- Eight Hospitals Selected for First Cohort of Rural Hospital Stabilization Program
- Announcing the 2030 Census Disclosure Avoidance Research Program
- CMS: Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2026 Rates; Requirements for Quality Programs; and Other Policy Changes; Correction
- CMS: Medicare Program; Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems for Acute Care Hospitals and the Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System and Policy Changes and Fiscal Year 2026 Rates; Requirements for Quality Programs; and Other Policy Changes; Correction
- CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly; Correction
- CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Contract Year 2026 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage Program, Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program, Medicare Cost Plan Program, and Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly; Correction
- 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
- CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2025 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program; and Medicare Overpayments; and Appeal Rights for Certain Changes in Patient Status; Corrections and Correcting Amendment
- CMS: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2025 Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies; Medicare Shared Savings Program Requirements; Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program; and Medicare Overpayments; and Appeal Rights for Certain Changes in Patient Status; Corrections and Correcting Amendment
- VA: Staff Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program Funding Opportunity
- State: 60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: J-1 Visa Waiver Recommendation Application
Pennsylvania Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Open for Public Comment
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs is providing the opportunity for public comment on its annual Pennsylvania Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG) Submission. This submission will occur in three parts:
- The Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Plan which will be submitted to SAMHSA by October 1 and is currently available in draft and available for review by September 30;
- The SAPT Report which will be available in November for comment prior to submission on December 1st, and;
- The Annual Synar Report which will also be made available in December for comment prior to submission on December 31st.
These documents can be accessed at bgas.samhsa.govOpens In A New Window utilizing “citizenpa” as your login and “citizen” as your password.
Please submit all comments to ra-dabaps@pa.gov by timeframes indicated.
Quality Payment Program Funding Available
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services contracts with technical assistance providers to offer customized assistance for clinicians in small practices, including those in rural locations, Health Professional Shortage Areas, and Medically Underserved Areas to help them participate and succeed in the Quality Payment Program. Through the Small, Underserved, and Rural Support initiative, clinicians included in the Quality Payment Program can receive both program and practice-level support. Assistance is available to practices with 15 or fewer clinicians.
NACCHO Profile of Local Health Departments Published
The National Association and County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) published their “2019 National Profile of Local Health Departments.” The purpose of the study is to develop a comprehensive and accurate description of local health department infrastructure and practice. The data are used to inform public health policy at the local, state, and federal levels and can support projects to improve local public health practice. Data are also used in universities to educate the future public health workforce about local health departments and by researchers to address questions about public health practice.
CDC Announces Dental Public Health Residency Program
The CDC Division of Oral Health is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 Dental Public Health Residency (DPHR) Program. This formal training program produces skilled specialists in dental public health who can work collaboratively with their public health and dental colleagues in an array of health settings to achieve improved oral health for populations. Applications must be submitted by September 28, 2020 to be considered.
MCH Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment Report Published for Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of Family Health (BFH) conducted its Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (MCHSBG) Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment. This assessment helped the BFH and the PA Title V program to evaluate the health status of women and mothers, infants, children, adolescents and children and youth with special health care needs in Pennsylvania, engage stakeholders and service recipients, and identify priorities that will inform Title V-funded work over the next funding cycle from 2021 to 2025. A report describing the planning, implementation, and results of the 2020 Title V Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment is now available.
Funding Received to Support Oral Health in Pennsylvania RHCs
Pennsylvania has received grant funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the project titled “New Approaches to Oral Health Infrastructure and Capacity.” The project aims to integrate oral health services into two Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) located in DHPSAs.
CMS COVID Billing Update for IPPS Hospitals
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its April guidance regarding the implementation of section 3710 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) hospitals.
To address potential Medicare program integrity risks, effective with admissions occurring on or after September 1, 2020, claims eligible for the 20 percent increase in the Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) weighting factor will be required to have a positive COVID-19 laboratory test documented in the patient’s medical record. Positive tests must be demonstrated using only the results of viral testing (i.e., molecular or antigen), consistent with CDC guidelines. The test may be performed either during the hospital admission or prior to the hospital admission.
CMS may conduct post-payment medical review to confirm the presence of a positive COVID-19 laboratory test and, if no such test is contained in the medical record, the additional payment resulting from the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight will be recouped. A hospital that diagnoses a patient with COVID-19 consistent with the ICD-10-CM Official Coding and Reporting Guidelines but does not have evidence of a positive test result can decline, at the time of claim submission, the additional payment resulting from the application at the time of claim payment of the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight to avoid the repayment.
A Medicare Learning Network article with the updated guidance is available here. For information specific to what CMS is doing in response to COVID-19, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.
