- 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
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
ARC Notice for Repurposing Existing Federal Financial Assistance Programs and Awards to Support Response to COVID-19
ARC has notified our current grantees that they may be able to repurpose remaining balances in their ARC grants to support immediate efforts to combat the COVID-19 crisis in their communities. This allowance to repurpose derives from guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on April 9, 2020, which directs the federal government to marshal all legally available federal resources to combat the effects of COVID-19. Requests for repurposing should be discussed initially with the State ARC Program Manager and will require final approval by the State Alternate and the ARC Federal Co-Chair. Grantees should not assume that additional funds will be available should the repurposing result in shortages for the implementation of the originally approved grant.
ARC is carefully and continually monitoring the COVID-19 situation as it is impacting the Appalachian Region. We are assisting grantees who are unable to meet project goals or timelines due to the current situation. If you are a current ARC grantee experiencing such challenges, please email your ARC project coordinator and state program manager as soon as possible for help with needed accommodations regarding your project’s deliverables, timelines, budget, or other operations. (When emailing, please put your ARC project number in the subject line. This will make responding to your request easier).
Appalachia Responds to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, communities across Appalachia are banding together to pool resources and ideas for resilience. Here’s an inspiring example:
In the days following COVID-19 related shutdowns, the Appalachian Impact Fund, the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, and the Community Economic Development Initiative for Kentucky (CEDIK) at the University of Kentucky sprung into action. They raised almost half a million dollars, and created the Southeast Kentucky Downtown Business Stimulus Fund to help downtown businesses.
Drawing on ARC POWER support, this revolving loan fund and technical assistance program will support downtown revitalization efforts and entrepreneurial ecosystems across 10 counties in Southeastern Kentucky. The project is a partnership between the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky and the Community Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK) to form the Appalachian Impact Fund (AIF).
ARC: Substance Abuse Recovery Services Continue Care During COVID-19 Crisis
Recently, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director James Carroll and Senior Advisor for Rural Affairs Anne Hazlett briefed members of ARC’s Substance Abuse Advisory Council (SAAC) about federal strategies ensuring that Americans struggling with addiction can receive services and support during the COVID-19 crisis. During the briefing call, Carroll said that he is deeply concerned during COVID about the vulnerability of people with substance use disorder to the virus and to relapse in their recovery. At the same time however, the pandemic has created a big opportunity to make significant policy changes in access to treatment and recovery services through telemedicine. Lastly, Carroll said that the Administration is deeply committed to ensuring that people are connected to the resources and recovery support systems they need to get well and stay healthy in this critical time.
Offering a regional perspective, SAAC member Karen Kelley, Executive Director of TROSA, a comprehensive recovery program in North Carolina, described how they are readjusting their services to meet health and safety needs, while still providing continuity of care to their clients. Meanwhile, SAAC member Bob Hansen, Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy at West Virginia’s Department of Health and Human Resources described how West Virginia’s Jobs and Hope Initiative has developed a smartphone app to help those in recovery continue to receive needed services.
“It is easy for us to become distracted in the face of COVID-19,” said ARC Federal Co-Chairman Tim Thomas during the briefing. “but it is important to remember to stay focused on the substance abuse crisis, which has become a pandemic on top of a pandemic.”
Important Child Welfare Updates in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) has provided several important child welfare system updates. While the state was planning to implement the Family First Prevention Services Act provisions on October 1, a request was made to the Administration for Children and Families for a formal delay due to impacts of COVID-19 and budgetary concerns. The department was granted this request, which will change the implementation date to July 1, 2021. This change aligns with the state fiscal year and will assist the state and counties to adequately plan for policy and procedural changes. Read the official press release from DHS.
DHS also has provided important data on the impacts of COVID-19 on the child welfare system. Specifically, Childline, the state reporting system of child abuse and neglect, has seen a 50% decrease in calls. This is not indicative of a reduction in child abuse, rather, it reflects a decrease in interactions between children and mandated reporters. Because mandated reporters (such as school personnel and medical staff) are having limited access with children and youth, there is less direct recognition of abusive situations to report.
We encourage anyone who suspects child abuse or neglect to call ChildLine toll-free at 1-800-932-0313. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive reports of suspected child abuse.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children and other advocates have been seeking data on positive COVID-19 cases for those involved with the child welfare system. As of May 7, positive cases of COVID-19 include:
- 34 youth and 153 staff in 55 Pa. Code 3800 facilities
- Three youth served in family foster or kinship care
- Eight foster or kinship care providers
Rural Libraries Face Dramatic Choices as Some States Begin to Reopen
By Tracy Staley
Rural libraries often provide much-needed services like internet access to their communities. During the coronavirus epidemic, they find creative ways to continue with their mission, but with states pushing for reopening, some find themselves in a tough spot.
The 25 Rural Counties with Highest Infection Rates
By Tim Marema and Bill Bishop
Meatpacking plants, prisons, and nursing homes are associated with high Covid-19 infection rates in the hardest-hit counties.
CMS NEWS ALERT May 19, 2020
As part of the ongoing White House Task Force efforts taken in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), following is a summary of recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) actions. To keep up with the important Task Force work being done in response to COVID-19, click here www.coronavirus.gov. For information specific to CMS, please visit the CMS News Room and Current Emergencies Website. CMS updates these resources on an ongoing basis throughout the day; the information below is current as of May 19, 2020 at 4:00 pm ET.
