- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
CMS Report to Congress: Reducing Telehealth Barriers for Pediatric Medicaid Populations
The report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) outlines state-level policy that can reduce barriers to using telehealth for treating substance use disorders (SUDs) among pediatric Medicaid populations. Medicaid coverage and state laws regarding telehealth vary by state, so this report highlights how delivering care to children with SUD differs between telehealth and in-person visits in terms of costs and quality of care. While the field is still emerging, there are promising practices that could improve access to care where options for SUD treatment is limited.
Health Access for Infants and Toddlers in Rural Areas
A new report, “Health Care Access for Infants and Toddlers in Rural Areas,” examines state-level differences in how infants and toddlers living in rural areas are faring compared to other children. Among a number of key findings, the report concluded that infants and toddlers living in rural areas are less likely to receive a preventive medical or dental visit and less likely to receive recommended vaccines.
Healthy People 2030 Launch Webcast
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will unveil Healthy People 2030 during a webcast on August 18th at 1 p.m. ET. Healthy People 2030 is a set of science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving health and well-being in the United States. During the webcast, HHS will highlight new goals and objectives and provide an overview of the development process.
APA on Treating Mental Health in Diverse Patient Populations
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) provides background information for treating patients from diverse backgrounds, including but not limited to: African-American, Appalachian, Native American, and refugee/forced displacement. Find more information here.
NCSL on the Role of Pharmacists in Rural Areas
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) explains how pharmacists can increase access to care, especially expanding access to care, especially in areas facing primary care provider shortages. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization provides a state-by-state breakdown of policies allowing pharmacists to participate in the care of patients. The NCSL is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration through a cooperative agreement with the National Organization of State and Local Health Officials.
National Rural Health Resource Center COVID-19 Collection
With support from the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the National Rural Health Resource Center serves as a national rural health knowledge center, providing technical assistance, information, tools and resources. This collection will be updated regularly with information from national and federal sources. The Center also provides a guide for COVID-19 Funding Sources Impacting Rural Providers.
Executive Order on Improving Rural Health and Telehealth Access
On August 3, the President issued an Executive Order that seeks to improve health care in rural areas by expanding access to telehealth. Within 30 days of the order, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) will launch a new payment model and develop strategies for improving the physical and communications health care infrastructure available in rural areas. HHS will submit a report with existing and upcoming initiatives to reduce regulatory burden on providers, improve maternity morbidity and mortality, and improve mental health care. Within 60 days of the order, HHS will review specified temporary measures put in place during the public health emergency (PHE) and propose a regulation to extend these measures, as appropriate, beyond the duration of the PHE
Comments Requested: Proposed Updates to the CY2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule – October 5
This week, CMS released proposed updates to how physician and other service providers are reimbursed by Medicare. In addition to several technical updates to how payment rates are set, CMS is proposing to add several telehealth services to their current list as well as to the list under the COVID-19 public health emergency; to allow direct supervision to be provided using real-time, interactive audio and video technology; and to make permanent the public health emergency waiver allowing nurse practitioners (NPs), clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), physician assistants (PAs), and certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) to supervise the performance of diagnostic tests. CMS is also proposing revisions to simplify coding and billing requirements for Evaluation and Management (E/M) visits including office/outpatient visits.
Comments Requested: Proposed Changes to Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System – October 5
On August 4, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released proposed changes to the outpatient prospective payment system and the ambulatory payment system for the 2021 calendar year. Proposals that may be of interest to rural providers include changes to how drugs acquired under the 340B program are reimbursed and updates to how the Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings can be calculated to include Critical Access Hospitals.
NIH Phase 3 Clinical Trial of Investigational Vaccine for COVID-19 Begins
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking volunteers for a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a vaccine developed to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The trial, which will be conducted at U.S. clinical research sites, is expected to enroll approximately 30,000 adult volunteers who do not have COVID-19. Get more information from a Q&A about the phase 3 trial. You can also watch a 30-minute interview with a volunteer from the phase 1 clinical trial, who is joined by NIH Director Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci. (Note: the video has some tech difficulties in the beginning).