Trump Administration Seeks Applications for Capacity Building and Planning Grants in Rural Communities
The Trump Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications to help rural communities enhance capacity for broadband access; preserve cultural and historic structures; and support the development of transportation, housing, and recreational spaces.
USDA is making $1 million in grants available under the Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC). Eligible recipients may use the grants to develop multi-jurisdictional plans to benefit cities or towns with 50,000 residents or less. Organizations may use funds to develop actionable plans, convene partners, identify community needs and implement priorities to build rural prosperity.
Public or private groups, organizations, or institutions that demonstrate experience in providing placemaking technical assistance to rural communities are eligible to apply.
USDA encourages applicants to develop projects and plans that provide measurable results to help create livable communities; encourage partnerships; contribute to long-term community investment; and support community resiliency, social stability and collective identity.
USDA seeks to partner with one organization each located in the northeast, southern, midwestern and western regions of the United States. The maximum grant award is $250,000. Applicants must provide a 15 percent match in funding. Eligible placemaking plans will provide assistance to rural communities for two years.
Electronic applications must be submitted via grants.gov and a copy of the submission must be emailed to RD.Innovation@usda.gov by midnight Eastern Standard Time on Sept. 10, 2020. For more information, contact Angela.Callie@usda.gov or call (202) 568-9738.
USDA encourages applications that will support recommendations made in the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB).
If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program Open for Applications
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is pleased to announce the opening of the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Practitioner Application.
The LRP provides grant funding for educational loan repayment to primary care practitioners serving medically underserved populations. Educational loan repayment is an incentive to recruitment and retention of practitioners for service in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas and other underserved communities:
- The Request for Applications (RFA) #67-114 can be downloaded from https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Health-Planning/Pages/Loan-Repayment.aspx
- Applications are being accepted from August 17, 2020 until 11:59 pm September 30, 2020.
- Program information, application procedures and application instructions are found in RFA#67-114.
- All applications must be submitted via the Loan Repayment Program’s web-based application through the link on the above website.
- Questions regarding this RFA must be submitted via email to loanrepayment@pa.gov on or before D. No questions will be answered via phone or e-mail. Answers to all question submitted by September 4 will be posted on the above website by September 11, 2020 and will be considered an addendum to the RFA.
Mapping Project Identifies Broadband Accessibility for Pennsylvania School Districts
Maps have been developed on broadband availability for public school districts in Pennsylvania. These maps were developed by Penn State Rural Extension (PSU Rural Extension) in response to a suggestion from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s Consumer Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC suggested that a map showing broadband for public school districts, similar to that developed by PSU Rural Extension in consultation with the PUC for the upcoming auction of $16B in federal support in the Auction 904, would be very useful to the public. They made that suggestion in the wake of the COVID epidemic. Regional maps are available at these links: SE https://bit.ly/PSUEXT_SESDs , NE https://bit.ly/PSUEXNESDs , NW https://bit.ly/PSUextNWPAservice , SW https://bit.ly/PSUEXT_SWPASDs
The maps show what areas (census blocks) within a public school district boundaries (district) do/do not have access to broadband at the federally-defined definition of broadband. This was an expansion of the PSU Rural Extension already done in Pennsylvania for the upcoming Auction 904 in the Rural Development Opportunity Grant Program (RuDOF). Auction 904 will occur in October 2020.
Currently, the federal definition of broadband is 25 megabits per second down/3 megabits per second up (25/3, or the so-called “Netflix speed” because is it the speed deemed necessary for optimal streaming of data and video content, a factor in education). The map shows which areas do/do not have broadband at 25/3.
The PSU Rural Extension map is a regional map made up of groups of counties. This was done so that a user can access the information faster than would otherwise be the case if it were one statewide map. The user can click on the county map which, in turn, will show each school district boundaries broken down to the census block area. There is a set of instructions for using the map. There are also some notes explaining the federal broadband definition and mapping polices at the current time to better explain the details revealed by the map.
The Census Block is the minimum area the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) uses when mapping where broadband is/is not in the United States as part of its policies aimed at deploying broadband to unserved areas (primarily rural and tribal) within America. This information relies on reports filed by service providers with the FCC in their Form 477 filings. This reflects the most recent public information and will be updated as the FCC releases broadband updates. Other maps may be available but they are typically proprietary and/or require a considerable expenditure to map.
This PSU Rural Extension map is a cost-effective result that addresses the CAC’s suggestion and the pressing needs for information about broadband in our public school districts. This map is simpler than the detailed financial and support information laid out in the earlier Auction 904 map. This is limited only to public school districts and households within those districts.
PSU and the PUC are willing to provide a tele-conference explaining this map as well as the earlier Auction 904 map, particularly the differences between those maps, if desired.