- CMS: Medicare Program; Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- CMS: Medicare Program; FY 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Fiscal Year 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- CMS: Request for Information; Health Technology Ecosystem
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- State: 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application
- Public Inspection: CMS: Request for Information: Health Technology Ecosystem
- HHS: Request for Information (RFI): Ensuring Lawful Regulation and Unleashing Innovation To Make American Healthy Again
- VA: Solicitation of Nominations for the Appointment to the Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs
- GAO Seeks New Members for Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council
- 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
Comments Requested on Proposed Changes to Four Medicare Payment Rules – all comments due June 7
CMS published proposed changes to how Medicare pays for services and measures quality of care for four types of providers in FY 2022: Skilled Nursing Facilities, Hospice Providers, Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities, and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities. These rules also include Requests for Information on ways to attain health equity for all patients and the use of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standards to digitally submit quality information.
Comments Requested: Rural Telehealth and Healthcare System Readiness for Disaster – May 7
The National Quality Forum (NQF) released an overview of policies and quality measures related to telehealth, healthcare system readiness, and rural health outcomes during and after disasters. The review of these policies will inform a new framework for measuring the quality of care provided by telehealth in rural areas. NQF members and the public are invited to submit comments by 6:00 pm ET on Friday, May 7.
Vaccine Hesitancy for COVID-19: State, County, and Local Estimates
To support state and local outreach efforts, HHS researched federal survey data to predict vaccine hesitancy rates down to the county level. There are two Excel spreadsheets: one presents state and county estimates of the proportion of adults who describe themselves as “probably not” (Hesitant) or “definitely not” (Strongly Hesitant) going to get a COVID-19 vaccine once one is available to them, and the other presents select sociodemographic and geographic factors by county that can be examined together with the estimates of vaccine hesitancy. See the map here.
Covid Racial Disparities Loom Large in Rural Counties
By Aallyah Wright, Stateline
Rural counties in states that failed to expand Medicaid see disparities in access to Covid vaccines along the racial lines grow even bigger.
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Financial Barriers Stand in the Way of Research at Rural Hospitals
New Covid Cases Increase 10% in Rural Counties
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
Michigan and northwest Texas are the hottest spots in the spread of Covid-19 in rural areas.
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FDA Fact Sheets Address Variants for Monoclonal Antibody Products
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released revised fact sheets for health care providers that include additional information on susceptibility of SARS-CoV-2 variants to each monoclonal antibody therapy available through an Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 treatment. The fact sheets contain details regarding specific variants and potential resistance. Download revised fact sheets for: Bamlanivimab; Bamlanivimab and Etesevimab and REGEN-COV™ (Casirivimab with Imdevimab).
“It’s Ok to Not be Ok,” Managing Mental Health for Therapists
During the last year, many therapists in Pennsylvania have shared similar experiences when working with patients in a mental health setting. Requests for mental health appointments have drastically increased across the state, to the point where there is much more demand than supply. This article does a wonderful job of connecting readers to the experiences of different therapists and sharing how the helping profession is coping and working through the pandemic.
FCC $250 Million Telehealth Program Application Window
Last week, the FCC announced details about when and how it will award the $250 million in new funding for the COVID-19 telehealth program. As expected, FQHCs -– particularly those in rural areas, and those who applied but did not receive funding from this program last year -– will receive significantly priority points, including:
- 15 points for applicants who applied but were not funded in round one last year
- 10 points for being an FQHC
- 10 points for serving a HPSA with a score of 13 or higher
- 5 points for serving a rural area
There will be only a one-week window to submit applications, and it will likely be in late April. Health centers that applied previously but were not funded will need to reapply. Also, applicants who did receive funding in round one are permitted to apply for additional funding in this round.
Study Finds a Third of COVID-19 Survivors Suffer Neurological or Mental Disorders
A new study published this week found that a third of patients diagnosed with the coronavirus experienced a psychiatric or neurological illness as of six months later. Earlier studies found that COVID-19 can cause long-term brain damage and may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. As Pennsylvania and the nation approaches April 19 when vaccination will be open to all adults, analysis by Johns Hopkins University of the latest available seven days of data finds that nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states — New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The five states together reported 44 percent of the nation’s new COVID-19 infections, or nearly 197,500 new cases. We can change this with vaccination: as of this week, 169 million doses have been given worldwide and 6.8 million in Pennsylvania; 63 million people worldwide and 2.4 million in PA are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.