- Weathering the Storm Together: Community Resiliency Hubs Hold the Promise of Local Self-Sufficiency and Supportive Mutual Aid
- Virginia Tech Researchers Bring Rural Families into the Nation's Largest Study of Early Brain and Child Development
- Expanding Access to Cancer Care for Rural Veterans
- VA: Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting
- Scaling Rural Wellness with Clever Collaboration
- Stroudwater Associates Enhances Rural Healthcare Dashboard with New Data to Support State Rural Transformation Grant Applications
- Harvest Season Is Here: Busy Times Call for Increased Focus on Safety and Health
- HHS Dispatches More Than 70 Public Health Service Officers to Strengthen Care in Tribal Communities
- Wisconsin Rural Hospitals Team up to Form Network
- CMS Launches Landmark $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program
- American Heart Association Provides Blood Pressure Kits at Southeast Arkansas Regional Libraries to Support Rural Health
- Broadening Access to Minimally Invasive Surgery Could Narrow Rural-Urban Health Gaps
- Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
- Help Line Gives Pediatricians Crucial Mental Health Information to Help Kids, Families
- Rural Health: A Strategic Opportunity for Governors
CMS Releases Updated Fact Sheet on Current Medicaid and CHIP Health Coverage Options Available for Afghan Evacuees
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated fact sheet, based on recent legislative changes, to help states and advocacy organizations understand what health coverage options are available to Afghan evacuees.
Afghan evacuees arriving in the United States will be eligible for health coverage through Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Health Insurance Marketplace, or refugee medical assistance (RMA or other health coverage provided by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)). RMA is provided through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and administered in most cases by state Medicaid programs. Eligibility for each coverage program depends on the state where an evacuee is residing and the eligibility criteria for the respective program.
Learn more here: https://medicaid.gov/medicaid/eligibility/downloads/hlth-cov-option-afghan-evac-fact-sheet.pdf
Racial & Ethnic Disparities in Health & Healthcare Executive Brief
ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), a Patient Safety Organization (PSO), recognizing the ubiquity of racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care and their far-reaching consequences, will be using data they receive, detailed research and expert evaluation for their upcoming 2022 Deep Dive. It will identify why addressing racial and ethnic disparities is important and what you can do to reduce them. They have also released Deep Dive: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and Healthcare Executive Brief, key strategies for understanding, detecting, and reducing disparities that impact every area of health care.
The Role of Value-Based Care Using Enabling Services
The 2021 Technical Assistance Outcomes Report issued by the HRSA Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) is an annual report highlighting the significant resources, impacts and outcomes achieved by the BPHC awardees between June 2020 and June 2021. This report, broken down by categories, includes a publication by Health Outreach Partners on the role of value-based care as a primer for outreach and enabling services staff. Enabling services are non-clinical services that do not include direct patient services that enable individuals to access health care and improve health outcomes. Enabling services include case management, referrals, translation/interpretation, transportation, eligibility assistance, health education, environmental health risk reduction, health literacy, and outreach.
For more, click here.
Applications Sought for Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee
The Pennsylvania Maternal Mortality Review Committee (PA MMRC) is accepting applications for new membership. The PA MMRC reviews de-identified summaries of all pregnancy-associated deaths in the commonwealth, regardless of cause of death and including drug-related deaths, homicides, and suicides. The committee determines if the death was related to the pregnancy, identifies contributing factors, determines if the death could have been prevented, and makes recommendations to prevent future deaths.
Learn more about the committee and member expectations. If you are interested in becoming a member, please complete the application and return it to ra-dhmmrc@pa.gov by the deadline of Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
Pennsylvania Senate Moves Telemedicine Bill
The Pennsylvania Senate passed SB 705 authorizing the regulation of telemedicine by professional licensing boards and providing for insurance coverage of telemedicine. Sponsored by Sen. Elder Vogel, SB 705 now heads to the House of Representatives for its consideration. The bill has language that was in the previous version of the bill that led to the governor vetoing the bill last session. When vetoing SB 857 last session, Gov. Wolf noted that “this legislation arbitrarily restricts the use of telemedicine for certain doctor-patient interactions. As amended, this bill interferes with women’s health care and the crucial decision-making between patients and their physicians.” At this time, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is not expected to act on this legislation.
Research Brief: CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings of Rural Hospitals
Researchers at the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program released a brief on CMS Hospital Quality Star Ratings of rural hospitals.
The brief details how rural hospitals were more likely to be unrated than their urban counterparts (41.6% vs. 12.0%) and the percentage of unrated rural hospitals has increased dramatically between 2016 and 2021 (34.3% to 41.6%). Nearly all unrated rural hospitals are Critical Access Hospitals, and almost half of unrated rural hospitals are in the Midwest census region. Star ratings can give patients important information and help them compare hospitals locally and nationwide, but patients should consider a variety of factors when choosing a hospital – not just their star rating or lack thereof.
CMS Office of Minority Health: Welcome to the Third Edition of Health Equity Quarterly
November brings us an opportunity to welcome two health observances, National Diabetes Awareness Month and National Rural Health Day.
CMS OMH will recognize National Diabetes Awareness Month as part of our ongoing strategy to share resources and initiatives that aim to improve access to health care services and improve health equity. Factors including lack of access to health care, 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. 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’s important to highlight and address health disparities in diabetes impacting minority populations. Visit our Health Observances website to find resources to help promote diabetes awareness.
As we approach National Rural Health Day on November 18, CMS recognizes that more than 57 million Americans live in rural areas and face several unique challenges. Those challenges can differ dramatically among the different kinds of rural areas across the country. Rural residents tend to be older and in poorer health than their urban counterparts, and rural communities often face challenges with access to care, financial viability, and the important link between health care and economic development. Starting in November, our Rural Health webpage will highlight multiple tools and resources that can be distributed to providers, patients, and other organizations to help improve the health of rural Americans.
To further support the health of rural communities and recognize National Rural Health Day, please join CMS, along with representatives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for a partner webinar to discuss federal COVID-19 resources, health care workforce mandates, health care coverage related to the COVID-19 vaccine, and more.
Date: Monday, November 15
Time: 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
To register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_c2JR-sw8TbydOWOxOSmA0Q
All Americans deserve the opportunity to have comprehensive, affordable, and accessible health care. Join CMS OMH this Diabetes Awareness Month, National Rural Health Day, and beyond to make that a reality. – Dr. LaShawn McIver