- 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
New! COVID-19 Funding Sources Impacting Rural Providers, and COVID-19 Collection
The Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC), in coordination with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), are pleased to the release of a new resource: The COVID-19 Funding Sources Impacting Rural Providers guide. This funding resource is intended to support rural health care providers, along with their state and local partners, navigate the availability of federal funds to support the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic response and recovery efforts.
Seven tables, or matrices, are provided for quick reference at the beginning of this resource. The tables can be used to check eligibility of participation in funding sources by provider types: rural prospective payment system (PPS) and critical access hospitals (CAH), rural health clinics (RHC), federally qualified health centers (FQHC), long-term care (LTC) or skilled nursing facilities (SNF), tribal facilities, and emergency medical services (EMS). The tables also provide an at-a-glance view for each provider type sharing the different types of funds that may be accessed from various funding sources dependent on their participation eligibility. Each funding source is described in its own section of this resource with an executive summary followed by further detail on the use of funds, reporting requirements, hyperlinks to the legislation and detailed information.
The National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center) is also pleased to announce a new COVID-19 Collection located on The Center’s website. This collection consists of trusted and reliable resources, such as the COVID-19 Funding Sources Impacting Rural Providers Guide listed above, along with standing links to additional organizations’ COVID-19 resources, FAQs, webinars, tools, and trainings. The Center aims to help direct the most up-to-date and relevant tools and resources to rural hospitals, clinics, and their communities. This Collection will be updated regularly to help assist with the abundance of circulating information relating to COVID-19.
Report Released on Racial Inequities in Dental Care
CBS-affiliate WUSA 9 reported on the racial disparities in dental care. The report cites The Pew Charitable Trusts studies showing higher rates of tooth decay and tooth loss in communities of color. The report examines contributing factors such as the low insurance reimbursement rates for patients on Medicaid.
Call to Action for All Health Advocates
The Families USA Health Action Network released, “Now is the Time for Oral Health Coverage: A Call to Action for All Health Advocates.” The publication covers how achieving a healthier, stronger, more equitable nation requires prioritizing comprehensive health coverage that includes oral health care. They are asking the public to submit personal stories about the importance of oral health care or how a lack of access to oral health care has affecting them.
Click here to read the publication.
Click here to submit a personal story.
Report: Parents Feel Comfortable Discussing HPV with Dentists
The ADA News reported a new study found that “parents feel comfortable having discussions about human papillomavirus (HPV) and its vaccine in the dental setting.” A survey of 208 parents of adolescents aged 9-17 found 66.4% of the parents felt dentists were qualified to counsel about HPV and 72.6% felt they were qualified to counsel about the vaccination. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.
HHS Report Released on Telehealth Utilization amid COVID-19
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), is releasing a new report showing the dramatic utilization trends of telehealth services for primary care delivery in Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare in the early days of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The report analyzes claims data from January through early June. The report underscores how telehealth flexibilities, introduced by the Trump Administration to address the care delivery disruptions caused by the pandemic, helped to spur and maintain Medicare beneficiaries’ access to their primary care providers.
At the start of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), with stay-at-home orders in place and warnings on the risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increasing with age, the report found Medicare FFS in-person visits for primary care fell precipitously in mid-March. It then found that in April, nearly half (43.5%) of Medicare primary care visits were provided through telehealth compared with less than one percent (0.1%) in February before the PHE.
The press release can be found here: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/07/28/hhs-issues-new-report-highlighting-dramatic-trends-in-medicare-beneficiary-telehealth-utilization-amid-covid-19.html
The full report with additional information can be found here: https://www.aspe.hhs.gov/pdf-report/medicare-beneficiary-use-telehealth
CMS Updates Data on COVID-19 Impacts on Medicare Beneficiaries
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today released its first monthly update of data that provides a snapshot of the impact of COVID-19 on the Medicare population. For the first time, the snapshot includes data for American Indian/Alaskan Native Medicare beneficiaries.
