- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Fiscal Year 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- CMS: Request for Information; Health Technology Ecosystem
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- State: 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application
- Public Inspection: CMS: Request for Information: Health Technology Ecosystem
- HHS: Request for Information (RFI): Ensuring Lawful Regulation and Unleashing Innovation To Make American Healthy Again
- VA: Solicitation of Nominations for the Appointment to the Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs
- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
Telehealth Claims Drop Substantially in Early 2021
Telehealth claim lines fell 15.7 percent nationally, decreasing from 7 percent of medical claim lines in January 2021 to 5.9 percent in February, according to FAIR Health’s Monthly Telehealth Regional Tracker. It was the first month-to-month drop in national telehealth utilization since September 2020. Telehealth usage also declined in all four US census regions, with the greatest drop in the West, where the decrease was 18.3 percent. The data represent the privately insured population, excluding Medicare and Medicaid. Read more.
Enforcement Coming but Providers, Payers Unprepared for New Rule
April 5 began the enforcement phase of the U.S. Department of Human Services (HHS) Cures Act information blocking rule, but a survey released last month found that roughly half of the 4,000 health care leaders surveyed in March lacked awareness and readiness. In fact, 47 percent were unfamiliar with the term “information blocking.” Respondents included clinical, technology and administrative leaders from provider, payer and IT organizations. The survey, sponsored by Life Image, found that 15% still charge $25 or more for patients to acquire their own records. Read more.
New Checklist Helps Use CHWs More Effectively
This new checklist is designed to help health center administrators, managers, and care teams effectively leverage the skills and experience of Community Health Workers (CHWs) as part of vaccine rollout efforts. Health center teams have employed CHWs in essential rolls throughout the pandemic response and this resource, created by the National Association of Community Health Workers, will help onboard and incorporate them as part of the next stage. Access the Community Health Worker Checklist.
New Report: Community Health Centers’ COVID-19 Accomplishments and Challenges Over One Year
A new analysis reports on the experience of the nation’s community health centers over the past year, and highlights health centers’ accomplishments in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the challenges that they face as the pandemic continues and the nation seeks to recover. Utilizing data from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) weekly Health Center COVID-19 Survey, the authors document how health centers rose to meet the challenges of the public health emergency, adding diagnostic testing and vaccine capacity and rapidly adapting to telehealth to maintain services and address patient needs. The report also acknowledges the challenges despite health centers’ overall resiliency and success of operating at reduced capacity since the pandemic began. The year-long loss in patient visits has translated into ongoing and substantial patient revenue losses estimated at $5.163 billion nationwide over 12 months, an amount that represents 16.4 percent of total health center revenue reported nationally in 2019. Access the full report—Community Health Centers’ COVID-19 Accomplishments and Challenges Over One Year.
Federal Renter Eviction Moratorium Struck Down
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overstepped its legal authority by issuing a nationwide eviction moratorium, a ruling that could affect millions of struggling Americans. In a 20-page order, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich vacated the CDC order, first put in place during the coronavirus pandemic under the Trump administration and now set to expire June 30.
Get Vaccinated and Win Tickets to the Super Bowl!
The NFL announced on Wednesday that fans vaccinated against the coronavirus will have an opportunity to win free tickets to next year’s Super Bowl. Fans who share why they got vaccinated, or soon will, will be eligible to win a pair of tickets to Super Bowl LVI. The league said it is giving away 50 free tickets. Super Bowl LVI will be held at Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13. Other sports programs are also offering incentives. As an example, the Yankees and Mets will offer free tickets to spectators who get vaccinated against COVID-19 at sites set up right at the game. Fully vaccinated spectators will also be able to attend Yankees and Mets games in sections designated for 100 percent capacity starting this month.
U.S. Backing Waiver of Intellectual Property Protection for COVID-19 Vaccines
In a significant move to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. government agreed to support a controversial proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for vaccines in a bid to increase global supplies of desperately needed doses. The proposal, which was first introduced before the World Trade Organization last fall by South Africa and India, would cover patents, industrial designs, copyrights, and protection of trade secrets.
There’s Not Just One Kind of Vaccine Hesitancy
According to Axios, around 10 percent of Americans aren’t very eager to get the vaccine, but they’re not really hesitant either — they’re just waiting to get it until they get around to it, according to new Harris polling. The findings show that making vaccination more convenient will be a big part of the difficult process of getting more shots in arms, now that many of the most eager Americans have gotten their shots. As of late April, 43 percent of respondents said they’d already gotten a shot, 12 percent said they plan to go to get one the first day they’re able to, 10 percent said they’ll get the vaccine whenever they get around to it, and 21 percent said they will wait a while and see before getting the vaccine. Unfortunately, 14 percent of respondents said they won’t get a vaccine, a number that is virtually unchanged since January. In the real world, about 56 percent of U.S. adults had received at least one shot as of Saturday, per the CDC.
Federal Medicaid Outlays During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) released a data note analyzing federal Medicaid outlays before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the data note analyzes the Treasury data on outlays of the federal government classified as “grants to states for Medicaid.” The analysis examines quarterly and yearly outlays to understand the implications of the pandemic and the enhanced federal matching funds. The full data note is available here.