Trump Administration Issues Guidance to Ensure States Have a Plan in Place to Safely Reopen Nursing Homes
CMS announced new guidance for state and local officials to ensure the safe reopening of nursing homes across the country. The guidance released today is part of President Trump’s Guidelines for Opening Up America Again. It details critical steps nursing homes and communities should take prior to relaxing restrictions implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including rigorous infection prevention and control, adequate testing, and surveillance. The recommendations allow states to make sure nursing homes are continuing to take the appropriate and necessary steps to ensure resident safety and are opening their doors when the time is right.
CMS Releases Additional Waivers for Hospitals and Ground Ambulance Organizations
CMS continues to release waivers for the healthcare community that provide the flexibilities needed to take care of patients during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). CMS recently provided additional blanket waivers for the duration of the PHE that:
- Modify existing physical environment waivers to allow for increased flexibilities for surge capacity and patient quarantine at hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and critical access hospitals as a result of COVID-19; and
- Modify the data collection period and data reporting period for ground ambulance organizations.
Emergency Declaration Blanket Waivers
Medicare Payment for COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests
Earlier this year, CMS took action to ensure America’s patients, health care facilities, and clinical laboratories were prepared to respond to COVID-19. To help increase testing, CMS developed two codes that laboratories can use to bill for certain COVID-19 lab tests, including serology tests. CMS has updated its guidance to include payment details for additional CPT codes created by the American Medical Association. There is no cost-sharing for Medicare patients.
CMS Gives States Additional Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS has approved over 200 requests for state relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent approvals for Alaska, Iowa, Hawaii, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, and Virginia. These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools they need to combat COVID-19. This is done through a wide variety of waivers, amendments, and Medicaid state plan flexibilities, including support for programs that care for the elderly and people with disabilities. CMS also developed a toolkit to expedite the application and review of each request and has approved these requests in record time. These approved flexibilities support President Trump’s commitment to a COVID-19 response that is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.
1915(c) Waiver Appendix K Amendments
Medicaid State Plan Amendments
Pennsylvania Governor’s Administration to Distribute $255,000 in ‘Farm to Food Banks’ Funding, Redirect Agricultural Surplus to Address Food Insecurity
Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today announced that Pennsylvania has been awarded $255,373, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to Food Bank Program, which the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will distribute to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank to reimburse farmers for costs associated with harvesting, packing, processing, and distributing donated agricultural surplus.
Farm to Food Bank is a product of the 2018 federal Farm Bill – based on legislation introduced by Senator Bob Casey and championed by Congressman Glenn Thompson – and was modeled after the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS), which was enacted into law in 2010 and first funded by Governor Tom Wolf in 2015. Pennsylvania’s funds are equitably distributed through the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, a Feeding Pennsylvania member, and their 13 subcontractors to procure surplus agricultural products from Pennsylvania farmers and food processors, he department’s $1.5 million Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System serves as a match for the federal Farm to Food Bank Program.
States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions – Updated WalletHub Study
With most states partially reopened after closing down non-essential businesses earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions, as well as accompanying videos.
To identify which states have the fewest coronavirus restrictions, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 11 key metrics. Our data set ranges from whether child-care programs and restaurants have reopened to the presence or absence of a “shelter-in-place” order. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.
|
States with the Fewest Restrictions |
States with the Most Restrictions |
| 1. South Dakota | T-41. Connecticut / Michigan |
| 2. Wisconsin | T-41. New York |
| 3. Idaho | T-44. New Mexico |
| 4. Missouri | T-44. Washington |
| 5. Utah | 46. Hawaii |
| 6. Wyoming | 47. Vermont |
| 7. Montana | 48. Massachusetts |
| 8. Arizona | 49. District of Columbia |
| 9. North Dakota | 50. Rhode Island |
| 10. Iowa | 51. Illinois |
Note: Rankings are based on data available as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, May 18, 2020.
Biggest Changes in Rank from the Previous Report
- Wisconsin moved from 34 to 2, up 32 positions. This is due in part to the fact that the state has lifted all restrictions on large gatherings, had closed but fully re-opened restaurants and bars, has child care programs open and has fully reopened all non-essential businesses.
- Arizona moved from 32 to 8, up 24 positions. This is due in part to the fact that the state has lifted all restrictions on large gatherings and has lifted all stay-at-home mandatory restrictions.
- Georgia moved from 11 to 28, down 17 positions. This is due in part to the fact that the state requires wearing a face mask in public and that the state still has its legislative sessions postponed.
To view the full report and your state’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-fewest-coronavirus-restrictions/73818/
CMS COVID-19 Stakeholder Engagement Calls – Week of 5/18/20
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 and Thursdays 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, May 19th at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820;
Access Passcode: 1908409
Thursday, May 21st at 5:00 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial In: 833-614-0820;
Access Passcode: 9984433
Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (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, May 22nd at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 877-251-0301;
Access Code: 6086125
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 (Tuesdays at 3:00 PM Eastern)
Tuesday, May 19th at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820;
Access Passcode: 6477704
Nursing Homes (Wednesdays at 4:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, May 20th at 4:30 – 5:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820;
Access Passcode: 4879622
Dialysis Organizations (Wednesdays at 5:30 PM Eastern)
Wednesday, May 20th at 5:30 – 6:00 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820;
Access Passcode: 3287645
Nurses (Thursdays at 3:00 PM Eastern)
Thursday, May 21st at 3:00 – 3:30 PM Eastern
Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 833-614-0820;
Access Passcode: 2874976
To keep up with the important work the White House Task Force is doing in response to COVID-19 click here: http://www.coronavirus.gov/. For information specific to CMS, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.