The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released comprehensive guidance to support states in ensuring the 38 million children with Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage – nearly half of the children in this country – receive the full range of health care services they need.

Under Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) requirements, eligible children and youth are entitled to a comprehensive array of prevention, diagnostic, and treatment services — including well-child visits, mental health services, dental, vision, and hearing services. These requirements are designed to ensure that children receive medically necessary health care services early, so that health problems are averted, or diagnosed and treated as early as possible. Because of the EPSDT requirements, Medicaid provides some of the most comprehensive health coverage in the country for children and youth.

The guidance issued today reinforces the EPSDT requirements and highlights strategies and best practices for states in implementing those requirements. This guidance, which was required by section 11004 of Title I of Division A of Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) (P.L. 117–159), is the most comprehensive EPSDT guidance that CMS has released in a decade and is a critical step to ensuring the health of children.

“We need to make sure our children have what they need to stay well. Medicaid makes that possible,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “This guidance to our states today will help millions of kids get the services that are crucial to their health and development, no matter where they live.”

“Our children are the future. They deserve the very best care possible and CMS is committed to ensuring that our nation’s children and youth get the right care, at the right time, in the right setting,” said CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure. “The implementation of the EPSDT requirements, in partnership with states, is vital to the tens of millions of children in the nation who are covered by Medicaid and CHIP. We’ll keep working until every child can get the care they need, when they need it.”

Today’s guidance is a critical step in CMS’ efforts to strengthen the Medicaid and CHIP programs across the country. The guidance clearly explains the statutory and regulatory EPSDT requirements, and suggests best practices across key areas, including increasing access to services through transportation and care coordination, expanding the children-focused workforce, improving care for children with specialized needs (including children in the child welfare system and children with disabilities), and expanding awareness among families of their children’s rights under the EPSDT requirements.

The EPSDT guidance also includes information to help address the needs of children with behavioral health conditions. Youth in the United States are experiencing a mental health crisis, research shows. The EPSDT guidance includes a series of strategies and best practices that states can use to meet children’s and youth’s behavioral health needs. For example, it suggests that states create a children’s behavioral health benefit package and support the management of children and youth with mild to moderate behavioral health needs in primary care settings. States must provide coverage for an array of medically necessary mental health and SUD services along the care continuum – including in children’s own homes, schools and communities — in order to meet their EPSDT obligation. This work builds on the HHS Roadmap to Behavioral Health Integration, which outlines the Department’s commitment to providing the full spectrum of integrated, equitable, evidence-based, culturally appropriate, and person-centered behavioral health care to the populations it serves, and builds on the President’s Unity Agenda to advance mental health.

The EPSDT requirements play a crucial role in the long road to achieving health equity by helping to provide access to essential care for children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. The guidance released today is one important step in the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to child health and access to affordable, quality health coverage for all, and is part of CMS’ broader strategy to ensure that children have the comprehensive and high-quality care they need. Beyond the importance of the EPSDT requirements, Medicaid more broadly is vital for ensuring the health of America’s youth. A new HHS report, Medicaid: The Health and Economic Benefits of Expanding Eligibility, by researchers in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) examines the impact of Medicaid throughout its six decades and highlights the importance of Medicaid coverage for low-income children. Studies show that access to Medicaid coverage is associated with a significant improvement in health and mortality that continues beyond childhood. In addition to improved health outcomes, children with Medicaid have improved educational and economic outcomes.

Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV)  introduced the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Authorization Act with Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL), Buddy Carter (R-GA), and Ann Kuster (D-NH). The RCORP Authorization Act will establish and expand prevention, treatment, and recovery services in rural areas for opioid users.

“Ensuring there are enough resources for those who are suffering from addiction is a top priority for me. As a representative for a rural district, I have seen firsthand how important it is for my constituents to have access to quality health care. The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program provides funding to rural communities that are in need of recovery facilities, and the program should be authorized to provide certainty for communities and providers. I thank my colleagues for partnering with me on this bipartisan issue to establish addiction prevention services in the most rural areas of the United States,” said Congresswoman Miller.

