- 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
Pennsylvania Awarded Another $75M to Respond to Opioid Epidemic
State and local agencies in Pennsylvania will receive $75 million over the next year to combat the opioid epidemic, part of $1.8 billion in funding the Trump administration announced Wednesday. The new round of funding includes $8.5 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, $5.9 million to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and $5.2 million to the Allegheny County Health Department to better collect and track overdose data as close to real time as possible. The state intends to use the money to help overwhelmed county offices and find ways to streamline data collection into a standardized statewide system. This new money to support opioid reporting is in addition to the nearly $56 million the state will receive in the next year to carry out its opioid response plan.
Pennsylvania Awarded $2.25 Million to Study Maternal Mortality
The administration of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that it has received a $2.25 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the cause of maternal deaths in the state after an increase in recent years. Read more.
ARC Substance Abuse Advisory Council Issues Final Report of Recommendations
This week, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) formally accepted a final Report of Recommendations developed by the Substance Abuse Advisory Council (SAAC) outlining proposed steps for developing a robust recovery ecosystem in Appalachia. Among the recommended strategies for action include developing community playbooks, employers toolkits, model workforce training programs, and community navigation programs. Many of the recommendations’ key themes were drawn from six Recovery-to-Work Listening Sessions hosted by ARC, coupled with expertise from the SAAC, a 24-member volunteer group of leaders from recovery services, health, economic development, private industry, education, state government, law enforcement, and other sectors representing each of the Region’s 13 states. ARC seated the SAAC earlier this year with the charge to develop concrete guiding recommendations to ARC for addressing the workforce impacts of Appalachia’s substance abuse epidemic.
“This report, the result of excellent work by the ARC Substance Abuse Advisory Council, is informed and inspired by the people of the Appalachian Region, who have been especially impacted by the substance abuse epidemic in our country,” said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas. “I am proud not only of the innovative and necessary recommendations they have produced, but of the transparent and participatory process by which they reached their conclusions. Their effort proves that effective leadership begins at the community level. I accept their recommendations, thank the Commission for doing the same, and will seek to begin addressing them with our state partners in future ARC programs.”
Vaccine Coverage Lower For Rural Teens
In late August 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released results from the National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen) in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), providing the latest estimates of vaccination rates among adolescents in the United States. The key findings from the report include a lower rate of vaccination in rural areas. This MMWR also included a report on the latest estimates of HPV cancers in the United States, which found that HPV vaccination could prevent 92 percent of cancers estimated to be caused by HPV. To support healthcare professionals in making effective recommendations, addressing parents’ questions and concerns, and reinforcing the message that HPV vaccination is cancer prevention, the CDC has developed a number of educational resources. The full MMWR report can be accessed here.
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Announces Suicide Prevention Task Force Public Listening Sessions
On May 29, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s administration announced the creation of a statewide Suicide Prevention Task Force. The goal of this task force is to bring together state agencies with differing responsibilities and constituencies to inform a comprehensive, statewide suicide prevention plan.
Suicide does not discriminate, and all ages, genders, regions, and socioeconomic statuses may be affected. Because of this, the task force is seeking public input on their ideas for suicide prevention, education around mental health and suicide, and how to dispel the stigma around suicide and mental health.
Public listening sessions will take place around the commonwealth beginning in September through November. Sessions are currently scheduled for:
- Thursday, September 12, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Penn State Behrend – Erie, PA
- Thursday, September 26, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Temple University – Philadelphia, PA
- Thursday, October 10, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Jewish Community Center – York, PA
- Thursday, October 24 – 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Area – Additional Details Coming Soon
- Friday, October 25 – 10 a.m.-12 p.m. – Allentown – Additional Details Coming Soon
- Thursday, November 7 – 5:30-7:30 p.m. – Jewish Healthcare Foundation – Pittsburgh, PA
- Friday, November 8 – 10 a.m.-12 p.m. – Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, PA
- Friday, November 15 – 10 a.m.-12 p.m. – Southeastern Pennsylvania – Additional Details Coming Soon
You can register for the listening sessions here. Please complete one registration per participant from your organization or family. If you would like to speak, please indicate that on your registration. Additional details on locations and parking will be sent ahead of each event.
HRSA Study Finds 1 in 4 Children and 1 in 5 Adolescents are Victims of Bullying
A HRSA study using 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health data highlights the need for universal prevention efforts and targeted services to address bullying among children and adolescents.
The study by HRSA researchers showed that 22.7% of children and adolescents aged 6–17 years were bullied by others, as reported by their parents or caregivers. Bullying victimization was slightly higher among 6-11 year olds than among 12-17 year olds (24.1% vs. 21.1%).
The results also reveal opportunities to improve access to mental health services for youth experiencing bullying.
Shortage Designation Modernization Project: Auto-HPSA National Update
On August 30, 2019, HRSA updated all automatically designated Health Professional Shortage Area (Auto-HPSA) scores. With the implementation of this update, for the first time Auto-HPSAs are now scored electronically, not manually, streamlining the process and ensuring that all HPSAs nationwide are in a single online system.
All Auto-HPSA organizations have the opportunity to submit rescore requests via the online Auto-HPSA portal.
Updated scores will be used for the FY 2020 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program application cycle, which will open in February 2020.
View the announcement and visit the Shortage Designation Modernization Project for more information about the update.
National Health Service Corps Partners with SAMHSA’s Providers Clinical Support System
A new partnership between our National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and SAMHSA’s Providers Clinical Support System (PCSS) connects qualified clinicians to free Medication-Assisted Treatment training and professional development resources, and the opportunity to obtain the DATA 2000 Waiver, which will increase access to quality substance use disorder or opioid use disorder treatment in rural and underserved areas.
HHS Announces $1.8 Billion in New Funding to States to Combat Opioid Crisis
On September 4, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced more than $1.8 billion in funding to states to continue the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the opioid crisis by expanding access to treatment and supporting near real-time data on the drug overdose crisis.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced more than $900 million in new funding for a three-year cooperative agreement with states, territories, and localities to advance the understanding of the opioid overdose epidemic and to scale-up prevention and response activities, releasing $301 million for the first year.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded approximately $932 million to all 50 states as part of its State Opioid Response grants. By the end of 2019, HHS will have awarded more than $9 billion in grants to states and local communities to help increase access to treatment and prevention services since the start of the Trump administration.
The full CDC state by state data table is here
The full SAMHSA state by state table is here
Study Ranks Pennsylvania 24th in the Nation for Worker-friendly Policies
A recent report by the anti-poverty group Oxfam America ranked all 50 states based on a variety of metrics, from whether workers can earn a livable wage, its friendliness to organized labor, and the support services it offers to workers. Based on those metrics, Pennsylvania finished 24th in the nation, finishing behind five of the Keystone State’s six neighbors.
“While the U.S. economy is thriving for some, it is leaving millions of working families behind. As the federal government has refused to advance labor laws that would help, most states have stepped up to make vital improvements in wages and conditions,” the study’s authors wrote.
Here’s how Pennsylvania’s neighboring states finished overall: Delaware (16), Maryland (13), New Jersey (12); New York (13), Ohio (20) and West Virginia (25). The full report can be accessed here.