- Weathering the Storm Together: Community Resiliency Hubs Hold the Promise of Local Self-Sufficiency and Supportive Mutual Aid
- Virginia Tech Researchers Bring Rural Families into the Nation's Largest Study of Early Brain and Child Development
- Expanding Access to Cancer Care for Rural Veterans
- VA: Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, Notice of Meeting
- Scaling Rural Wellness with Clever Collaboration
- Stroudwater Associates Enhances Rural Healthcare Dashboard with New Data to Support State Rural Transformation Grant Applications
- Harvest Season Is Here: Busy Times Call for Increased Focus on Safety and Health
- HHS Dispatches More Than 70 Public Health Service Officers to Strengthen Care in Tribal Communities
- Wisconsin Rural Hospitals Team up to Form Network
- CMS Launches Landmark $50 Billion Rural Health Transformation Program
- American Heart Association Provides Blood Pressure Kits at Southeast Arkansas Regional Libraries to Support Rural Health
- Broadening Access to Minimally Invasive Surgery Could Narrow Rural-Urban Health Gaps
- Instead of Selling, Some Rural Hospitals Band Together To Survive
- Help Line Gives Pediatricians Crucial Mental Health Information to Help Kids, Families
- Rural Health: A Strategic Opportunity for Governors
Clinical Quality Measures for Eligible Professionals: 2024 Update Released
A new spreadsheet developed by the HITEQ Center provides a crosswalk of Clinical Quality Measures and their electronic specifications as defined in the 2023 update for Eligible Professionals (Clinicians). Fields include the crosswalk of measures with related information about CMS, NQF, and CMS Quality or MIPS ID, and Telehealth Eligibility, as well as inclusion in HRSA BPHC Uniform Data System (UDS) CY2024, Million Hearts, CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP) – APM Performance Pathway (APP) Measures, 2024 APM Performance Pathway: CMS Web Interface Measure Benchmarks for CMS ACO Shared Savings Program, CMS Core Set (Child Core Set Medicaid / CHIP): HEDIS Specified, CMS Core Set (Adult Core Set Medicaid): HEDIS Specified, Core Quality Measures Collaborative (ACO / Primary Care). Links are included throughout. Download the spreadsheet here.
Medicare Telehealth Legislation Takes Another Step Forward
Last week, the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee advanced a two-year extension of Medicare telehealth payment policies to the full Energy & Commerce Committee. The bill, H.R. 7623, the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024, includes a two-year extension of current policies and would also ensure that Medicare reimburses telehealth visits at the same rate as in-person visits. This payment parity language, along with the rest of the policy extensions, passed the subcommittee by a 21-0 bipartisan vote. The full Committee will consider the bill in the coming months.
New Study Provides Summary on Rural Behavioral Health Workforce Retention
According to a new study by the Provider Retention and Information System Management (PRISM), behavioral health professionals who had an experience with rural health care during their training are more likely to work and stay in rural areas when they enter practice. PRISM’s Behavioral Health study that was published by The Journal of Rural Health is now available here. This study assesses the amount of exposure to care in rural underserved communities that behavioral health clinicians received during training and how it impacted their success and retention in rural safety net practices.
America is Experiencing More than a Red-Blue Divide
If you’re serving multi-generations like most Community Health Centers are, you’ll want to look at the charts in Washington strategist Bruce Mehlman’s Six-Chart Sunday newsletter. The infographics highlight some startling differences between older and younger generations across an array of topics, including values, economics, party identification, and happiness.
Appeals Court Approves Drugmakers’ Federal 340B Contract Pharmacy Restrictions
On May 21, the Federal Appeals Court ruled that the 340B statute doesn’t prohibit drugmakers from placing any conditions on distribution of 340B drugs to covered entities. However, the ruling left open the possibility that more stringent conditions by drugmakers could be illegal. NACHC is analyzing the appeal and its impact on FQHCs. Click here to read the appeal.
Federal Poverty Income Guidelines for 2024 Released
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has announced implementation in Pennsylvania of the 2024 Federal Poverty Income Guidelines (FPIG), which were issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Jan. 17, 2024. The FPIGs are the basis for FQHC sliding fees and the income eligibility limits for several categories of Medicaid whose regulations are published in 55 Pa. Code (relating to human services) and administered by the PA Department of Human Services. Click here to read the notice in the PA Bulletin.
Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on Addressing SUD and Behavioral Health
On Thursday morning, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing: “Front Lines of the Fentanyl Crisis: Supporting Communities and Combating Addiction through Prevention and Treatment.” This was a great opportunity to highlight for Senators the great work that health centers are doing in behavioral health. PACHC sent background information on the impactful work being done by Pennsylvania’s FQHCs to Senator Casey, who is a member of the Committee. Dr. Abigail Herron, who works for an FQHC in New York state, testified at the hearing.
ICYMI: Explore HeatRisk Forecast Tool
In case you missed it: last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created the nation’s first health-based alert system and heat guidance for clinicians. As part of this effort, the CDC also provides a HeatRisk Dashboard with resources for high-heat days, details on local air quality, and actions to stay safe in these conditions. Finally, the CDC has a site with clinical guidance for heat health, focused initially on treating children with asthma, pregnant women, and people with cardiovascular disease.
HRSA Modifies Definition of Rural for FORHP Grants
Comment by May 28. On April 26th, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) announced a proposed modification to the definition of ‘rural’ used to designate eligible areas for rural health grants. Because access to needed health care is likely to be reduced when roads are most difficult to traverse, FORHP proposes to modify the definition of rural areas by integrating the new Road Ruggedness Scale (RRS) released in 2023 by the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The proposed modifications are based on a data-driven methodology to identify areas with difficult mountainous terrain. All areas included in the current definition of rural would remain included.
Overdose Deaths Are in Decline
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released provisional data from their National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) indicating an estimated 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2023 – a decrease of 3 percent from the 111,029 deaths estimated in 2022. This is the first annual decrease in drug overdose deaths since 2018. Several states across the nation saw decreases; Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, and Maine experienced declines of 15 percent or more. Still, some states saw increases. Alaska, Washington, and Oregon stood out with notable increases of at least 27% compared to the same period in 2022. Various factors make a difference in provisional counts versus final counts, such as records indicating “pending investigation.” The data are based on death records NCHS receives each month from state vital registration offices with no distinction between urban and rural.