“The opioid epidemic doesn’t discriminate. As we see in Alabama, it affects people of every background and every zip code, urban and rural. By authorizing the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program, we can take critical steps toward expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery services for opioid users in rural communities. I’m grateful to be part of the bipartisan group of lawmakers working to make that happen,” said Congresswoman Sewell.

“The opioid epidemic is a nationwide crisis that especially impacts rural communities. As a pharmacist and representative for a rural district, I understand the importance of ensuring that all Americans have access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services. Formally authorizing the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program will save lives in districts like mine. I am proud to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure continued access to these vital health care resources,” said Congressman Carter.

“From health care workforce shortages to limited access to treatment and recovery services, rural communities in New Hampshire and across the country have been hit particularly hard by the addiction and overdose crisis. Ending the substance use disorder epidemic calls for an all-of-the-above government response, and the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program will help ensure that even our most rural communities have access to the resources and support they need to save lives,” said Congresswoman Kuster.

“Substance use, including opioid use, is exacerbated in rural America by a lack of access to care and treatment. The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) is a grant program aimed at alleviating this gap by establishing and expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery services. NRHA applauds the efforts of Representatives Miller, Sewell, Carter, and Kuster for their introduction of the RCORP Authorization Act and their continual leadership on rural issues,” said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association.

“Rural communities have been uniquely tested by the opioid epidemic. Limited care options, transportation issues, and incomplete support systems along with barriers to reintegration into the workforce have created unique barriers on the road to recovery. The RCORP program has been critical in deploying needed resources to these communities while promoting unique collaborations that provide patient-centered care. As such, we enthusiastically support the continuation of this vital program,” said David Gozal, M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D. (Hon), Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University.

​​”On behalf of the 50 State Offices of Rural Health, we are thrilled to see Reps. Carol Miller, Ann Kuster, and Buddy Carter introduce the RCORP Authorization Bill of 2024.  The RCORP grant program has been a lifeline for Rural population in West Virginia, New Hampshire, Georgia and all 50 states.  If passed into law this bill solidifies the standing of the program in the eyes of Congress – we look forward to working with our rural champions to ensure Congress passes this bipartisan bill into law,” said Tammy Norville, CEO of the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health.

PHC4 has released a new resource on its website, intended to support informing interested Pennsylvanians on current topics that impact health care in the Commonwealth. This first occurrence aims to offer insight into non-compete agreements in health care and includes an extensive summary of the events on both state and federal levels.

PHC4 believes this coincides with its mission to empower Pennsylvanians through transparency, providing access to data, research, analysis, and reporting focused on the cost, utilization, and quality of health care delivery in the Commonwealth. Barry D. Buckingham, Executive Director at PHC4, stated, “I’m proud to be a part of expanding the reach of PHC4’s value by offering additional resources in support of every person in the Commonwealth making informed decisions.” He went on to say offering key insights and support to Pennsylvania’s stakeholders is paramount in assessing the relevance of this new requirement through Act 74 of 2024, as well as in the development of additional resources.

Announced alongside this is a public comment period in response to the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act, Act 74 of 2024. This recent legislation requires PHC4 to perform a study on the effects of the Act, and to report its findings. In support of this study PHC4 will be collecting public comment for analysis and inclusion within the final report. To ensure comments are included for analysis, the comment must be received by October 21, 2024. Those interested in commenting on Act 74 of 2024, may do so by sending an email or letter by mail to PHC4.

Email: publiccomment@phc4.org

Letter by Mail: PA Health Care Cost Containment Council, 225 Market St, Suite 400, Harrisburg, PA 17101

PHC4 is an independent council formed under Pennsylvania statute (Act 89 of 1986, as amended by Act 15 of 2020) to address rapidly growing health care costs. PHC4 continues to produce comparative information about the most efficient and effective health care to individual consumers and group purchasers of health services. In addition, PHC4 produces information used to identify opportunities to contain costs and improve the quality of care delivered.

