- 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
2022 Outreach and Enrollment Peer Networking
PACHC’s February 2022 Outreach and Enrollment Peer Networking call was recorded and is available on our Outreach and Enrollment Slack page. Topics of discussion included Final Open Enrollment 2022 Pennie numbers, assister reporting, upcoming trainings and Medicaid enrollment. Be sure to review the recording for observations, trends and news. Questions, contact Tia Whitaker, Statewide Director, Outreach and Enrollment.
Do Your Part to Protect 340B Program
Please keep up your efforts to expand the list of PROTECT 340B cosponsors. We’re told that the current list of 71 cosponsors “is definitely getting the Senate’s attention.” With the possibility of Congress addressing other 340B issues, it becomes even more important to show support for the protections for covered entities in this bill. Here are resources to support your advocacy:
- PROTECT 340B toolkit
- Text of H.R. 4390, the PROTECT 340B Act
- Two-page overview of issue and bill
- Spreadsheet with detailed info on each House member
- List of co-sponsors
There are currently five Pennsylvania co-sponsors: Reps. Matt Cartwright, Glenn Thompson, Dwight Evans, Susan Wild and Fred Keller.
State Supreme Court Chooses New Congressional Map
On Wednesday, Feb. 23, Pennsylvania’s highest court chose a new congressional districting map. By a 4-3 vote, the commonwealth’s new 17-district map—one less district than the 2010 map due to the 2020 census results—largely sticks to current lines and is expected to provide for eight Republican-leaning districts, six Democratic-leaning districts and three districts that could be considered toss-ups. The map also pits two incumbents—U.S. Reps. Fred Keller and Glenn Thompson—against each other in central Pennsylvania. With the prolonged finalization process, the court decided to extend the petition-gathering schedule but keep the May 17 primary date.
Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers Events
It’s Time to Register!
We hope that you are planning to join us for one or more of these upcoming March events that will be held in-person at the Best Western Central Hotel in Harrisburg:
- C-Suite Forum, March 23 – health center executive teams will gather for a day focused on addressing pandemic fatigue from the executive management perspective
- Emergency Preparedness Summit, March 24-25 – representatives from health centers across the state will meet to ensure compliance with CMS requirements and strengthen emergency planning
Visit the Events page of PACHC’s website for more information on the events and to register. Questions? Contact Amanda Tekely, Events and Communications Manager
Bill Supporting Community Health Workers Being Considered
The United States Senate is considering legislation co-sponsored by PA Senator Bob Casey. The Building a Sustainable Workforce for Health Communities ACT (S. 3479) would allow the government to invest more in community health workers across the country by helping to fund a variety of healthcare organizations get what they need to build and support the community health workforce.
See Sustainable Workforce for Healthy Communities ACT s.3479 for more information.
HPV Awareness Week February 27-March 5, 2022
The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Cancer Society HPV Awareness Social Media Toolkit is now available. Use this resource to promote HPV vaccination by raising awareness and promoting education of HPV infection and the HPV-associated diseases that can be prevented through vaccination
New Data Dashboard: County-level Drug Overdose Mortality 2003-2020
The National Center for Health Statistics has created a new data dashboard on drug overdose mortality in US counties: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data-visualization/drug-poisoning-mortality/
The dashboard includes several tools which will be use for those agencies working with substance use disorder issues. Through drop-down menus tables can be generated for mortality trends for each county and urban/rural trends for each state. Urban/rural definitions are based upon the NCHS 6-part classification system with separate identification of non-metro Micropolitan counties and non-metro Non-Core counties.
ARC: $25M Available for 2022 POWER Grants!
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) issued a Request for Proposals for our POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative. POWER investments help economic diversification efforts in Appalachian communities affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries.
Since 2015, ARC has invested more than $294 million in 369 projects across 354 coal-impacted communities, helping create or retain 35K+ jobs and prepare thousands of students and workers for new opportunities in emerging sectors.
