The Alliance covers medically necessary COVID-19 therapeutics for all eligible members. Prior authorization is not required for medically necessary COVID-19 therapeutics covered services.

For questions, please contact:

• Alliance Provider Services Department
• Monday - Friday, 7:30 am – 5 pm
• Phone Number: 1.510.747.4510
• Email: providerservices@alamedaalliance.org

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on December 11, and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on December 18. Pfizer expects to have up to 50 million doses available by the end of 2020, and Moderna expects to have up to 20 million by the end of the year.

Alameda County recently received its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine. The Alameda County Public Health Department is working to provide safe, equitable, and broad distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine to people who live and work in our county.

To learn more about local planning efforts and updates on the COVID-19 vaccine in Alameda County, please visit: https://covid-19.acgov.org/vaccines 

Additional Information & Resources: 

• Janseen COVID-19 Vaccine EUA Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers
• California Vaccine Planning: https://covid19.ca.gov/vaccines/
• Become a Vaccination Organization (Requires registration with COVIDReadi and CAIR): http://cairweb.org/enroll-now/
• Case Reporting: After hours and on weekends, call Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center at 1.925. 422.7595 and ask to speak to the Public Health Duty Officer on call.
• COMING SOON – In mid-January 2021, California will rollout CalVax, a state-wide centralized system for healthcare providers enrolled or interested in participating in the California COVID-19 Vaccination Program. CalVax will replace the existing COVIDReadi system. CalVax allows providers to enroll in the California COVID-19 Vaccination Program, order vaccines, update account information, and manage vaccine reporting tasks.

Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement – NEMJ

How a Popular Medical Device Encodes Racial Bias – Boston Review

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services will host a technical assistance webcast on Monday, July 27, from 3 pm to 4 pm EST for providers who are interested in learning about the application process for the Provider Relief Fund. Providers are encouraged to register and join. To learn more, please click here.

Alliance providers now have a NEW opportunity to apply for provider relief funds from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency.

To learn more, please click here

The seven Bay Area Public Health Officers who ordered a shelter in place in mid-March will extend the orders through May 31 while some restrictions are eased and tools to strengthen containment of COVID-19 are put into place. For more information regarding this update, please reference the following documents:

To learn more and read the Order, please click here.
To see FAQs about the Order, please click here.

Alameda County Health Officer Dr. Erica Pan issued an Order for all members of the public to wear face coverings when around people outside of their household. The Order becomes effective at 11:59 pm on April 17, 2020. Enforcement will begin at 8:00 am on April 22, 2020 to allow the public time to comply by making or purchasing a face covering. For more information regarding this order, please click here

The Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) has recently issued testing guidelines for clinicians. To view recent updates and guidelines, please click here.

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has published a COVID-19 response page with guidance for Providers and Partners, Home and Community Based Services and Behavioral Health.

To learn about recent updates and guidance, please click here.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) also has a page with new guidance documents, additional resources, and news releases.

To learn more and see these updates, please click here.

The Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association has created a dedicated webpage for physicians.

To see resources from ACCMA, please click here.

Pfizer: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/pfizer/downloads/storage-summary.pdf

Moderna: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/moderna/downloads/storage-summary.pdf

J&J: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/janssen/downloads/janssen-storage-handling-summary.pdf

The conversation around COVID can be challenging. We believe that physicians can be the best source of information for families. Ever wonder how to have that conversation with your diverse patients, particularly African American parents? Check out the webinar created by the African American Wellness Project to learn more: https://m.facebook.com/AfricanAmericanWellnessProject/ or visit their YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCETKrcmzkEpde4SRTLI-xCw

Given the importance of the provider-patient relationship, you are a key and critical part of this solution. We recently began sharing monthly COVID-19 vaccination gap-in-care reports with our providers. Effective Tuesday, September 21, 2021, with support from the State California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), we are offering a provider incentive to encourage increased COVID-19 vaccination rates by Monday, February 28, 2022. For more information regarding this update, please click here.

The Alameda Alliance for Health (Alliance) Board of Governors unanimously approved $16.6 million on Friday, May 8, 2020 as emergency crisis funding to support frontline safety-net providers treating Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) patients, expanding COVID-19 testing sites, and to support other organizations that serve vulnerable residents across Alameda County.

To learn more and apply, please click here.

Alliance contracted and non-contracted providers can call the Alliance On-Call Nurse to obtain authorization for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) care. Providers only need to make one call to the Alliance to request prior authorization for Inpatient COVID-19 care. If the Alliance does not respond to the request within 30 minutes, the COVID-19 care shall be deemed as approved. The first day of COVID-19 care will be authorized if the member is eligible with the Alliance on the date of service. The Alliance will follow-up with the providers on the next business day with the authorization number. As a reminder, there is no prior authorization needed for lab tests, and members are not responsible for any co-pays.

To contact the Alliance On-Call Nurse, please call:

Alliance On-Call Nurse
Phone Number: 1.510.326.5271

Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, CBAS Centers will have the flexibility to administer day-center activities using alternative modalities and settings, to support the ongoing statewide efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). For more information regarding this update, please click here.

The Alliance is waiving all copayments for care and services related to COVID-19 for Alliance Group Care Members. For information regarding this update, please click here.

• CDC High Risk Fact Sheet
• CDC Phone Call Guidance
• CDC COVID-19 Fact Sheet
• SAMHSA Coping with Stress

At Alameda Alliance for Health (Alliance), we value our dedicated provider partner community and appreciate all of your hard work on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have created FAQs to help address questions you may have regarding resources you can offer your patients during the Shelter-in-Place Order by the Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD). To view the FAQs, please click here.

To access the Alameda Alliance for Health COVID-19 Provider Resource Guide, please click here.

Please use the COVID-19 Member Outreach Phone Screening Tool to assist you during member outreach calls. The tool consists of questions you can ask the Alliance member over the phone to assess if they are experiencing any health and/or social concerns due to COVID-19. To access the tool, please click here.

Effective, Thursday, March 26, 2020, the Alliance has implemented the following changes to our claims system in accordance with state and federal guidance to track novel coronavirus testing and treatment in our community. For more information on this update, please click here.

Effective, Monday, March 30, 2020, we are strongly advising providers to begin submitting Provider Dispute Resolution (PDR) forms electronically through the Alliance Provider Portal or secured email.

For more information regarding this update, please click here.

Effective immediately, all Alliance contracted providers billing for video, telephone and telehealth appointments, may ONLY use CPT codes for an office visit with the appropriate place of service and/or modifier codes, regardless of the modality. For more information regarding this update, please click here.

Effective immediately, the Alliance will reimburse contracted providers for video, telephone and telehealth appointments, at the same contracted rate for office visits. For more information regarding this update, please click here.

Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, through Tuesday, June 30, 2020, the Alliance will cover telephonic appointments for all eligible Alliance members. To learn more, please click here.

Alameda County Health Care Services Agency – Novel Coronavirus Health Update
CDC Health Update – Update and Interim Guidance on Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)
CDC – Flowchart to Identify and Assess 2019 Novel Coronavirus