The new data indicate that American Indian/Alaskan Native beneficiaries have the second highest rate of hospitalization for COVID-19 among racial/ethnic groups after Blacks. Previously, the number of hospitalizations of American Indian/Alaskan Native beneficiaries was too low to be reported.
The updated data confirm that the COVID-19 public health emergency is disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities. This is due, in part, to the higher rates of chronic health conditions in these populations and issues related to the social determinants of health.
In response to the first Medicare data snapshot and related call to action from CMS Administrator Seema Verma on June 22, the CMS Office of Minority Health hosted three listening sessions with stakeholders who serve and represent racial and ethnic minority Medicare beneficiaries. These sessions provided helpful insight into ways in which CMS can address social risks and other barriers to health care that will help in our efforts to reduce health disparities.
The updated data on COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations of Medicare beneficiaries covers the period from January 1 to June 20, 2020. It is based on Medicare claims and encounter data CMS received by July 17, 2020.
Other key data points:
- Black beneficiaries continue to be hospitalized at higher rates than other racial and ethnic groups, with 670 hospitalizations per 100,000 beneficiaries.
- Beneficiaries eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid – who often suffer from multiple chronic conditions and have low incomes – were hospitalized at a rate more than 4.5 times higher than beneficiaries with Medicare only (719 versus 153 per 100,000).
- Beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) continue to be hospitalized at higher rates than other segments of the Medicare population, with 1,911 hospitalizations per 100,000 beneficiaries, compared with 241 per 100,000 for aged and 226 per 100,000 for disabled.
- CMS paid $2.8 billion in Medicare fee-for-service claims for COVID-related hospitalizations, or an average of $25,255 per beneficiary.
For more information on the Medicare COVID-19 data, visit: https://www.cms.gov/research-statistics-data-systems/preliminary-medicare-covid-19-data-snapshot
For an FAQ on this data release, visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/medicare-covid-19-data-snapshot-faqs.pdf
Register Today! Telehealth for Community-Based Organizations
Register today for the first of HHS’s three webinars on telehealth for community-based organizations. This webinar will provide an overview of telehealth basics for community-based organizations such as public housing authorities, multi-family housing providers, aging and disability network stakeholders, and other social service providers. The webinar will highlight relevant resources and provide examples of telehealth use and lessons from the field.
This is the first of three planned webinars aimed at helping community based organizations use telehealth more effectively, In August, look for Telehealth Promising Practices and learn how to address difficulties with at-risk and disadvantaged populations. Then in September, return for Addressing Barriers to Access for help overcoming physical constraints and limited service issues.
The webinars will be held on the following dates and times.
- Webinar #1 — Wednesday, July 29, 2020, 2-3 PM ET
- Webinar #2 — Wednesday August 26, 2-3 PM EST
- Webinar #3 — Wednesday September 30, 2-3 PM EST
This program is brought to you by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the HHS Administration for Community Living and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
USDA Launches New Farmers.gov Features to Help Farmers Hire Workers
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced new features on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farmers.gov website designed to help facilitate the employment of H-2A workers.
The primary new H-2A features on Farmers.gov include:
- A real-time dashboard that enables farmers to track the status of their eligible employer application and visa applications for temporary nonimmigrant workers;
- Streamlining the login information so if a farmer has an existing login.gov account they can save multiple applications tracking numbers for quick look-up at any time;
- Enables easy access to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG);
- Allows farmers to track time-sensitive actions taken in the course of Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s (OFLC) adjudication of temporary labor certification applications;
- Allowing for farmers to access all application forms on-line.
All information can be found at www.farmers.gov/manage/h2a.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Announces Annual Highway Safety Survey
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is seeking motorists’ input on traffic safety and driving behaviors through its annual online Highway Safety Survey found at www.PennDOT.gov/Safety.
The survey is available on PennDOT’s website through August 17 and should take about five minutes to complete. All responses, including the “comments” fields, are anonymous.
