With the nation poised to reach the tragic milestone this month of 1 million official deaths from the pandemic, a new survey finds that 40% of American adults know someone who died of COVID-19. Read more.

Racial and ethnic discrimination in the U.S. health care system is taking a toll on older Americans, even preventing some from getting needed care, a Commonwealth Fund study finds. One in four older adults of color surveyed said that healthcare professionals have treated them unfairly or ignored health concerns because of their race or ethnicity. Among those who reported being discriminated against, more than a quarter said that they did not get the care they needed because of that discrimination. Read more here.

The PA Department of State (DOS), under which all of Pennsylvania’s health professional licensure boards rest, has issued a notice that DOS’s professional licensing waivers issued under the COVID-19 disaster declaration will begin expiring in phases starting May 23. All waivers will expire by June 30. The legislature ended the COVID-19 disaster declaration in June 2021, extending some license waivers. Without a disaster declaration, the governor and DOS cannot further extend the waivers. Legislative action is necessary to develop any active waiver. Under Act 14 of 2022, all waived and suspended regulations initiated because of the COVID-19 disaster emergency would expire June 30, 2022, unless terminated earlier. Licensed professionals and other individuals affected by these waivers should make every effort to return to compliance based on the pending expiration. A list of all waivers and scheduled expiration dates is available on the Department of State website.

An issue brief from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission provides an overview of the positive impact that community health workers (CHW) have on health outcomes and costs and discusses state approaches to covering CHW services through Medicaid. Learn more about starting and sustaining a CHW program on the Rural Health Information Hub.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)issued the Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2023 Final Rule to finalize standards for issuers and Marketplaces, as well as requirements for agents, brokers, web-brokers, and issuers assisting consumers with enrollment through Marketplaces that use the federal platform. The final rule includes policies pertaining to plan options, network adequacy, health equity, risk adjustment, and consumer experience. Recent rural-centric research on health insurance marketplaces is available on the Rural Health Research Gateway.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule for the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D prescription drug programs. The final rule makes a number of changes, including rural-relevant provisions to support network adequacy. Network adequacy standards, and requirements for health plans’ provider networks, can support access to care in rural areas. In this rule, CMS is requiring that MA applicants demonstrate they have a sufficient network of contracted providers to care for beneficiaries before CMS will approve an application for a new or expanded MA contract.

In 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model.  Designed by the CMS Innovation Center to test if health care costs could be lowered by prevention, the program called on participants to reduce the incidence of first-time heart attacks and strokes among Medicare beneficiaries.  A little more than a third (36 percent) of the original participants – primary care and specialty practices, health centers, and hospitals – were rural providers.  While this report only evaluates the first four years of a five-year program, results show improved preventive care for cardiovascular disease. The annual report can be found here.

The Council on Graduate Medical Education, COGME, provides ongoing assessment of physician workforce trends and makes recommendations to federal policymakers. In this new report, COGME focuses on gaps in rural health care and makes six recommendations for federal policy and investment, including programs such as the National Health Service Corps, Rural Residency Planning and Development, and other training programs funded by HRSA.

 The annual ranking of health for nearly every county in the nation takes a closer look at four specific social determinants that impact health outcomes: living wage, gender pay gap, childcare cost burden, and school funding adequacy.  References to rural areas throughout the report highlight major geographic disparities before and after the pandemic.

Ransomware is no longer a concern limited to major health systems. Regional hospitals and specialty clinics are battling malicious cyberattacks as ransomware groups grow more opportunistic, STAT reports. Small providers — from pediatrics clinics to child abuse prevention nonprofits are being attacked. Such an attack can be devastating for a health system of any size and scary for anyone relying on its care. But for smaller hospitals and practices, the costs — both to patients and to the bottom line — can be especially steep. Read more.