- Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans, and It's Not Just Due to Lack of Health Care
- Promotoras Play Essential Role in Connecting Farmworkers with Health Care in Rural NorCal
- Using Medicaid to Address Young People's Mental Health Needs in School Settings
- Across the Country, Amish Populations Are on the Rise
- Sunsets, Wildlife and Limited Care: Challenges of Aging in Place in Rural America
- City-Country Mortality Gap Widens amid Persistent Holes in Rural Health Care Access
- Tribal Environmental Impact Network
- Minnesota's Rural Ambulance Providers Look to State Capitol for Their Own Lifeline
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Support the Primary Care Workforce
- Over 3,000 Homes on the Navajo Nation Receive Accurate Addresses for the First Time
- Rural Population Grows for Second Consecutive Year
- Rapides Library Offers Telehealth to a Town Without Doctors
- Rural Infection Preventionists Need Community Support
- New Federal Health IT Strategy Sets Sights on a Heathier, More Innovative, and More Equitable Health Care Experience
- Upcoming Virtual Workshop: Partnering for Success: Building Partnerships for Health Workforce Training and Education
Pennsylvania Increases Conditions Eligible for Medical Marijuana to 23
Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana in 2016, allowing it to be used to treat 17 medical conditions. That list has now grown to include 23 conditions. Eligible conditions now include anxiety disorder, ALS, autism, cancer, Crohn’s disease, damage to nervous tissue of the spinal cord, dyskinetic and spastic movement disorders, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Huntington’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, intractable seizures, multiple sclerosis, neurodegenerative diseases, neuropathies, opioid use disorder, Parkinson’s, PTSD, severe chronic or intractable pain, sickle cell anemia, terminal illness and Tourette syndrome. Someone with one of the conditions must have it certified by a doctor who is state-approved to obtain a card enabling them to buy medical marijuana at a medical marijuana dispensary.
Pennsylvania Is a State-Based Exchange Using a Federal Platform for 2020
On July 2, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed House Bill 3 (now Act 42 of 2019) into law to create a state-based exchange (SBE) in Pennsylvania and begin a two-year transition from the current federally-facilitated Marketplace through Healthcare.gov to the SBE. Full transition to the SBE is slated for the 2021 Open Enrollment period and at that time the commonwealth will host its own website, navigator programs, call center and marketing and outreach. For this 2020 transition year, PACHC has been awarded sole state funding to operate the Navigator Program under the Pennsylvania Health Insurance Exchange Authority. Since implementation of the ACA in 2010, Pennsylvania has relied on the federal health insurance exchange. To cover costs, the federal government charged insurers a 3.5 percent fee on premiums paid by ACA enrollees each month, a projected $98 million for Pennsylvania insurers in 2019. This user fee is expected to be cut to 3% beginning in 2020, decreasing the amount to approximately $88 million. Pennsylvania will continue to use Healthcare.gov to enroll consumers for 2020 coverage, to calculate premium tax credits and to enroll consumers eligible for special enrollment periods.
Pennsylvania Awarded Another $75M to Respond to Opioid Epidemic
State and local agencies in Pennsylvania will receive $75 million over the next year to combat the opioid epidemic, part of $1.8 billion in funding the Trump administration announced Wednesday. The new round of funding includes $8.5 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, $5.9 million to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and $5.2 million to the Allegheny County Health Department to better collect and track overdose data as close to real time as possible. The state intends to use the money to help overwhelmed county offices and find ways to streamline data collection into a standardized statewide system. This new money to support opioid reporting is in addition to the nearly $56 million the state will receive in the next year to carry out its opioid response plan.
Pennsylvania Awarded $2.25 Million to Study Maternal Mortality
The administration of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that it has received a $2.25 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the cause of maternal deaths in the state after an increase in recent years. Read more.
ARC Substance Abuse Advisory Council Issues Final Report of Recommendations
This week, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) formally accepted a final Report of Recommendations developed by the Substance Abuse Advisory Council (SAAC) outlining proposed steps for developing a robust recovery ecosystem in Appalachia. Among the recommended strategies for action include developing community playbooks, employers toolkits, model workforce training programs, and community navigation programs. Many of the recommendations’ key themes were drawn from six Recovery-to-Work Listening Sessions hosted by ARC, coupled with expertise from the SAAC, a 24-member volunteer group of leaders from recovery services, health, economic development, private industry, education, state government, law enforcement, and other sectors representing each of the Region’s 13 states. ARC seated the SAAC earlier this year with the charge to develop concrete guiding recommendations to ARC for addressing the workforce impacts of Appalachia’s substance abuse epidemic.
