- 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
Kinship Care Highlighted Nationally Throughout September
September is National Kinship Care Month – a time to recognize, celebrate and support the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives (as well as non-relatives with a meaningful connection to the child or family) who care for children when they cannot safely remain with their parents.
It is critically important for these children to be able to live with someone they know, trust, and have a connection to, as these relationships provide a sense of security, community, cultural identity, and can reduce the trauma of being removed from their home. Unfortunately, not all children who are removed from their parents are provided the opportunity to live with kin.
National Kinship Care Month is a reminder that we must work together to find policy solutions to keep children connected to their kin. Additionally, we should thank those caregivers who are supporting abused or neglected children both inside and outside of the child welfare system.
Pennsylvania’s KinConnector program provides valuable resources to kin who are caring for children formally through the child welfare system, or informally. Every Wednesday in September, the program is hosting virtual information forums on a variety of topics of interest: financial assistance, legal rights, education and child care, and mental health, among others. Registration for these events is now open to the public.
USDA Seeks Applications to Spur Job and Economic Growth in Rural Areas
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Justin Maxson announced that the department is accepting loan and grant applications for projects that create jobs and economic growth in rural communities.
Funds are being made available under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant (REDLG) program. Through the REDLG program, USDA provides zero-interest loans and grants to Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Program and Telecom Program borrowers who will use the funds to help local businesses finance projects that will create and retain jobs. Projects must be located in rural areas or towns with a population of 50,000 or less.
Funds may be used to support:
- business startup costs;
- business expansion;
- business incubators;
- technical assistance feasibility studies;
- advanced telecommunications services and computer networks for medical, educational and job training services; and
- community facilities projects that spur economic development.
Eligible applicants include current, former and potential borrowers of Rural Development’s Electric Program and Telecommunications Program.
Applications are being accepted continuously with funding competition deadlines on Sept. 30, 2021; Dec. 31, 2021; March 31, 2022; and June 30, 2022.
Applications submitted no later than 4:30 p.m. local time on the deadline dates to the USDA Rural Development State Office where the project is located and will compete for the available REDLG funds in that quarter.
Interested applicants are encouraged to contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office well in advance of the application deadline to ask questions about their project, the program or the application process.
Additional information is available on page 50015 of the Sept.7, 2021, Federal Register. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
Pennsylvania Administration Requires Masking to Protect Kids
With a focus on protecting students and keeping them in classrooms, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf joined the Departments of Health, Human Services and Education to discuss the current state of COVID-19 and a new Secretary of Health order requiring masks to be worn inside K-12 school buildings, early learning programs and child care providers, which will take effect at 12:01 am on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. Universal masking in schools, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend, reduces the risk that entire classrooms will need to quarantine due to a positive COVID-19 case. For eligible adolescents in Pennsylvania, 18.2 percent of children ages 12-14 are fully vaccinated and 38.3 percent of children ages 15-19 are fully vaccinated. The order applies to everyone indoors at K-12 public schools including brick and mortar and cyber charter schools, private and parochial schools, career and technical centers (CTCs), and intermediate units (IUs). The order also applies to early learning programs and childcare providers for children ages 2 and older, as recommended by the CDC.
See the initial FAQs on the new order.
Teledentistry User’s Guide
The National Network for Oral Health Access (NNOHA) has worked with health centers since the spring of 2020 to develop and test a variety of strategies to deliver dental services via synchronous teledentistry. Their new User’s Guide gives an overview of teledentistry, describes its use in health center dental programs, and includes practical tools for implementing teledentistry. NNOHA is a HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partner (NTTAP).
Employee Mandates Are Moving the Needle
Workers are more likely to get vaccinated when their employers require them to, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.
- Respondents Whose Employer Require COVID-19 Vaccination: 80% said they were already vaccinated; 10% said they were likely to get a vaccine and 11% said they were either “not likely” or were a “hard pass” on the idea.
- Respondents Whose Employer Had No COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement: 68% said they’d already been vaccinated; another 6% were likely to get the vaccine, and 27% said they were either “not likely” or were a “hard pass” on vaccination.
Mandates will likely accelerate over the next several months, according to a new report by advisory firm Willis Towers Watson that found that 52% of the employers surveyed said they may impose a mandate, which would be a dramatic increase from the 21 percent who mandate vaccines now. Nearly a third of employers said they might make vaccination a requirement to gain access to the workplace, while about one in five are considering making vaccination a condition of employment.
Provider Relief Fund Website Moves
Congress provided $178 billion in funding to establish the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) program that gives financial support to providers who have seen lost revenues and increased expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its inception, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has played a lead role in administering the PRF program and disbursing the funds as quickly as possible. With the expansion of the program, information previously hosted on the HHS website is now available on the HRSA website. The migration of the content allows HRSA to manage, under its own website domain, all PRF information, announcements, and future funding availabilities. Users who visit hhs.gov/providerrelief (previous URL) will be automatically redirected to hrsa.gov/provider-relief. All archived content will remain available to the public.
For updates about the PRF and other HRSA programs, subscribe to the HRSA eNews.
CMS Announces First-Ever Chief Dental Officer
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced Dr. Natalia Chalmers as its first-ever Chief Dental Officer in the Office of the Administrator. In her role as CMS’s chief dental officer, Dr. Chalmers will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to care for the whole person, a key to reducing health disparities and advancing health equity.
September Is National Preparedness Month
National Preparedness Month (NPM) is recognized each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that that can happen at any time and help to promote family and community disaster planning now and throughout the year. For the first time in its history, the Ready Campaign, along with the Ad Council, has identified the Hispanic community as a key audience and will launch a series of Public Service Advertisement (PSAs) specifically designed to encourage preparedness within this underserved demographic. As our nation continues to respond to COVID-19, there is no better time to be involved. The 2021 NPM theme is: “Prepare to Protect. Preparing for disasters is protecting everyone you love.” The month is broken down into four weeks to help your patients and their families prepare for disasters.
- Week 1 – September 1-4: Make-A-Plan
- Week 2 – September 5-11: Build A Kit
- Week 3 – September 12-18: Prepare for Disasters
- Week 4 – September 19-25: Teach Youth about Preparedness
Visit the ReadyPA website for more information. This month is also a great time to review your health center’s preparedness plan and to get involved with your local and regional emergency preparedness coalitions if you aren’t already. Should you need to know whom to contact in your region, visit the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) Emergency Management website .
Report: Provider and Public Perceptions of Silver Diamine Fluoride
Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is highly effective in arresting the progression of active caries as well as preventing new lesions. It has been commonly used as a treatment for children, and many parents appreciate its ease of use. But SDF has downsides: it leaves a black stain on these lesions and may burn or stain the soft tissue surrounding them. How, then, do dental providers and patients view the treatment? A new visual report from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health offers details on their attitudes.
Rebuilding Children’s Oral Health Care
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a new legislative brief, “Rebuilding Children’s Oral Health Care.” It primarily covers state legislative action on children’s oral health over the last year. There is also background information on how COVID-19 has affected access to children’s oral health services.