For more information, visit phc4.org.

READY Grants to Grow is making $9 million available for projects that will build individual, organizational and/or community capacity to help the region’s most underserved areas and populations create positive change.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced the launch of READY Grants to Grow, a new, $9 million funding opportunity that will award grants of up to $500,000 to organizations seeking to build individual, organizational and/or community capacity across Appalachia. Any organization that is eligible to apply for an ARC grant can apply for READY Grants to Grow, though certain requirements apply.

READY Grants to Grow is the latest offering from READY Appalachia, ARC’s capacity-building initiative offering no-cost training and funding access to nonprofits, local development districts (LDDs), local governments and community foundations serving the region. This new funding opportunity aims to make even more resources available to a wider range of community and economic development organizations.

“Many of our Appalachian communities do not have the staff to fully take advantage of valuable opportunities for growth,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “Through the READY Grants to Grow initiative, ARC is working to help these communities to address these economic inequalities, so they can increase their grant success potential and create long-lasting, transformative change for their residents and the region.”

To be selected, organizations must propose projects that strengthen underserved communities and economies in the Appalachian Region, and/or demonstrate low capacity themselves. Proposed projects must address one or more of the following:

• Individual capacity building, including skill training for organization staff or professional development for leaders.
• Organizational capacity building, including hiring new staff for expanded services, developing internal strategic plans, or purchasing goods and services that will improve operation.
• Community capacity building, including creating and expanding partnership networks, hiring a contractor for a community economic development plan, or launching a community-led planning process.

Successful projects will draw a clear connection between their capacity building proposal and the broader community’s economic development and improved services to underserved populations and areas.

A pre-application webinar will be held on October 10, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Interested applicants must submit a letter of intent to apply by November 1, 2024 to access application portal. Grant applications are due February 14, 2025.

READY Appalachia was launched in July 2022 using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds. To date, ARC has provided no-cost training to 75 nonprofits, 90 local government entities, 41 LDDs and 30 community foundations to help them build internal capacity and better serve their communities. Nearly $4 million in funding (no match required) was awarded through READY LDDs and more than $1.6 million was awarded through READY Nonprofits, with more awards on the horizon through READY Local Governments and READY Community Foundations.

Across all READY Appalachia opportunities, special emphasis is placed on serving Appalachia’s most underrepresented communities, including economically distressed areas, organizations located within the Rural Partners Network’s Community Networks, counties prioritized by the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities, and marginalized populations.

About READY Appalachia
READY Appalachia is an ARC initiative building individual, organizational and community capacity in the Appalachian Region. Offerings include no-cost, cohort-based training and funding access (no match required) for nonprofit organizations, Local Development Districts (LDDs), local governments and community foundations serving the Appalachian Region. Additionally, READY Grants to Grow offers capacity building grant awards of up to $500,000, available to entities that are currently eligible to apply for ARC grants. Across all READY Appalachia offerings, special emphasis is placed on helping the region’s most under resourced and economically distressed communities increase their ability to solve pressing issues and create lasting, positive change.

About the Appalachian Regional Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.

Many workers are looking for ways to move up the economic ladder. The updated Occupational Mobility Explorer from the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and Cleveland allows you to trace a career path by visualizing how skills needed for lower-paying jobs can transfer to similar jobs with higher pay in the same local market.

You can now explore nearly 600 job titles across 500-plus U.S. locations. You can build a path from your current role by exploring jobs with higher pay in the same local market that share skills with that role while identifying the additional skills you may need to develop to grow your career. Or select a higher-paying role to start, and the tool will show lower-paying roles with shared skills in that local market that could lead to that career goal.

What else is in the enhanced tool? You can see how similar the skills are between jobs in your path, their median wages, whether they require a college degree, and what their projected growth rate is. You can also view local job postings for jobs within your career path and write a skills-based resume using resources featured on the site.