“This report, the result of excellent work by the ARC Substance Abuse Advisory Council, is informed and inspired by the people of the Appalachian Region, who have been especially impacted by the substance abuse epidemic in our country,” said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas. “I am proud not only of the innovative and necessary recommendations they have produced, but of the transparent and participatory process by which they reached their conclusions. Their effort proves that effective leadership begins at the community level. I accept their recommendations, thank the Commission for doing the same, and will seek to begin addressing them with our state partners in future ARC programs.”
Vaccine Coverage Lower For Rural Teens
In late August 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released results from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen) in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), providing the latest estimates of vaccination rates among adolescents in the United States. The key findings from the report include a lower rate of vaccination in rural areas. This MMWR also included a report on the latest estimates of HPV cancers in the United States, which found that HPV vaccination could prevent 92 percent of cancers estimated to be caused by HPV. To support healthcare professionals in making effective recommendations, addressing parents’ questions and concerns, and reinforcing the message that HPV vaccination is cancer prevention, the CDC has developed a number of educational resources. The full MMWR report can be accessed here.
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Announces Suicide Prevention Task Force Public Listening Sessions
On May 29, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s administration announced the creation of a statewide Suicide Prevention Task Force. The goal of this task force is to bring together state agencies with differing responsibilities and constituencies to inform a comprehensive, statewide suicide prevention plan.
Suicide does not discriminate, and all ages, genders, regions, and socioeconomic statuses may be affected. Because of this, the task force is seeking public input on their ideas for suicide prevention, education around mental health and suicide, and how to dispel the stigma around suicide and mental health.
Public listening sessions will take place around the commonwealth beginning in September through November. Sessions are currently scheduled for:
- Thursday, September 12, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Penn State Behrend – Erie, PA
- Thursday, September 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Temple University – Philadelphia, PA
- Thursday, October 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Jewish Community Center – York, PA
- Thursday, October 24 – 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Area – Additional Details Coming Soon
- Friday, October 25 – 10 a.m.-12 p.m. – Allentown – Additional Details Coming Soon
- Thursday, November 7 – 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Jewish Healthcare Foundation – Pittsburgh, PA
- Friday, November 8 – 10 a.m.-12 p.m. – Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA
- Friday, November 15 – 10 a.m.-12 p.m. – Southeastern Pennsylvania – Additional Details Coming Soon
You can register for the listening sessions here. Please complete one registration per participant from your organization or family. If you would like to speak, please indicate that on your registration. Additional details on locations and parking will be sent ahead of each event.
HRSA Study Finds 1 in 4 Children and 1 in 5 Adolescents are Victims of Bullying
A HRSA study using 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health data highlights the need for universal prevention efforts and targeted services to address bullying among children and adolescents.
The study by HRSA researchers showed that 22.7% of children and adolescents aged 6–17 years were bullied by others, as reported by their parents or caregivers. Bullying victimization was slightly higher among 6-11 year olds than among 12-17 year olds (24.1% vs. 21.1%).
The results also reveal opportunities to improve access to mental health services for youth experiencing bullying.
Shortage Designation Modernization Project: Auto-HPSA National Update
On August 30, 2019, HRSA updated all automatically designated Health Professional Shortage Area (Auto-HPSA) scores. With the implementation of this update, for the first time Auto-HPSAs are now scored electronically, not manually, streamlining the process and ensuring that all HPSAs nationwide are in a single online system.
All Auto-HPSA organizations have the opportunity to submit rescore requests via the online Auto-HPSA portal.
Updated scores will be used for the FY 2020 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program application cycle, which will open in February 2020.
View the announcement and visit the Shortage Designation Modernization Project for more information about the update.
National Health Service Corps Partners with SAMHSA’s Providers Clinical Support System
A new partnership between our National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and SAMHSA’s Providers Clinical Support System (PCSS) connects qualified clinicians to free Medication-Assisted Treatment training and professional development resources, and the opportunity to obtain the DATA 2000 Waiver, which will increase access to quality substance use disorder or opioid use disorder treatment in rural and underserved areas.