- Ways and Means Members Put Forth Solutions to Strengthen Telehealth Access and Improve Health Care for Rural Communities
- In Rural Texas, ERs Are Facing a Growing Mental Health Crisis
- 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
- Farmers Don't Do Mental Health
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Critical More Than $1.5 Billion State and Tribal Opioid Response Funding Opportunities
- Outlining the Intersection between Health Care and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
- USDA Rural Development Seeks Input to Improve Access to Grants and Help More Communities Thrive
- Rural Telehealth Extension Reintroduced in Congress
- The South Was the Center of Rural Population Growth Last Year
- Students From Across the State Emphasized the Need for Mental Health Resources in Rural Alaska During a Conference
- How HHS SUD Confidentiality Regulations Will Impact Rural Providers
Rural Oral Health Needs Report Released
The CareQuest Institute for Oral Health recently released a new report, “Still Searching: Meeting Oral Health Needs in Rural Settings.” The report explores why rural populations have worse oral health care access in comparison with urban populations and how providers can reduce these disparities.
Pennsylvania Oral Health Coalition Announces Community Water Fluoridation Funding Opportunity
Calling all Pennsylvania water systems! PCOH has additional funds available and is requesting proposals for Community Water Fluoridation (CWF) Equipment Grants. This grant seeks to issue funds to those public water systems wishing to initiate, update or expand the practice of community water fluoridation. This funding round gives priority to community water systems that are initiating a fluoridation program. Systems may be at any stage in the initiation process. Systems which have previously received equipment grants from PCOH may apply for equipment updates and replacements, although first-time applicants will receive priority consideration. The maximum request per water system currently fluoridating or wishing to initiate fluoridating may not exceed $50,000.
Applications are due December 31 by 5 pm. Please share with your local water system or municipality.
Click here for the guidelines.
Funding for this project is through the Pennsylvania Department of Health through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Grant NU58DP006467: Using Surveillance Data and Evidence-based Interventions to Improve Oral Health Outcomes in Pennsylvania. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by CDC, HHS or the U.S. Government.
Pennsylvania Hospitals Among US News’ 73 Inaugural Maternity Care Access Hospitals
U.S. News & World Report for the first time has recognized 73 hospitals as Maternity Care Access Hospitals; eight are located in Pennsylvania.
Hospitals on the list are those providing maternity care to low-access communities throughout the U.S. and have acceptable performance on each of the quality measures used in determining U.S. News‘ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. Read more about the methodology here.
Hospitals recognized as Maternity Care Access Hospitals were also required to meet geographic criteria. They were eligible if the hospital was either the only hospital providing maternity care within its county and was located in a county with fewer than 60 obstetric providers per 10,000 births, or if the hospital was the only hospital within a 15-mile radius and was located in a county with fewer than 128 obstetric providers per 10,000 births.
Hospitals did not make the Maternity Care Access Hospitals list if they received the lowest normalized value for unexpected newborn complications, C-sections, early elective delivery, or episiotomy, U.S. News said. Hospitals also didn’t make the list if they reported an exclusive human milk feeding rate of less than 21.2%, which is the lowest decile of exclusive human milk feeding reported by The Joint Commission’s Quality Check website for 2021.
- Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
- Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono (East Stroudsburg)
- Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill South Jackson Street (Pottsville)
- UPMC Carlisle
- UPMC Williamsport
- UPMC Northwest (Seneca)
- WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital
- WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital (Lebanon)
Report Highlights Dentist Workload Impact from Staffing Shortages
A new report from the American Dental Association Health Policy Institute (HPI) found that dentists are taking on additional tasks as staffing shortages persist. HPI surveyed 1,000 dentists in October 2023 and found that more than one-third of respondents reported that workload division has changed between themselves and their teams since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many dentists are taking on duties normally assigned to dental hygienists, dental assistants, and administrative team members.
Dental Changes Included in 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, which is a complete listing of fees used by Medicare to pay doctors or other providers. CMS has finalized the payment policy for dental services for head and neck cancer treatments. CMS also codified allowing Medicare Part A and B payment for dental or oral examination performed as part of a comprehensive workup prior to medically necessary diagnostic and treatment services, to eliminate an oral or dental infection prior to, or contemporaneously with, those treatment services, and to address dental or oral implications after radiation. Finally, CMS has finalized its proposal to permit payment for certain dental services linked to other covered services used to treat cancer. The fee schedule is effective on or after January 1st, 2024.
PA Oral Health Coalition Releases 2018-2025 Charitable Work Tracking Report
PCOH is pleased to release the 2018-2023 Charitable Work Tracking Report which includes five years of data collected from free and charitable clinics in Pennsylvania. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Free Clinic Association of Pennsylvania for their assistance in collecting and compiling the data.
Telehealth Policy Resource Center Fact Sheet for 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Released
The fact sheet covers telehealth services made eligible by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule. These are services that can be delivered by telehealth, remote monitoring services, physician supervision, diabetes self-management training, and more. The Center for Connected Health Policy is supported by HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth.
Read the full article here.
New CMS Initiatives Added to Catalog for Rural Providers
Updates from the Rural Health Value team includes summaries for the States Advancing All-Payer Health Equity Approaches and Development (AHEAD) Model and the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, announced last week with applications due on January 30. The Rural Health Value team is funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Read the full article here.
Medicare Finalizes Rule on Nursing Home Ownership Disclosure
Published on November 15, the final rule for Nursing Home Ownership Disclosure requires nursing homes enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid – upon initial enrollment or when revalidating – to disclose additional information regarding their owners, operator, management, and entities that lease or sub-lease property to nursing homes. The rule also finalizes definitions of private equity company and real estate investment trust for Medicare provider enrollment purposes and makes these disclosures public.
Read the full article here.
Proposed Updates: Health Insurance Marketplaces and Insurers for 2025
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services propose new standards for health insurance plans on State and Federal Marketplaces, as well as new requirements for agents, brokers, web-brokers, direct enrollment entities, and other assisters that help Marketplace consumers. Proposals include requiring state Marketplaces to develop standards for time and distance to receive care that are at least as stringent as those under the Federally facilitated Marketplace plans; allowing states to add routine dental services as an essential health benefit; easing consumers’ transition to new coverage under special enrollment periods; and establishing standards for Marketplace call centers to have live representatives available during hours of operation. The number of issuers offering plans in rural areas has increased in recent years making Marketplace plans an important source of health insurance coverage for those living in rural areas.
Comment by January 8.
Read the full article here.