- 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
- 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
Department of Health Announces Week-Two Rapid Antigen Test Card Distributions
The Wolf Administration this week began distribution of the second allotment of COVID-19 antigen test kits provided by the federal government to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified institutions in Berks, Huntingdon, Union and Westmoreland counties. Last week 70,840 tests were distributed to 55 facilities in Bradford, Centre, Lebanon, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill and Snyder counties. Counties expected to receive tests next week include Blair, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Tioga, Venango and Wyoming. On October 15, the Secretary of Health issued an Order to healthcare providers and facilities reinforcing that all antigen test results, both positive and negative, are required to be reported to the Department of Health.
Commentary: Rural Public Libraries as Telehealth Providers During Covid-19
By Craig Settles
A public library in Pottsboro, Texas, offered telehealth services to its patrons throughout the pandemic despite broadband access issues. Now, it could become a blueprint for a national rural network of libraries providing access to telehealth.
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Tough Fire Season Takes Toll on Firefighters’ Mental Health
By Sophie Quinton
Firefighter unions and health experts call for more mental health support from state and federal agencies after exceptionally hard wildfire season.
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‘Covid in Rural America Is a Horror Story,’ Says Head of Health Association
By Tracy Staley
Rural America faces a public-health crisis, with Covid-19 spreading quickly as the nation heads into flu season, says Alan Morgan. His interview is part of Daily Yonder Day at the Rural Assembly Everywhere virtual festival, starting Monday, October 26.
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Learn More About Federal Funding and Resources for Rural Health
This is a recording of an 80-minute presentation (via Adobe Connect) by the Health Resources and Services Administration on rural-focused federal programs and resources. Presenters represent USDA’s Rural Development and Rural Utilities Service, telecommunications programming at the Universal Service Administrative Company, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and two FORHP-funded rural hospital programs.
Updated Telehealth Resources for Medicare and Medicaid
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the “State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit: Policy Considerations for States Expanding Use of Telehealth, COVID-19 Version,” originally released in April 2020. It has new examples and insights into lessons learned from states that have implemented telehealth changes. The Medicaid and CHIP data snapshot illustrates the rate of telehealth use across the states during the public health emergency. CMS also updated the list of Medicare services that can be provided via telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Read more here.
Medicare Changes Payments for COVID-19 Lab Results
Beginning January 1, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will lower its base payment from $100 to $75 for COVID-19 diagnostic tests using certain highly sophisticated equipment called “high throughput technology.” The change is explained in an amended Administrative Ruling, CMS 2020-1-R2. Labs that complete the test within two calendar days will receive a $25 add-on payment.
Report on U.S. Coal Industry
The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released the Annual Coal Report, which includes information on the number of mines, their productive capacity, prices, employment, and consumption. Highlights for 2019 include a decrease in the production, productive capacity, and average number of employees at U.S. coal mines, as well as a decrease in U.S. coal consumption. The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy manages the Black Lung Clinics Program that provides predominantly rural miners with access to educational, screening, medical, and benefits counseling services with the goal to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with occupationally-related coal mine dust lung diseases.
New Data on Local Use of Rural Hospitals
This new data brief from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services explores the extent to which rural Medicare beneficiaries bypass their nearest rural hospital and which hospital services rural Medicare beneficiaries most often seek locally and at distant hospitals. Traveling to a distant hospital for services rather than using the local rural hospital, aka ‘rural bypass’, can increase financial pressure on rural providers, especially Tribal hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals.
Medicare Open Enrollment Has Begun
Medicare beneficiaries can review health and drug plans for 2021 and make changes between now and December 7. The online system helps beneficiaries compare pricing and benefits between Original Medicare (Parts A and B), Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D), Medicare Advantage plans (Part C), and individually-purchased Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policies. Free, personalized counseling on Medicare options is available through the nonprofit State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Free materials are also available to support rural providers, among others, with outreach activities.