- Eight Hospitals Selected for First Cohort of Rural Hospital Stabilization Program
- Announcing the 2030 Census Disclosure Avoidance Research Program
- CMS: Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2026 Rates; Requirements for Quality Programs; and Other Policy Changes; Correction
- CMS: Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2026 Rates; Requirements for Quality Programs; and Other Policy Changes; Correction
- CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly; Correction
- CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly; Correction
- CMS: Medicare Program; FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- 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: 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: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2025 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program; and Medicare Overpayments; and Appeal Rights for Certain Changes in Patient Status; Corrections and Correcting Amendment
- CMS: Request for Information; Health Technology Ecosystem
- CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2025 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program; and Medicare Overpayments; and Appeal Rights for Certain Changes in Patient Status; Corrections and Correcting Amendment
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- HHS: Request for Information (RFI): Ensuring Lawful Regulation and Unleashing Innovation To Make American Healthy Again
Top Five CareQuest Institute Publications from 2021
Based on the collective engagement from the audience of providers, policymakers, advocates, and oral health stakeholders across the industry, below are the top five most popular CareQuest Institute publications.
A Step Toward Improving Oral Health for Our Veterans
A new white paper from CareQuest Institute and the American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) – Veteran Oral Health: Expanding Access and Equity – focuses on the need to better understand the significant deficits surrounding veteran oral health. The goal of the paper, which includes several strategic recommendations to improve access and quality of care, is to catalyze oral health professionals and policymakers toward advancing health equity for veterans.
Disparities Relating to HIV and PrEP
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released two reports which may be of interest to health center providers:
- HIV and Gay and Bisexual Men: Difference in Knowledge of Status, Prevention, Treatment, and Stigma Exist by Race/Ethnicity: https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/hivgaybimen/
- Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Awareness of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Among HIV-Negative Heterosexually Active Adults at Increased Risk for HIV Infection: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7047a3.htm
COVID-19 Effect on Access to Care
The Health Workforce Technical Assistance Center will present a webinar on Thursday, December 16, 2021, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. COVID-19’s Effect on Access to Care for Underserved Populations: An Examination of Telehealth and Provider Attrition, explores the use of telehealth and general access to care for underserved populations both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Register for the webinar: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/7816348436426/WN_3es62LMmS1urd8pUE4jNaQ?utm_campaign=enews20211202&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Doctors Spend More Time Correcting Misinformation
A new survey suggests that more than half of doctors spend time correcting COVID-19 vaccine information from their patients now than six months ago. Among the most common misconceptions: the vaccine modifies your DNA; it causes infertility; it contains a microchip; and it will give you COVID-19. The survey also found that 87% of doctors say that depression and other mental health issues remain the biggest non-COVID-19 related public health concern.
“The Conversation” Videos on COVID-19 Vaccines and Kids
Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have partnered on “The Conversation”, a series of videos with respected leaders representing targeted populations. AAP estimates more than 6.9 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Despite that, as of October, only one in three parents said they planned to vaccinate their 5-11 year-old children. With children five and up now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine and a growing urgency to increase vaccination rates in all communities, these new videos offer authoritative, accessible information from healthcare experts.
View the new FAQs videos with pediatric experts answering the questions parents and caregivers have about the COVID-19 vaccine for children: https://www.greaterthancovid.org/theconversation-children-and-vaccines/?utm_source=Greater+Than+COVID+Email+Sign-Ups&utm_campaign=fbfedeaa1e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_15_05_55_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d2036512ae-fbfedeaa1e-136666946
Viagra May be Useful Against Alzheimer’s Dementia
A study of health insurance data for more than 7.2 million people showed a nearly 70% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s in the next six years among those who took sildenafil (Viagra) versus those who did not. Viagra was originally designed as a heart drug because of its main action of improving blood flow by relaxing or widening blood vessels. Doctors then discovered it was having a similar effect elsewhere in the body, including the arteries of the penis, and it was developed into a successful treatment for erectile dysfunction. It is also been used in the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Experts think it could have other uses too. It is important to note that observed associations like this, even on a huge scale, are not the same as proof of a causative effect. Researchers state the correlation shown as well as other indicators in the study are enough to identify sildenafil as a promising candidate drug for Alzheimer’s disease.
America’s Youngest Adults are Overweight
According to new research conducted by Johns Hopkins and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 56% of American adults ages 18 to 25 are overweight or obese. Using data from a nationally representative sample of 8,015 people in that age bracket, the researchers compared average weights over the past four decades. In that time, that population’s average body mass index, a measure of body fat based on a person’s height and weight, had increased by 4.6 points – from 23.1 (considered normal weight) to 27.7 (considered overweight). That shifted the number of overweight young adults from about 18% in the late 1970’s to nearly 24% by 2018.
No Changes for Pennsylvania HealthChoices Physical Plans
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) has confirmed that there will be no changes to the Physical HealthChoices managed care organization (MCO) assignments in early 2022. Results of two of the four MCO challenges to DHS’ decisions in response to the 2021 RFP process have been announced. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld on November 17, 2021, the state’s decision to deny protests filed by Aetna Better Health of Pennsylvania and Centene/Pennsylvania Health & Wellness after the two plans failed to win contracts in the state’s recent Medicaid managed care procurement. Rulings on protests from Gateway Health Plan and UnitedHealthCare have not been released publicly. Implementation of the new contracts, originally slated for January 1, 2022, have been suspended until the protests are resolved. In Behavioral HealthChoices, Magellan will change to CCBH in Delaware County effective July 1, 2022.
The list of MCO assignments are:
- BehavioralHealth MCO’s https://www.dhs.pa.gov/HealthChoices/HC-Services/Pages/BehavioralHealth-MCOs.aspx
- PhysicalHealthChoices MCO’s https://www.dhs.pa.gov/HealthChoices/HC-Services/Pages/PhysicalHealthChoices-MCOs.aspx
- CommunityHealthChoices MCO’s https://www.dhs.pa.gov/HealthChoices/HC-Services/Pages/CHC-MCOs.aspx
Pennsylvania Announces Regulatory Updates
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that pursuant to Act 73 of 2021, the suspensions of various regulatory provisions under the state disaster emergency declaration were extended until March 31, 2022, unless reinstated sooner by DHS. Effective December 6, 2021, DHS has reinstated several suspended regulations, in whole or in part. A list of suspended regulations and their status is available here: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/coronavirus/Pages/Suspended-Regulations-Reinstatement.aspx