The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced that for the first time in the 40-year history of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), the OPTN Board of Directors—the governing board that develops national organ allocation policy—is now separately incorporated and independent from the Board of long-time OPTN contractor, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). HRSA has awarded an OPTN Board Support contract to American Institutes for Research to support the newly incorporated OPTN Board of Directors.

These critical actions to better serve patients by breaking up the monopoly that ran the nation’s organ allocation system are part of the OPTN modernization plan announced by HRSA in March 2023. Prior to these steps, the national body responsible for developing organ allocation policy for the country—the OPTN—and the corporate entity contracted to implement the policy—UNOS—shared the exact same Board of Directors. The new board support contractor will be accountable to HRSA and will organize a special election for a new OPTN Board of Directors with a focus on eliminating conflicts of interest and ensuring that data, evidence, and the voices of clinical leaders, scientific experts, patients, and donor families are driving action and accountability. Moving forward, no member of the OPTN Board can sit on an OPTN vendor’s board of directors.

“Families anxiously waiting for a life-saving transplant for their loved one shouldn’t have to worry about how the system that determines who gets what organ is managed and governed,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “That’s why we in the Biden-Harris Administration launched our major reform initiative to ensure patients, families, and clinicians have access to a best-in-class system that is fair, reliable, and transparent. Today’s announcements are an essential step forward in this work to make the system work better for patients and families.”

Under the Biden-Harris Administration, HRSA launched its Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Modernization Initiative to address systemic issues that have plagued the national organ allocation system for years, including inequities in access to transplant, lost organs, conflicts of interest, system reliability issues, and lack of transparency.

Last year, the President’s Budget included both legislative and funding reforms to implement the Administration’s vision for reform, which bipartisan leaders in Congress embraced—leading to the enactment of the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act in Fall 2023 and new appropriations commitments to implement the law.

With this new authority and funding, HRSA has worked swiftly to launch new opportunities to engage best-in-class expertise to support modernization. The OPTN Board Support contract awarded today will not only support the work associated with a new board election but also will provide logistical and governance support to the OPTN Board of Directors to improve the accountability and transparency of OPTN policymaking and governance processes.  Additional separate, multi-vendor contracts to manage various functions of the OPTN will be awarded in the coming months.

Fall semester is here, and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is excited to announce the selection of 16 Appalachian colleges and universities to participate in the research program this year!

Since 2001, 30+ schools (and 3K+ students!) from across the region have participated in our Appalachian Collegiate Research Initiative.

This program gives students the applied research tools they need to solve economic development challenges in their communities. 🔎

The full list of this year’s participating schools is online now. Stay tuned for more information about each of their research projects!

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is excited to announce that 30 local philanthropic organizations from across 10 Appalachian states have been selected to participate in READY Community Foundations, the fourth and final learning track of our READY Appalachia capacity-building initiative. ✨

Participating organizations will receive no-cost training to improve their programming, operations, fundraising and financial impact. Upon successful completion, they will be eligible to apply for up to $25K in funding (no-match required) for internal capacity-building projects.

All of the organizations serve at least one of the following:

• Distressed areas
• Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities priority communities
• Rural Partners Network Community Networks communities
• Historically underserved and marginalized populations

Learn more about the participants and READY Community Foundations!

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently sent a report to Congress on agency-wide activities and outcomes of programs addressing the maternal health crisis. The report includes trends on maternal health outcomes, drivers contributing to the crisis, HHS actions to address drivers, and a measurement framework to assess progress. The report also addresses the lack of access to maternal health care in rural areas and highlights programs aimed at increasing the rural maternal health workforce.

The 2024 National Telehealth Conference Summary Report offers a summary of the 2024 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) National Telehealth Conference by conference session. The report covers increasing access to tele-behavioral healthcare through interstate licensure, expanding access to telehealth services for underserved and low-income communities, and federal efforts for telehealth policy and innovation.

The Biden Administration issued a final rule allowing an estimated 100,000 previously uninsured participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, to access coverage through Health Insurance Marketplaces and the Basic Health Program beginning Nov. 1, 2024. The lawsuit argues that the rule violates a 1996 welfare reform law and the ACA and encourages more immigrants to come to the US illegally. The DACA program was launched in 2012 under former President Barack Obama and offers deportation relief and work permits to “Dreamer” immigrants who were illegally brought to the U.S. as children or overstayed a visa. Previously, DACA recipients were prohibited from enrolling in the Marketplace plans but could receive health insurance through an employer, buy private insurance or in some places access programs funded by states and cities. Pennsylvania has almost 5,000 DACA recipients.

Millions of Americans struggle with behavioral health issues, with over 80% perceiving a dramatic increase in mental health concerns over the past five years alone. The crisis is particularly acute among the 88 million individuals covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), who face higher rates of mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD) compared to the privately insured. In a new op-ed published by Medical Economics, Primary Care Collaborative President and CEO Ann Greiner and Community Catalyst Co-Interim President Brandon Wilson explain how Medicaid and CHIP can help address these crises by promoting behavioral health integration in primary care. Integrating behavioral health care and addiction treatment into primary care enables patients to address both physical and mental health needs in one location, facilitates early detection, and may encourage more individuals to seek professional help. Key recommendations include removing cost-sharing barriers, expanding coverage and rates for integrated care models, and providing clearer guidance on payment and care models. These steps are essential for addressing the growing behavioral health crisis and ensuring that all communities have access to comprehensive care.

CDC’s new report finds that while the Vaccines for Children program has provided lifesaving vaccines at no cost to eligible children for 30 years, gaps in vaccination coverage remain. Read the report.

The CDC issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to notify health care providers, public health authorities, and the public about current increases in human parvovirus B19 activity in the U.S. Parvovirus B19 is a seasonal respiratory virus that is transmitted through respiratory droplets by people with symptomatic or asymptomatic infection. In the first quarter of 2024, public health authorities in 14 European countries observed unusually high numbers of cases of parvovirus B19. Recently, CDC has received reports indicating increased parvovirus B19 activity in the U.S. Data include increased test positivity for parvovirus B19 in clinical specimens and pooled plasma from a large commercial laboratory, and reports of clusters of parvovirus B19-associated complications among pregnant people and people with sickle cell disease. See the full Health Advisory for more information, including recommendations for health care providers.