The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) is recognizing National Diabetes Awareness Month in November. There are three main types of diabetes – type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes (diabetes while pregnant). Type 2 diabetes is the most prevalent form of diabetes with about 90-95% of the estimated 34 million people living with diabetes having type 2 diabetes. There are also an additional 88 million Americans with prediabetes.

As incidences of new diabetes cases have become more prevalent among non-Hispanic Blacks coupled with existing cases being highest among American Indian and Alaska Native people, it is important to highlight and address health disparities in diabetes impacting minority populations. Factors including lack of access to healthcare, quality of care received, and socioeconomic status have disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minority populations in both the prevalence of this disease and health outcomes.

Recognizing National Diabetes Month is part of our ongoing strategy to share resources and initiatives that aim to improve access to healthcare services and improve health equity. Below are several resources that healthcare professionals can use to help their patients manage their diabetes.

Resources

• Review our newly released data snapshot, Diabetes Disparities in Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries, that examines disparities in quality of diabetes care and preventable utilization of healthcare services by race, ethnicity, and social determinants of health factors for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
• Download Managing Diabetes: Medicare Coverage and Resources to help patients with managing their diabetes and health coverage. This resource is also available in Spanish.
• Just updated! Review Diabetes Prevention Programs: Equity Tailored Resources which identifies resources for providers and care teams focusing on prevention and evidence-based lifestyle intervention.
• Familiarize yourself with the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program: Click here for provider information or visit this site for Medicare beneficiaries.
• Read CMS OMH’s Diabetes Management: Directory of Provider Resources which identifies resources on the management of type 2 diabetes that could be useful for providers and care teams.
• Read the CDC’s Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States, 2021, a fact sheet on Chronic Kidney Disease, which affects 15% of American adults. This resource is also available in Spanish.
• Download the Connected Care Toolkit, a chronic care management (CCM) resource that contains educational materials to raise awareness about the importance of CCM services for Medicare and dual-eligible patients with multiple conditions.
• Watch Connecting the Dots, an animated video that provides CCM services information for Medicare patients living with multiple chronic conditions.
• Read CMS OMH’s Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Diabetes Prevalence, Self-Management, and Health Outcomes among Medicare Beneficiaries, which examines the prevalence of diabetes among Medicare beneficiaries based on a variety of factors such as race and ethnicity.

CMS has a “Insulin Savings” filter on Medicare Plan Finder to display plans that will offer the capped out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Click here to learn more.

On October 1, 2021, HHS issued a final rule rescinding the Trump Administration’s final rule, “Implementing of Executive Order on Access to Affordable Life-Saving Medications,” initially released in December 2020. This new final rule became effective Saturday, October 30.

Physician Assistant modernization bills, SB 397 (now Act 78) and SB 398 (now Act 79) passed out of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and the Senate and were signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf. The bills remove unnecessary restrictions on Physician Assistants (PAs), place decision making with PAs and supervising physician(s), place a permanent PA representative on the Medical and Osteopathic Boards, allow the filing of written agreements without needing prior approval of written agreement (states that already allow this do not show an increase in malpractice/reportable events), remove the 100 percent countersignature requirement and allow supervising physicians to determine need for countersignature, and align the supervision requirements under the Medical Board and Osteopathic Board.

A summary of the changes in the Medical and Osteopathic Practice Acts after passage of SB 397 and 398 is available on the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) website.

Pennsylvania nurses are among the frontline workers and first responders who were cheered on by their communities at the beginning of the statewide shutdown. But they were showing signs of burnout long before the COVID-19 pandemic began. That’s why Sen. Maria Collett, D-Montgomery, a registered nurse, spearheaded the COVID-19 Nursing Workforce Initiative, a plan to use $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan funds to support and retain nurses across the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, which administers financial aid programs, will create and manage the loan forgiveness program. When it launches, eligible nurses — Pennsylvania residents who are licensed through the Department of State and began working at a qualifying facility before Dec. 31, 2021 — can apply for up to $7,500 in assistance to reduce outstanding loan debt, with a cap of $2,500 per year for three years. The Department of Labor and Industry will operate the apprenticeship and partnership program to showcase new career opportunities in the nursing field. At least one new apprenticeship and one new industry partnership will target underrepresented populations.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) made $100 million available to fund state-run programs that support, recruit and retain primary care clinicians through HRSA’s State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP). All 50 states, Washington, D.C. and U.S. territories can apply to receive between $80,000 and $1 million annually to fund their own loan repayment programs for providers serving in underserved areas. The funding opportunity has two new flexibilities available throughout the next project period (FY 2022-2026):

• No cost-sharing requirement: States are not required to demonstrate a match for the federal funding received through the grant.
• Administrative costs: States can dedicate 10% of the SLRP award to administrative costs, to increase state capacity to administer a loan repayment program.

The deadline to apply is April 8, 2022, and Pennsylvania intends to apply. Notices of Award will be announced prior to the project start date of Sunday, May 1, 2022.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a goal of driving all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries and most Medicaid beneficiaries into accountable care by 2030, according to a white paper outlining a “strategic refresh” at the CMS Innovation Center. Accountable care relationships might include advanced primary care, Accountable Care Organizations or other models that emphasize accountability for quality and total cost of care. Other strategic objectives outlined in the white paper include advancing health equity and affordability, spurring care innovations and partnering with stakeholders.

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Creating healthy communities means much more than simply being able to see a doctor. To thrive, communities need safe, stable housing, access to nutritional food, reliable transportation, access to affordable treatments and much more. But the voices of communities – especially Black and Brown, rural and other underserved communities – are rarely heard in conversations at the state and local level that impact their health.

The new BeHeard BeHealthy PA initiative will create new ways for communities across Pennsylvania to participate in building healthier communities by making their voices heard through listening sessions, a new survey panel and advocating for community-driven priorities at the state and local levels. The Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) is collaborating with trusted and locally connected organizations across Pennsylvania to engage local communities and make their voices heard! PHAN is seeking community partners to assist. The role of each community partner is to facilitate community conversations, recruit members of the local community to join a new survey panel and identify community leaders to take part in statewide efforts to advance community driven policies at the state and local levels.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released a new video, “Find a Health Center,” to increase awareness about health centers and help potential patients locate a health center near them.