This year, ARC is investing ~$25 million in projects building entrepreneurship, broadband, workforce development, tourism, and more across Appalachian coal communities. Applications are due by April 29, 2022 to help economically diversify your coal-impacted community.
CMS Innovation Center Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) Model Transition Announcement
As part of its renewed vision and strategy for driving health system transformation (PDF), the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMS Innovation Center) is releasing a Request for Applications (RFA) (PDF) for the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) Model.
ACO REACH is a redesign of the Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) Model in response to stakeholder feedback, participant experience, and the Biden-Harris Administration’s priorities, including a commitment to advancing health equity. Its new name better reflects the purpose of the model: to improve the quality of care for people with Medicare through better care coordination, reaching and connecting health care providers and beneficiaries, including those who are underserved.
Further, in an effort to improve transparency, CMS is releasing more information on current GPDC Model participants (PDF) and strengthening model monitoring to ensure beneficiaries whose providers participate in GPDC and ACO REACH continue to receive high-quality, patient-centered care.
GPDC will transition to ACO REACH on January 1, 2023. Current GPDC Model participants must agree to meet all the ACO REACH Model requirements by January 1, 2023 to continue participating in the ACO REACH Model as ACOs.
CMS will be hosting an overview webinar on the ACO REACH Model RFA on March 1 at 4 PM Eastern Time. Please click here to register for this event.
Additionally, CMS is announcing the permanent cancelation of the Geographic Direct Contracting Model (Geo). The Geo Model was announced in December 2020 and paused in March 2021 and is being canceled because it does not align with CMS’ vision for accountable care and concerns raised by stakeholders.
For more information about the CMS Innovation Center’s new strategy and the future of value-based care:
- Visit the CMS Innovation Center Strategic Direction webpage, which includes materials from past events and more.
- Read the CMS Innovation Center Strategy FAQs.
- See the CMS Innovation Center Strategy Refresh At-a-Glance document.
For more information on the ACO REACH Model, please see the ACO REACH Fact Sheet.
For more information on the current GPDC participants, please see the GPDC Model Participant Summary (PDF).
HHS Distributing $560 Million in Provider Relief Fund Payments to Health Care Providers Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic
With this funding, nearly $19 billion will have been distributed from the Provider Relief Fund and the American Rescue Plan Rural provider funding since November 2021
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is making more than $560 million in Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 General Distribution payments to more than 4,100 providers across the country this week.
“Provider Relief Funds have been a lifeline for health care providers across the country,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “From providing life-saving care to tackling workforce challenges, these funds will help many health care facilities weather the pandemic’s continued impact. The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to ensure our providers have the necessary support and tools to keep our families safer and healthier.”
With today’s announcement, nearly $11.5 billion in PRF Phase 4 payments has now been distributed to more than 78,000 providers in all 50 states, Washington D.C., and five territories. This is in addition to HRSA’s distribution of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments totaling nearly $7.5 billion in funding to more than 44,000 providers since November 2021.
Provider Relief Fund payments have been instrumental in helping health care providers prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus. Providers have used the funds to remain in operation and to continue supporting patient care. Health care organizations that are facing workforce shortages and staff burnout also are able to use these funds to support their recruitment and retention efforts – PDF.
“Health care providers have continued to lead the fight against COVID-19 from the frontlines,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “The Provider Relief Fund is an important resource in helping to support this work and sustain health services and the dedicated health care workforce across the country.”
Phase 4 payments have an increased focus on equity, including reimbursing a higher percentage of losses for smaller providers and incorporating bonus payments for providers who serve Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare beneficiaries. Approximately 86 percent of all Phase 4 applications have now been processed. Remaining applications will continue to be processed throughout early 2022.
View a state-by-state breakdown of all Phase 4 payments disbursed to date.
View a state-by-state breakdown of all ARP Rural payments disbursed to date.
As individual providers agree to the terms and conditions of Phase 4 payments, it will be reflected on the public dataset.
For additional information, visit www.hrsa.gov/provider-relief.