Situation Overview
  • As of September 13, Francine has decreased in strength to a post-tropical cyclone. It continues to bring rain and the risk of flooding to Tennessee, Alabama, and other southeastern states.
• Key Updates
  • On September 12, HHS Secretary Becerra declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE), for Louisiana, that gives CMS health care providers and suppliers flexibility in ensuring the continuity of care and meeting emergency health needs of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Information on the waivers and modifications can be found here.
  • As of 2pm ET, here are the number of power outages reported in the affected states:
    • Louisiana: 107,283

Impacts to Health Care

• On September 12, the Defense Health Agency announced that TRICARE beneficiaries in Louisiana can receive emergency prescription refills through September 19.
• Additionally, the Defense Health Agency announced that TRICARE beneficiaries in Mississippi can receive emergency prescription refills through September 20.
• On September 12, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana made services available to help members affected by Francine such as:
  • Replacing certain medical supplies and equipment.
  • Waiving provider penalties for late prior authorization requests for medical or behavioral health services and approving in-network level of benefits for participating providers.
• The Mississippi Board of Pharmacy declared that in the event a pharmacist receives a request but is unable to obtain a refill authorization from the prescriber, they can dispense a one-time emergency refill of the prescribed medication.
• On September 10, CVS Caremark enabled pharmacy claims for one-time emergency refills of a 10-day supply of medication for members in affected areas.

Impacts to Supply Chain

• As of September 12, there are multiple road closures in Louisiana due to flooding, debris, and other impacts from Francine. Please find up to date road closure information here.
• As of September 12, there are multiple road closures in Mississippi's Harrison County and Hancock County due to flooding, debris, and other impacts from Francine.
• On September 12, FedEx stated that delays and disruptions can be expected for inbound and outbound shipments in the affected regions.
• On September 11, UPS stated its pickup and delivery services in Louisiana and other southern gulf states may be impacted due to Francine.

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