- Rural Children Struggle to Access Hospital Services, Say Researchers
- Outlining the Intersection between Health Care and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Critical More Than $1.5 Billion State and Tribal Opioid Response Funding Opportunities
- RPHARM Program Fulfills Need for Rural Pharmacists
- Farmers Don't Do Mental Health
- A Pilot Program in Rural Vermont Hopes to Build a Blueprint for Substance Abuse Recovery
- Rural Telehealth Extension Reintroduced in Congress
- Students From Across the State Emphasized the Need for Mental Health Resources in Rural Alaska During a Conference
- The South Was the Center of Rural Population Growth Last Year
- How HHS SUD Confidentiality Regulations Will Impact Rural Providers
- VA Announces Expansion of "Close to Me" Cancer Program as Part of the Cancer Moonshot, Bringing Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Closer to Thousands of Veterans
- Navajo Psychiatrist Bridges Gaps Between Native American Culture and Behavioral Health Care
- Biden-Harris Administration Releases National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and First-Ever Federal Action Plan
- Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don't Meet Them.
- Rural Communities Face Primary Care Physician Shortage
House Education Committee Hears Testimony on Cyber Education Bill
The House Education Committee held a public hearing the week of January 19, 2020, on HB 1897. The bill, authored by Chairman Curt Sonney (R-Erie), would require all school districts to offer full-time cyber education programs by the 2021-22 school year, as well as set regulations for school district-run cyber education programs. Three panels of education experts testified on the proposed legislation and offered opinions on whether or not the bill should become law. Continue reading here.
Update on PPC’s Prenatal-to-Age-Three Policy Work
Pennsylvania was one of ten states selected in April 2019 to develop a comprehensive prenatal-to-age-three policy agenda as part of the Pritzker Children’s Initiative 9-month planning grant process.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children formally submitted Pennsylvania’s policy agenda and implementation plan. The overall goal of the project is to increase the number of children and families receiving high-quality services by 25 percent by 2023 (or just about 45,000 kids and their families) and 50 percent by 2025.
From Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children:
“We’d like to thank our partners who helped lead the work at the collaborative table with us, including: Allies for Children, the Maternity Care Coalition, Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) and the United Way of Pennsylvania, as well as our partners in our ongoing campaigns in the Early Learning Pennsylvania Coalition – Childhood Begins at Home and Start Strong PA – and our health care table, the Medicaid and CHIP Watch Group. We were also thrilled to submit with our application letters of support from Governor Wolf, U.S. Senator Bob Casey and several of our in-state early learning funders: The Grable Foundation, The Heinz Endowments, the Hillman Family Foundations, Vanguard and the William Penn Foundation.”
Five states will be selected for a 3-year implementation grant, and Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children hope to share news by the end of March.
#CountAllKids 2020
In the last census, Pennsylvania undercounted 25,197 kids, resulting in nearly $44 million in lost federal funding. The 2020 Census is approaching and it’s critical to #CountAllKids. When we miss young children in the census, it has serious consequences for them, their families, their communities and our nation – with many of those consequences lasting for at least 10 years; most of their childhood.
Download the 2020 Census toolkit and help to spread the importance of counting every child in Pennsylvania. Together, we can ensure an accurate and fair share of federal funding for education, health care, child care and more. Find more information here.
Community Health Choices in PA
Community Health Choices (CHC) is now active across the entire state of Pennsylvania effective January 1, 2020. CHC is Pennsylvania’s mandatory managed care program for individuals 21 years or older and have both Medicare and Medicaid or receive long-term services and supports through Medicaid. One of CHC’s goals is to improve coordination between Medicare and Medicaid so participants experience better services and outcomes. Billing will not change for Medicare services, but it may change how service providers bill Medicaid and Medicare for coinsurance and deductibles. Click here for more information.
Submit Comments on Proposed Fee Regulations
The State Board of Dentistry is seeking input on proposed fee regulations. The regulation proposes four changes detailed in the below document. The Board will review comments received at the May 15, 2020 meeting. Please submit all comments to RA-STRegulatoryCounsel@pa.gov and reference 16A04634 (Fees). Submit comments by February 20, 2020.
Click here to view the proposed free regulations.
Click here to submit comments.
Dental Sealants and Community Health Webinar
The American Dental Association (ADA) is offering “Seal the Deal: Dental Sealants and Community Health,” a free webinar on February 6 at 3 p.m. ET. Three dental providers will share their expertise on dental sealants.
Finding a Dental Provider Survey
As the state oral health coalition, the Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health is gathering information on how Pennsylvanians find and get to the dental office. Please take the survey and share the links with your networks. The survey takes less than five minutes to complete and is anonymous. The deadline is February 12, 2020.
Click here to take the survey in English.
Click here to take the survey in Spanish.
Comments Requested: Guidance for Federal Grants and Agreements – March 23
On January 22, the Office of Management and Budget proposed changes to the guidance for grants, cooperative agreements, and other types of Federal financial assistance. The proposed changes are an update to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance) located in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations (2 CFR 200). Changes include updates to meet statutory requirements, clarifications to terminology, increases to micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds, and new requirements such as public posting of indirect cost rate agreements to increase transparency. This guidance impacts all recipients of Federal awards so rural organizations that currently manage Federal grants or wish to apply for Federal grants should review the proposed changes. Find more information here.
Infant Mortality Rates for Metro and Non-metro Counties, by Race and Hispanic Origin
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing that infant mortality rates for nonmetropolitan counties was lowest for infants of Hispanic mothers, followed by infants of non-Hispanic white mothers. The rate of mortality for infants of non-Hispanic black mothers was more than double the lowest rate in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties. Read more here.
CDC Report on Suicide Rates by Industry and Occupation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published data finding that suicide among the U.S. working-age population (ages 16-64 years) was increasing during the time period studied. The five major industry groups with suicide rates higher than the study population included 1) Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction; 2) Construction; 3) Other Services (e.g. automotive repair); 4) Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting; and 5) Transportation and Warehousing. Find more information here.