- 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
- 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
Nationwide Public Charge Regulation for All Outstanding Green Cards
The Public Charge regulation, finalized last year, makes it highly unlikely that an immigrant will be approved for a Green Card if they have used, or are expected to use, public benefits. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the regulation, leading to a “litigation roller coaster” of conflicting decisions. As of Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, the Public Charge rule IS in effect throughout the country. The Public Charge regulations will be applied to all applications submitted on or after Feb. 24, 2020.
U.S. Senator Toomey Announces Future Plans
U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) announced that he will not seek another term in the United States Senate and will not run for Governor of Pennsylvania. At a press conference this week at Lehigh Valley Public Media, Senator Toomey said, “I will not be running for re-election in 2022, and I will not be running for governor. I will serve out the remainder of my term, for a little over two years that are left on the current term. And after that, my plan is to go back to the private sector. The reasons I have reached this decision are not political, they’re personal.” You can watch Senator Toomey’s announcement here.
Trump Administration Vaccine Distribution Strategy Available
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) on Sept. 16 released two documents outlining the Trump Administration’s detailed strategy to deliver safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine doses to the American people as quickly and reliably as possible. The documents, developed by HHS in coordination with DoD and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provide a strategic distribution overview along with an interim playbook for state, tribal, territorial and local public health programs and their partners on how to plan and operationalize a vaccination response to COVID-19 within their respective jurisdictions. Access the plan and additional information here.
Additional Stimulus Aid Unlikely before Election
President Trump tweeted this week that, “I have instructed my representatives to stop negotiating until after the election when, immediately after I win, we will pass a major Stimulus Bill that focuses on hardworking Americans and Small Business. “Stocks fell, and even his allies were baffled by this move. He then tweeted the next evening, “If I am sent a Stand Alone Bill for Stimulus Checks ($1,200), they will go out to our great people IMMEDIATELY. I am ready to sign right now. Are you listening Nancy?” Indications are if there is another stimulus package it will be only stimulus checks. The House last week passed a $2.2 trillion stimulus package which included $7.6 billion for FQHCs.
Gov. Wolf Unveils Health Care Reform Package
Gov. Tom Wolf last Friday announced a health care reform package that will focus on affordability for consumers, accountability for corporations, and eliminating inequities in care and coverage, particularly those “resulting from systemic racism.” Read more.
A Look At Workplace Safety in Agriculture
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were 574 private sector agricultural workers fatally injured on the job in 2018, and charts other workplace-related injuries, illness, and fatalities. Read more here.
APA Resources for Farmer Stress
The American Psychological Association (APA) goes in depth on stressors affecting U.S. farmers, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The dedicated site includes a video conversation about farmer stress and links to resources.
NACO: Considerations for Counties in COVID-19 Vaccination Plans
The National Association of Counties (NACO) describes steps identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for vaccine distribution, explains the county role for each of these, and provides a list of resources. Find more information here.
Guidance on Hospital COVID-19 Data Reporting and Enforcement
This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the requirements and enforcement process for all Medicare and Medicaid hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to report COVID-19 data. Hospitals and CAHs must report daily to the federal government or to their state if they receive a written release from the state. Failure to do so will result in a series of enforcements actions over several weeks that could result in termination of the Medicare provider agreement. Separate guidance provides the definitions of the data elements for hospitals and in-hospital labs.
Comments Requested: Proposed DATA 2000 Training Payment Application – December 7
HRSA will soon be able to reimburse Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) for the average training costs of eligible physicians and practitioners to obtain Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) waivers. These waivers allow eligible physicians to treat opioid dependency in settings other than opioid treatment programs (OTPs). FQHCs and RHCs are encouraged to provide comments on whether the proposed application collects necessary and useful information, if HRSA accurately estimated the burden of completing the application, and how the application could be improved. Find more information here.