Open Enrollment for Pennie.com plans starts today!

That means it’s time to enroll in health insurance for 2025, now through January 15th. For plans starting January 1st, make sure you enroll by December 15.

Nine out of 10 Pennsylvanians qualify for financial assistance! These tax credits save the average person more than $500 a month on a health insurance plan.

Now is the time to shop around! Plans and prices change from year to year, so don’t wait until the last minute to look at your options for 2025.

If you need help or want to know if you qualify for financial assistance, call or text our FREE, statewide helpline:

FOR FREE HELP, CALL OR TEXT:  877-570-3642

September was Sickle Cell Awareness Month. CMS hopes partners and providers will continue their work in raising awareness, sharing resources, and learning how they can better help patients with sickle cell disease and their families.

CMS has released a new resource: CMS Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Health Care Provider Toolkit: Resources for Health Care Professionals to Support Individuals with SCD

This new toolkit builds on the CMS Sickle Cell Disease Action Plan (released in September 2023) to strengthen the infrastructure for primary care and other care settings to care for people with sickle cell disease, improve care management, and assist providers with supporting the needs of people with sickle cell disease and other chronic conditions. The SCD Toolkit consist of 6 sections that equip healthcare providers in delivering quality care to individuals with sickle cell disease. This toolkit is designed to assist the care team in supporting people by introducing sickle cell disease, including the common barriers to care, and summarizing CMS program coverage for services around social determinants and drivers of health as well as and new sickle cell disease treatments.

CMS will continue the work throughout the year to look for ways to address disparities that affect the communities we serve and providing resources to help advance health equity. Share the following resources with your community this month and beyond to raise awareness about sickle cell disease.

Resources

• NEW! CMS Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Health Care Provider Toolkit: Resources for Health Care Professionals to Support Individuals with SCD
• NEW! CMS Data Snapshot: Sickle Cell Disease Disparities in  Medicare Fee-For-Service Enrollees
• Read our CMS Sickle Cell Disease Action Plan, which outlines CMS’ actions to improve health outcomes and equity for people with SCD.
• Watch our Sickle Cell Disease video to learn more about SCD disparities, symptoms, and treatment options.
• Download The Invisible Crisis: Understanding Pain Management in Medicare Beneficiaries with Sickle Cell Disease, which highlights options for pain management in SCD patients.
• Read our Prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease among Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries Age 18-75 Years, in 2016 data highlight to learn about common chronic conditions among SCD patients and more.
• Explore our Coverage to Care initiative, which helps patients understand their health coverage and connect to health care services, including chronic care management resources for providers and patients.
• Review the Medicaid and CHIP Sickle Cell Disease Report, T-MSIS Analytic Files (TAF) 2017 for data about Medicaid and CHIP enrollees with SCD.
• View the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Fact Sheets on Sickle Cell Disease to learn more about the disease and 5 Facts You Should Know About Sickle Cell Disease for more information about how to manage SCD and how it can be cured for certain patients.

Visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s What Is Sickle Cell Disease? webpage to learn about symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, and more.

People wanting to support the well-being of youth and families in their communities can now take free online courses through Penn State’s Prevention Learning Portal (PLP). The portal offers instruction and resources on how to choose, implement and sustain programs and practices that promote healthy communities.

Our Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS) initiative is leading this groundbreaking effort, with support of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol, the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Substance Use and Mental Health Services Administration and the Penn State College of Health and Human Development. EPIS is also partnering with Colorado State University to produce content for the PLP.

On behalf of U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA); the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and the State Justice Institute (SJI), the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) is excited to share this solicitation for Reaching Rural: Advancing Collaborative Solutions.

This initiative is grounded in the value of “for rural, by rural.” The hallmark of the Reaching Rural initiative is learning from rural practitioners and facilitating engagement across rural communities.

What is the Reaching Rural Initiative?

The Reaching Rural Initiative is a one-year initiative. Over the course of the year, the selected individuals and teams will receive coaching and participate in skill-building workshops as well as virtual and in-person learning experiences.

Participation in the Reaching Rural Initiative includes:

• Travel and per diem costs to participate in an orientation, a field visit to observe the implementation of evidence-informed practices in a rural setting, and a closing session at the end of the 12 months. This is not a grant opportunity.
• Monthly mentorship and guidance aimed toward your local needs.
• Monthly assignments that help you apply core concepts to your local community or region.
• Access to a diverse network of rural peers, innovative rural communities, and technical assistance providers.
• Formal recognition for completing the planning initiative.
• At the conclusion of the planning period, the opportunity to apply for an implementation grant of up to $100,000 for up to 15 months to launch a project planned during the Reaching Rural fellowship.

Is the Rural EMS Training Grant opportunity for You?

We are seeking individual practitioners or cross-sector teams from the same community or region interested in adopting bold solutions and reimagining how diverse organizations and agencies with different missions can engage with one another to address the persistent challenge of substance use and misuse among justice-involved individuals in rural communities.

The Reaching Rural Initiative is designed for rural agency leaders or mid-level professionals working in counties, cities, or tribes as justice, public safety, public health, or behavioral health practitioners. Applicants may apply to participate in the Reaching Rural initiative as an individual practitioner or as a member of a cross-sector team from the same community or region.