More than 10,000 people responded to last year’s survey. Notably, nearly 91 percent of respondents said they always wear a seat belt and 89 percent said they never drive while impaired. When asked which behaviors distracted them while driving in the last month, only 14 percent of respondents indicated “Using a hand-held cell phone” was a distraction. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed indicated “Adjusting the radio or climate controls” was a distraction, while 37 percent indicated they were distracted by an object outside of the vehicle.
“Driving is a skill that requires 100 percent of your attention 100 percent of the time, and distractions are everywhere, it’s not just your cell phone,” said Gramian. “Don’t drive distracted.”
For more information on our highway safety efforts, visit www.PennDOT.gov/Safety.
CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Engagement Calls – July 27th to August 14th
CMS hosts varied recurring stakeholder engagement sessions to share information related to the agency’s response to COVID-19. These sessions are open to members of the healthcare community and are intended to provide updates, share best practices among peers, and offer attendees an opportunity to ask questions of CMS and other subject matter experts.
Call details are below. Conference lines are limited so we highly encourage you to join via audio webcast, either on your computer or smartphone web browser. You are welcome to share this invitation with your colleagues and professional networks. These calls are not intended for the press.
Calls recordings and transcripts are posted on the CMS podcast page at: https://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Outreach/OpenDoorForums/PodcastAndTranscripts
CMS COVID-19 Office Hours Calls (Tuesdays at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern)
Office Hour Calls provide an opportunity for hospitals, health systems, and providers to ask questions of agency officials regarding CMS’s temporary actions that empower local hospitals and healthcare systems to:
- Increase Hospital Capacity – CMS Hospitals Without Walls;
- Rapidly Expand the Healthcare Workforce;
- Put Patients Over Paperwork; and
- Further Promote Telehealth in Medicare
This week’s Office Hours:
Tuesday, July 28th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1492795
Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=c408e7b1-985cce9a-c408d68e-0cc47a6d17cc-d6428ab37156e652&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2297
Additional Office Hours:
Tuesday, August 4th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3296947
Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=2d58ded5-710dd705-2d58efea-0cc47a6a52de-a294a2b8484144f1&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2352
Tuesday, August 11th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 3498643
Audio Webcast link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=6f7db93e-3329a042-6f7d8801-0cc47adc5fa2-ed718e46a02e4dc1&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2361
Weekly COVID-19 Care Site-Specific Calls
CMS hosts weekly calls for certain types of organizations to provide targeted updates on the agency’s latest COVID-19 guidance. One to two leaders in the field also share best practices with their peers. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters if time allows.
Home Health and Hospice (twice a month on Tuesday at 3:00 PM Eastern)
Tuesday, August 11th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 5097566 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=b4723cca-e827351a-b4720df5-0cc47a6a52de-e4916e2be973d447&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2386
Nursing Homes (twice a month on Wednesday at 4:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, August 12th 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7857618 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=2884bdb1-74d1b4a2-28848c8e-0cc47adb5650-5b54c104cb155c28&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2411
Dialysis Organizations (twice a month on Wednesday at 5:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, August 12th at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 1027088 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=6b0af8ba-375ff16a-6b0ac985-0cc47a6a52de-6400b78b7f9a7c65&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2401
Nurses (twice a month on Thursdays at 3:00 PM Eastern)
Thursday, August 13th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 7844289 Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=666e39a3-3a3b30b0-666e089c-0cc47adb5650-9c83dad655df67f4&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2421
Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (twice a month on Fridays at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)
Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters.
This week’s Lessons from the Front Lines:
Friday, August 7th at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820; Access Passcode: 4695240
Audio Webcast Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=c441afa6-9814a6b5-c4419e99-0cc47adb5650-c14a30d0298b73f0&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2376
For the most current information including call schedule changes, please click here
To keep up with the important work the White House Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19 click here: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=36fa2226-6aae0b0d-36fa1319-0cc47a6d17cc-2d06c219f858d641&u=http://www.coronavirus.gov/. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.