On August 16, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule to improve access to hearing aids by establishing a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. These OTC hearing aids will be available to adults with mild to moderate hearing loss as soon as mid-October 2022 directly in stores and online. For a summary of OTC Hearing Aids provided by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders please click here.

Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), advancing major healthcare policy changes, including updates to Medicare’s drug benefit, caps on insulin out of pocket for Medicare beneficiaries, authorizing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and extending of American Rescue Plan Affordable Care Act subsidies. While the IRA provides the framework, critical details and policy decisions will be left to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop and finalize in the coming months and years as the implementation dates for these policy changes are staggered over the next several years. Read more here

In a new blog, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) highlights Pennsylvania’s work with managed care organizations (MCOs) to improve access to oral health care services through quality improvement projects, measures, and incentives. States are engaged in a variety of efforts to improve health outcomes for people enrolled in Medicaid while reducing health care costs. NASHP says Pennsylvania’s experience shows that quality initiatives are one potential lever to incentivize MCOs to provide innovative oral health programming.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order designed to discourage the use of conversion therapy on LGBTQ individuals in the commonwealth, a move that was praised by LGBTQ leaders, though Wolf acknowledged that it does not go as far as he would like.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine summarize the proceedings of their workshop on equity-centered approaches to indigenous, undocumented, and ethnic minority communities.

Researchers at Drexel University and UC Davis are recruiting family caregivers of people living with dementia for a nationwide, remote study funded by the National Institute of Aging.  Experts note there is very little research regarding the differences in the rural-urban prevalence of dementia, but many factors present barriers to care once a diagnosis is made for rural patients.  Eligible caregivers for the study must be 21 years or older, speak English, and have internet access and a capable device.

The Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides the latest data on several USDA programs that ensure nutritious meals and snacks.  Operations for initiatives such as the National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs were disrupted in 2020 by the pandemic, even as food needs were on the rise. Total expenditures on Child Nutrition Programs declined to $21.9 billion in FY 2020 and increased to $28.4 billion in FY 2021, the first full fiscal year of the pandemic.   According to the nonprofit Food Research & Action Center, 1 in 5 households with children in rural areas was food insecure in 2016.