The deadline for applying is December 16, 2024, at 5:00 p.m., ET.Click to edit this heading.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) has changed the URL domain name for the PROMISe portal, which is the claims processing, provider enrollment, and user management information system for DHS. All providers must enroll in this portal in order to participate with the Department of Human Services.

Please update this URL in any resources and share this news with current and future participating providers.

Click here for the new URL.

Pennsylvanians can shop for the lowest costs on high-quality health insurance during Open Enrollment which begins November 1 with December 15 being the deadline for coverage beginning New Year’s Day.

How You Can Help:

• Like, follow, & share Pennie’s information on your social media accounts​
• Request Pennie materials and review the Open Enrollment Toolkit
• Requesta virtual or in-person Pennie education session​ or invite Pennie to attend an event in your community​
• Request an executive briefing for your colleagues
• Remind Pennsylvanians who need coverage that Pennie offers:
  • Financial savings through tax credits to lower your costs
  • Plans that cover a full range of medical care including coverage for pre-existing conditions and free preventive services
  • Peace of mind and financial security
  • Protection from low-quality plans and scams
  • Free, expert help is available from Pennie Certified Assisters and Brokers. Find in-person support at com/connect

Help us spread the word!

From Law 360

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and two other agencies unveiled proposed regulations that for the first time would require private health insurers to cover the full cost of over-the-counter contraception, including male condoms and the morning-after pill, without a prescription.

The DOL, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department jointly unveiled the proposed rules, which would also require insurers to eliminate cost sharing on more FDA-approved prescription birth control and force new disclosures to people enrolled in private health plans to let them know they can get no cost-sharing coverage.

The White House said in a facesheet describing the proposal that if finalized, the policy would expand free birth control coverage for 52 million American women of reproductive age who are covered by private health insurance.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is taking action against the state’s high maternal mortality rate through the development of a statewide Maternal Health Strategic Plan.

In partnership with the office of Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro, the health agencies involved in plan development include the departments of Health, Human Services, Drug and Alcohol Programs, and Insurance.

The vision for Pennsylvania’s Maternal Health Strategic Plan is a Pennsylvania where every pregnant and birthing person has easy access to high-quality perinatal, birth and postpartum care that is person-centered, comprehensive, equitable, and affordable and that results in healthy outcomes and long-term good health and well being.

Your voice matters in decisions that affect maternal health. You are invited to share your voice on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Maternal Health Strategic Plan survey.

The survey is available through November 4, 2024.

Important Notice for Physicians Renewing Licenses in Pennsylvania

Help Us Maintain Accurate Provider Data

Your Role in Addressing Workforce Shortages

Why Accurate Data Matter:

Maintaining accurate and current information on providers is essential for effectively analyzing, designing, and designating areas with health care workforce shortages across Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Primary Care Office (PCO) relies on these data to ensure that health care resources are allocated where they are needed most.

How Your Participation Makes a Difference:

• Support Workforce Analysis: Accurate provider data help identify regions with health care provider shortages, ensuring targeted interventions and support.
• Improve Health Care Access: By updating your information, you contribute to a more efficient allocation of health care resources, improving access to care for underserved populations.
• Enhance Statewide Planning: Your data help the PCO and other stakeholders design effective strategies for addressing health care needs in various regions.

How We Collect and Update Provider Information:

The PCO uses several methods to ensure that provider data remains accurate and up to date:

• Self-Reported Survey Responses: When you renew your license, please provide detailed and accurate information about your practice, including address, office hours, specialty, and patient care details. The information from licensure surveys is the most critical of all data sources.
• Annual Medicaid Claims File: We obtain practitioner information from Medicaid claims, which helps verify and update provider data.
• Statewide Organization Input: We receive periodic updates from various organizations, which contribute to our data accuracy.
• Direct Outreach: Occasionally, PCO staff may contact you directly to collect and verify practice-related information.

While the PCO can update existing provider information, we cannot add new providers to the computer system used for shortage designation. Your updates are crucial for maintaining the quality of data used in health care planning.

How You Can Help:

1. Respond to Surveys: Provide thorough and accurate responses to surveys at the time of your license renewal.
2. Keep Information Current: Go to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services website to update your practice details in the National Provider Identifier system regularly to reflect any changes in address and specialty.
3. Participate in Outreach Efforts: Engage with PCO staff during direct contact initiatives to verify and update your practice information.

Pennsylvania Department of Health
Primary Care Office
RA-DHSHRTDESIGNATION@pa.gov

Applications are currently being accepted by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in accordance with the the Request for Applications (RFA) # 67-192.

All questions regarding this RFA must be directed by e-mail to RA-DHLOANREPAYMENT@pa.gov, no
later than 12:00 p.m. ET on October 18, 2024. All questions must include the specific section of the RFA about which the potential applicant is requesting clarification. Answers to all questions will be posted here.

Submit one application via the on-line Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program Practitioner
Application found here. Applications must be received no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on November 15, 2024. Applications can be submitted as soon as they are ready for submission; to prevent late submissions, applicants are encouraged to not wait until this closing date and time.

LATE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED REGARDLESS OF THE REASON.

We expect that the evaluation of applications and the selection of Grantees will be completed within eight
weeks of the submission due date.