- 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
Research Brief Highlights Population Estimates
The U.S. Census Bureau released estimates of the July 1, 2024 population at the municipal level. This release includes total population estimates for all 2,572 municipalities in Pennsylvania.
Key Findings from the Report:
- 1,057 municipalities increased from 2020 to 2024. Among those with populations over 2,500, Westfall township in Pike County (+34.0%) had the largest percentage increase.
- 1,446 municipalities decreased from 2020 to 2024. Among those with populations over 2,500, California borough in Washington County (-13.8%) had the largest percentage decrease.
For more information on county population change in Pennsylvania, read this month’s brief.
New Health Module Developed for School Districts
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) developed a new health module to support school districts in better understanding health policies, programs, and services. The Health Services Assessment Tool for Schools (HATS) was designed to help school districts and states better assess the quality and comprehensiveness of school health services, the level of infrastructure to support the services, and the implementation of school health policies and protocols.
FDA to Pull Fluoride Supplements from Market
Earlier this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced fluoride supplementals will be pulled from the market effective October 2025. This announcement specifically applies to “ingestible fluoride prescription drug products,” not toothpaste, mouth rinses, silver diamine fluoride, varnish, or other topical products.
ADA & Penn Dental Launch Living Guideline Program
The American Dental Association (ADA) and University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine announced a new program that will provide evidence-informed guidelines in real time to support patient care and advance public health.
The ADA Living Guideline Program is the first and only known living guideline program dedicated to oral health. The traditional guideline process usually updates every 3-5 years, but the living guideline program will allow patients, providers, policymakers, and others to adopt the information as new evidence emerges.
Just Released: 2024 National Critical Access Hospital Quality Inventory and Assessment
The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) is excited to release the National Report for the 2024 National Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Inventory and Assessment (“Assessment”)! The Assessment provides a wealth of information on quality improvement processes from CAHs in a standardized manner, in order to enhance support to CAHs in quality improvement activities. This report provides a high-level summary of national data from the Assessment, fielded in Fall 2024. Over 1,290 CAHs (94%) completed the Assessment and provided data on a variety of characteristics, including service lines, patient volume, and CAH quality infrastructure.
Hot Off the Press! The Latest Home Mortgage Data
To understand the housing market, you need data, and the Home Mortgage Explorer has it. This go-to resource has been updated with 2022 and 2023 data.
With this tool from the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and Philadelphia, you can:
- Easily search Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data from 2010 to 2023.
- View trends in applications, originations, denials, and denial reasons for home purchase, refinance, and home improvement loans.
- Zoom in on data for states, counties, metro areas, and neighborhoods.
Just Released: Health Insurance Exchanges 2025 Open Enrollment Report & Public Use Files
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Health Insurance Exchanges 2025 Open Enrollment Report. The report summarizes data on health plan selections through the individual Exchanges during the 2025 Open Enrollment Period (OEP). This report includes OEP data for the 31 states with Exchanges that use the HealthCare.gov eligibility and enrollment platform for the 2025 plan year, as well as for the 20 State-based Exchanges (SBEs) that use their own eligibility and enrollment platforms.
During the 2025 OEP, 24.3 million consumers selected or were automatically re-enrolled in health insurance coverage through the HealthCare.gov platform and SBEs. Nearly 2.9 million more consumers signed up for coverage during the 2025 OEP compared to the 2024 OEP, a 13% increase. Nearly 8 million more consumers signed up compared to the 2023 OEP, and 9.8 million more consumers signed up compared to the 2022 OEP, a 49% and 68% increase, respectively.
CMS also released the associated Public Use Files (PUFs) with state, county, plan, and demographic-level data for the 2025 OEP.
- To view the 2025 Open Enrollment Report, visit: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/health-insurance-exchanges-2025-open-enrollment-reportpdf508-compliant.pdf
- To view the Public Use Files (PUFs), visit: https://www.cms.gov/data-research/statistics-trends-reports/marketplace-products/2025-marketplace-open-enrollment-period-public-use-files
Save the Date for the 2025 Appalachian Region Annual Conference
SAVE THE DATE!
We invite you to join hundreds of Appalachians in Frostburg, Maryland for the ARC Annual Conference, October 6-7, 2025. Attendees will get to connect and exchange ideas on expanding economic development opportunities throughout our region.
Conference registration will open this summer, so stay tuned to ARC’s updates for more information.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
ARC is seeking proposals from economic and community development leaders in Appalachia who are interested in sharing their successful economic growth strategies and impactful project outcomes during ARC’s 2025 Annual Conference.
This year’s conference theme is growing place-based economies. Programming will focus on how to identify and plan around local assets, including supporting asset-based entrepreneurship, training and supporting workforces for local industry expansion and more.
Proposals are due By Friday, May 30, 2025.
We look forward to seeing you in beautiful Western Maryland! Together, we’ll shine a spotlight on the economic vitality and the promise of continued growth throughout the Appalachian Region.
Click here for more information and to submit a proposal for presentation
New Brief Highlights Additional Supports Needed in Pennsylvania for Students in Foster Care
May is National Foster Care Month, a critical time to recognize and uplift the lived experiences of the nearly 20,000 children and youth who are served in the Pennsylvania foster care system annually. Foster children have a multitude of traumatic experiences, including the reasons leading to their placement and the unintended consequences due to being placed outside of their homes. Unfortunately, children and youth are most frequently placed in foster care for reasons not related to abuse, but reasons of neglect. Those neglect allegations could be better mitigated by social safety net programs and community-based support. Foster children and youth are left to navigate challenging situations, which can lead to negative outcomes, including disconnection from their biological and kin families, separation from friends and supportive connections, and challenges with mental health, behavioral health, and educational outcomes. Yet, every day, they show that they are worthy of the safety, stability, and well-being that their peers outside the foster care system have. We should not only recognize and support foster children and youth in May but find ways to uplift and support them every day.
For foster care month, it’s important to highlight one of the biggest challenges facing children and youth in foster care—education. For the first time, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) and Education Law Center-PA (ELC) are analyzing data on educational outcomes for children and youth in out-of-home care. Together, in the newly released brief, PPC and ELC identify policy solutions aimed at improving educational outcomes for these students based on data and research, coupled with insights drawn from case examples, and consultation with educational liaisons directly involved with the education and child welfare systems. These policy solutions could lead to better outcomes for children and youth in the foster care system.
Anti-Fluoride Memo Introduced in Pennsylvania Senate
Senator Dawn Keefer (R-31) has proposed a bill to ban fluoride in Pennsylvania’s public water systems, modeled after legislation recently passed in Utah.
Click here to read the full memo.
PCOH strongly affirms our support of adjusting fluoride in water to optimal levels. Community water fluoridation (CWF) remains the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay and protect oral health.
In Pennsylvania, each water system decides whether to adjust the natural levels of fluoride in the water they provide to their customers. Optimally fluoridated water reaches entire communities and addresses oral health needs for everyone in the community in a way that no other oral health tool can; it’s an accessible resource for all, regardless of insurance status, socioeconomic status, or access to dental care.
PCOH continues to offer resources to assist individuals and communities in protecting this effective public health measure. Please consider joining the Statewide Water Action Team (SWAT).