- Fact Sheet: The Biden-Harris Administration Highlights Investments in Rural America, Invites Public Nominations for Rural Innovators Initiative
- Rural Victims of Intimate-Partner Violence Need More Resources and Support, Study Finds
- A Tribe in Maine Is Using Opioid Settlement Funds on a Sweat Lodge to Treat Addiction
- Fact Sheet: USDA, HHS Announce New Actions to Reduce Impact and Spread of H5N1
- Call for Experts: Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence
- Bill to Expand Definition of 'Village' Qualifying for Water Funds Passes Alaska House
- Child Care Workers Caught in Middle of Michigan's Broken Child Care System
- Few Options Available for Substance Abuse Treatment in the Big Bend
- In Rural Texas, ERs Are Facing a Growing Mental Health Crisis
- Ways and Means Members Put Forth Solutions to Strengthen Telehealth Access and Improve Health Care for Rural Communities
- Sage Memorial Hospital in Navajo Nation Constructs New Facility to Improve Health Care
- How the State, Tribes and Federal Government Are Working to Curb SD's Syphilis Epidemic
- Rural Children Struggle to Access Hospital Services, Say Researchers
- RPHARM Program Fulfills Need for Rural Pharmacists
- A Pilot Program in Rural Vermont Hopes to Build a Blueprint for Substance Abuse Recovery
The Kaiser Family Foundation Has Been Tracking State Medicaid Enrollment and Disenrollment
During the COVID-19 PHE, states could receive enhanced federal payments for halting Medicaid disenrollments, also known as the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision. As of April 1, 2023, states are resuming operations to redetermine Medicaid eligibility for all enrollees. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) created a tracker to monitor changes in Medicaid enrollment during this unwinding period. It presents the most recent Medicaid enrollment data available for each state as well as any unwinding data on monthly renewals, disenrollments, and other measures that may be available for a state.
You Can Read About the Guidance for States on Ending COVID-19 PHE Medicaid Flexibilities Here!
This Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services (CMCS) Informational Bulletin (CIB) lists the end dates of certain COVID-19-related Medicaid and CHIP coverage and enhanced federal funding if the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) ends on May 11, 2023, as expected. As part of their response to the COVID-19 PHE, states adopted many temporary flexibilities to support providers and individuals enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, such as coverage of COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccinations. The bulletin provides key dates to assist states with returning to routine Medicaid and CHIP operations. About a quarter of rural adults under age 65 are covered by Medicaid.
The Government Accountability Office Releases Findings on Midwifery
Among other findings, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that the number of midwives and midwifery students has increased; in 2021, midwives attended 12 percent of births in the U.S. Access is still a concern, however. Students may have trouble with the cost of education and a limited number of training opportunities, while insurance coverage is spotty – leaving some people interested in having a midwife unable to afford one. Recent data show that, in 2019, more than 30 percent of rural counties had no obstetric clinicians of any type. The GAO reported on this shortage last year, with data supporting an increase in Medicaid reimbursement to close the gap in maternity care for rural areas.
A New Website for Mental Health and Substance Use Has Been Created
A new online resource from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was designed for the general public to help people Find Support for issues related to mental health, drugs, or alcohol.
Federal Agencies Have Extended Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescribing Controlled Medications
In response to a record 38,000 comments from the public, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Drug Enforcement Agency will extend the full set of telemedicine flexibilities adopted during the COVID-19 public health emergency that ends today, May 11. The temporary rule will allow providers to prescribe controlled medications, such as buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD), via telemedicine until November 11, 2023. For patient-provider relationships established by that date, flexibilities will extend another year to November 2024. While rates for OUD are similar in both rural and urban areas, the availability of medication-assisted therapies has been disproportionately located in urban areas.
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Has Committed To Supporting Benefits Counseling Activities
On May 10th, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy awarded approximately $1 million in supplemental funding to the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program recipients to support community benefits counseling activities and related work to meet community needs through the unwinding of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The twenty-one (21) award recipients will establish effective, equitable, and inclusive strategies around outreach, education, and benefits counseling to rural residents who may be disenrolled from Medicaid due to the unwinding of the COVID-19 PHE.
Pennsylvania Broadband Infrastructure Program Now Accepting Applications
The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (Authority) is currently accepting applications for the Capital Projects Fund – Broadband Infrastructure Program (Program) through Monday, July 10, 2023. The Authority has also designed and made available a FAQ document for this program.
The $200 million competitive grant program, funded through the American Rescue Plan Act’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF), will target locations that do not currently have access to 25/3 Mbps reliable service. Eligible applicants include local units of government, non-profits, cooperatives, and private entities. The Program will fund extensions of existing last-mile cable modem and fiber-to-the-premise broadband networks as well as large-scale regional projects that can transform broadband availability by serving large numbers of eligible addresses.
Additionally, the Authority has created an online web map to support prospective applicants for this program and future programs. This map shows broadband serviceable locations and community anchor institutions across the Commonwealth. The Broadband Serviceable Locations (BSLs) are categorized into served, underserved, and unserved layers. This map will continue to be updated using the latest available data from the Federal Communications Commission Broadband Data Collection (BDC). We anticipate this map being released and available to the public in the near future.
If you have additional questions about this program, please utilize the following resource account to contact us, pbda_capitalprojectsfund@pa.gov.
Accepting Nominations: PA Oral Health Awards!
The PA Coalition for Oral Health (PCOH) is accepting nominations for the 2023 PA Oral Health Champion Awards.
Awardees will be selected by the Board of Directors of PCOH, upon recommendation of the Summit Committee, and are based on notable work on oral health progress in Pennsylvania. Awardees will have the option to accept their awards in-person at the 2023 PA Oral Health Summit on November 17th or virtually at a later date. All nominations must be submitted by July 7th at 5 pm.
Read About the Updates to Requirements for Buprenorphine Prescribing
The FORHP-supported Center on Rural Addiction at the University of Vermont provides information on new federal requirements for outpatient providers prescribing buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid use disorder. While no longer needing a waiver from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), clinicians will still be required to register with the DEA to prescribe controlled medications. Beginning on June 27, the DEA registration will require applicants – both new and renewing – to affirm they have completed a new, one-time, eight-hour training. Exceptions for the new training requirement are practitioners who are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry, and those who graduated from a medical, dental, physician assistant, or advanced practice nursing school in the U.S. within five years of June 27, 2023.
CMS Provides Guidance to States Surveyors and Providers for the End of the Public Health Emergency
During the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waived certain requirements to allow greater access to healthcare products and services for beneficiaries of public health insurance. Several of these waivers, including health and safety requirements for CMS-designated Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals, will end when the official public health emergency expires on May 11. Certain policies, such as the Acute Hospital at Home initiative and telehealth flexibilities have been extended by Congress through December 31, 2024.