- Students From Across the State Emphasized the Need for Mental Health Resources in Rural Alaska During a Conference
- The South Was the Center of Rural Population Growth Last Year
- How HHS SUD Confidentiality Regulations Will Impact Rural Providers
- VA Announces Expansion of "Close to Me" Cancer Program as Part of the Cancer Moonshot, Bringing Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Closer to Thousands of Veterans
- Navajo Psychiatrist Bridges Gaps Between Native American Culture and Behavioral Health Care
- Biden-Harris Administration Releases National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and First-Ever Federal Action Plan
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
- Rural Jails Turn to Community Health Workers To Help the Newly Released Succeed
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Historic Action to Increase Access to Quality Care, and Support to Families and Care Workers
- Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don't Meet Them.
- Miles for Milk: How Student-Run Grocery Store Reshaped Rural Community's Food Access
- Native Americans Have Shorter Life Spans, and It's Not Just Due to Lack of Health Care
- Using Medicaid to Address Young People's Mental Health Needs in School Settings
- Across the Country, Amish Populations Are on the Rise
- Promotoras Play Essential Role in Connecting Farmworkers with Health Care in Rural NorCal
Biden Administration Directs More Funding to Rural Areas for Vaccine Distribution
By Liz Carey
A majority of the $10 billion in funding will come from the American Rescue Plan.
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Q&A: Dr. Lisa Pruitt on Academia’s Rural Gaps and Blind Spots
By Olivia Weeks
The legal scholar shares her thoughts on poverty, class, feminism, and a memoir recounting her journey from small-town Arkansas to the “chattering classes” of California.
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New Telebehavioral Health Care Best Practice Guide
Telehealth.HHS.gov has added a new best practice guide to help mental health providers navigate changes to telehealth policy due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. This official website from HHS includes resources for getting started, developing a strategy, billing, preparing patients, and more.
New Resource from the RUPRI Rural Health Value Team
The Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Rural Health Value team has updated their Catalog of Value-Based Initiatives for Rural Providers. The resource includes one-page summaries of various HHS value-based programs appropriate for rural participation. It covers programs implemented by HHS, primarily by CMS and its Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI). Recent catalog additions include 1) Community Health Access and Rural Transformation (CHART) Community Transformation and Accountable Care Organization Tracks 2) the Radiation Oncology Model, and 3) the Value in Opioid Disorder Treatment Model.
House and Senate Depart Washington Following Senate Passage of Medicare Sequestration Relief and Rural Health Clinic Corrections
The House and Senate are in recess for their annual Spring recess. Before departing, the Senate passed H.R. 1868 which included continued Medicare sequestration relief through the end of the year and a technical correction to the RHC provisions in the December COVID-19 relief package. The package is anticipated to be signed when they return the week of April 12th.
USDA Invests $266 Million to Improve Rural Community Facilities and Essential Services in 16 States and Puerto Rico
On March 23, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an investment of $226 million to improve rural community facilities and essential services. USDA is investing in 41 projects through the Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program to fund a variety of essential community services, including emergency response vehicles and equipment. Interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office for information about additional funding, application procedures and eligibility details. Also see the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program Guidance Book for Applicants (PDF, 669 KB) for a detailed overview of the application process. You can find the USDA press release here.
NHSC Receives $800 Million to Support Loan Repayment and Scholarship Programs
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) opened its application for all three loan repayment programs and its NHSC Scholarship Program with an additional $800 million available for awards. The additional funds are part of the American Rescue Plan and will support the largest number of NHSC clinicians in history. The NHSC Loan Repayment Program (NHSC LRP), the NHSC Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program (NHSC SUD Workforce LRP) and the NHSC Rural Community Loan Repayment Program (NHSC Rural Community LRP). The application closes on May 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
HHS Announces the COVID-19 Community Corps
HHS announced additional measures to encourage vaccinations and increase vaccine confidence as part of the next phase of its COVID-19 public education campaign. The Administration is launching the COVID-19 Community Corps – a nationwide, grassroots network of local voices people know and trust to encourage Americans to get vaccinated. The Community Corps will be comprised of trusted voices in communities across the country and the Administration will regularly share updated public health information and resources for them to use with their communities to help get friends, family, and followers vaccinated. You can read the HHS press release here and campaign resources here.
CMS Issues Memo Instructing MACs to Hold Claims Pending Congressional Action on Medicare Sequestration
In anticipation of possible Congressional action to extend the 2% sequester reduction suspension, CMS has instructed the Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to hold all claims with dates of service on or after April 1, 2021, for a short period without affecting providers’ cash flow. This will minimize the volume of claims the MACs must reprocess if Congress extends the suspension; the MACs will automatically reprocess any claims paid with the reduction applied if necessary. You can find the MLN Connects newsletter that features this announcement here.
The National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) Offers Free and Confidential Resources for Clinicians
The National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) offers free, confidential point-of-care tele-consultation to any U.S. based clinicians seeking guidance on substance use evaluation and management, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS prevention and management. For 30 years, the NCCC has established itself nationally as a consultation and educational resource that helps clinicians of all experience levels and practice settings.
Through its six tele-consultation lines, the NCCC aims to be an easily accessible “one-stop shop” in supporting the delivery of care that is evidence-informed, person-centered, and promotes health equity:
- The Substance Use Warmline (855-300-3595) offers guidance on substance use evaluation, management, overdose prevention strategies, and treatment of co-morbid conditions, including chronic pain and co-occurring psychiatric disorders.
- The HIV/AIDS Warmline (800-933-3413) provides decision support on questions about HIV antiretroviral medications, drug resistance, testing, and HIV/HCV co-infection.
- The Perinatal HIV/AIDS Hotline (888-448-8765) addresses topics regarding the care of HIV‐positive pregnant people and their infants.
- The Hepatitis C Warmline (844-437-4636) offers advice on screening, staging, monitoring, and treatment for hepatitis C.
- The PrEPline (855-448-7737) provides guidance on the initiation and management of pre-exposure prophylaxis as an HIV prevention option.
- The PEPline (888-448-4911) offers advice on bloodborne pathogen exposure evaluation and management, including occupational and non-occupational exposures to HIV, hepatitis B and
All lines are staffed by a multidisciplinary team of expert primary care and specialist-trained physicians, advanced practice nurses, and specialty clinical pharmacists with over 500 years of collective professional experience across these fields. The NCCC has received consultation requests from clinicians of varied backgrounds and experience levels, including nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, and primary care as well as specialty physicians. The NCCC has assisted providers in rural and urban locations across the U.S. Callers rate NCCC consultations very highly on usefulness and quality, and also note the NCCC’s value and role in helping to achieve positive patient outcomes. NCCC consultants are available Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time (with the exception of the Perinatal HIV Hotline which is available 24/7).
To learn more or to submit a question securely through the NCCC website, please visit nccc.ucsf.edu.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U1OHA30039 (AIDS Education and Training Centers National Clinician Consultation Center) in partnership with the HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) and the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) awarded to the University of California, San Francisco.