Start exploring now.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania welcomes proposals to revise its Community Planning Handbook to address community planning and visioning in light of rural population change. As noted in a 2023 report by the Center and the Pennsylvania State Data Center, rural Pennsylvania’s population will shrink by approximately 5.8% by 2050.

Currently in its Fourth Edition (2013), a revised and significantly updated Community Planning Handbook will incorporate new community planning materials consistent with best practices, informed by the scholarly and/or community development literature and the practical experiences of the authors. Furthermore, the revised Handbook will focus on addressing population change within rural communities.

Proposals are welcomed from independent stakeholders, nonprofit groups, and any entities eligible to enter into a contract with an agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in addition to higher education institutions in the state.

The review of proposals will begin on October 21, 2024, and continue until a successful proposal is accepted. Final proposals should be submitted to commission@rural.pa.gov.

Learn more and download a proposal submission form here.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the Department of Health and Hunan Services (HHS) announced the first ever multi-vendor contract awards to modernize the nation’s organ transplant system to improve transparency, performance, governance, and efficiency of the organ donation and transplantation system for the more than 100,000 people on the organ transplant waitlist.

The Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) has long faced critiques about lack of transparency, potential for conflicts of interest, IT reliability issues and other structural challenges. As part of the Administration’s transformation of the OPTN, for the first time in 40 years, multiple contractors will provide their expertise and proven experience to improve the national organ transplant system. This transition from a single vendor to multiple vendors to support OPTN operations is a critical step in advancing innovation in the transplant system to better serve patients and their families and implements the bipartisan Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act signed by the President in September 2023.

“With the life of more than 100,000 Americans at stake, no organ donated for transplantation should go to waste,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “For too long, our organ transplant system has fallen short, mired in monopoly. The Biden-Harris Administration has reformed OPTN to require accountability in the operation of organ procurement that our transplant patients and their families demand.”

“One person is added to the waitlist every 10 minutes. Each one relies on and deserves the best care possible,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “Today’s action marks a significant advancement in the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to doing what it takes to make sure the nation’s organ matching system works for patients, donors, and the families who depend on the OPTN for that life-saving call.”

HRSA is announcing multiple OPTN modernization awards to support critical actions, including:

1. Improving Patient Safety – Arbor Research Collaborative for Health will provide support on patient safety and the policy compliance systems and processes overseen by the OPTN Board of Directors and the Membership and Professional Standards Committee to improve oversight of the multiple entities in the OPTN.
2. Supporting OPTN IT Modernization – General Dynamic Information Technology (GDIT) will focus on the opportunities to improve the OPTN organ matching IT system and inform HRSA’s Next Generation IT procurement and development work.
3. Increasing Transparency and Public Engagement in OPTN Policy Development – Maximus Federal will advance opportunities to improve public visibility and engagement in the OPTN policy making process, including improving transparency around OPTN policy making committees’ deliberations and actions.
4. Strengthening Patient-Centered Communications – Deloitte will focus on improvements in communications from the OPTN, within the OPTN and, importantly, with patients and families.
5. Improving OPTN Financial Management – Guidehouse Digital will address improvements for OPTN’s budget development and management systems and processes.

In August 2024, HRSA announced that the OPTN Board of Directors—the governing board that develops national organ allocation policy—is now separately incorporated and independent from the Board of longtime OPTN contractor, the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). HRSA awarded an OPTN Board Support contract to a new vendor, American Institutes for Research, to support the newly incorporated OPTN Board of Directors.

HRSA launched the OPTN Modernization Initiative in March 2023, including making proposals to reform the decades old OPTN statute and increase funding for the program to better serve patients and families. Within a year, HRSA worked closely with bipartisan leaders in Congress to secure passage of the Securing the U.S. OPTN Act and substantially boost funding to support modernization efforts. Today’s awards represent a key step forward in this work.