- Senator Baldwin Introduces HSHS Act to Protect Communities from Hospital Closures
- What to Know about Smoke, Heat and Health
- Tribal Partnership With UW-Madison Combines Ag Research With Indigenous Food Knowledge
- The Rewards of Working as Rural Docs
- Request for Information (RFI): Evolving the Network of the National Library of Medicine
- Dental Therapists, Who Can Fill Cavities and Check Teeth, Get the OK in More States
- Colorectal Cancer Is Rising among Younger Adults. Some States Want to Boost Awareness.
- Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
- Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs
- CMS Announces Resources and Flexibilities to Assist with the Public Health Emergency in the State of Texas
- CMS Proposes New Payments for Digital Health Under CY2025 PFS Draft Rule
- Improving Public Health by Strengthening Community Infrastructure
- Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities
- Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist
- Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center
Pennsylvania House Bill 1140: Requires Health Insurers to Cover Contraceptives
On Tuesday, June 25, by a margin of 133-69, lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House passed House Bill 1140, which would require health insurance policies – as well as government health insurance programs like Medical Assistance and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – to cover FDA-approved contraceptive drugs, devices and products for covered individuals. The bill’s prime sponsor, Democratic state Rep. Leanne Krueger, said in a statement after the House vote that the bill would establish state-level protections for contraceptive access. “Pennsylvania currently has no protections in state law for contraceptive access, so attacks at the federal level jeopardize our access,” Krueger said. The bill currently awaits action from the state Senate.
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform Bill Inches Closer to Passage In Pennsylvania Senate
Health committees in the Pennsylvania House and Senate are working on a compromise agreement that will increase oversight of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The Pennsylvania legislation would allow the state’s Insurance Department to regulate certain aspects of pharmacy benefit managers’ business that have been called anti-competitive. Read more. Included in this legislation is language that will prohibit PBMs from reimbursing qualified health centers participating in 340B less than they would reimburse similar entities that do not participate in the program. This is an evolving process so stay tuned for updates.
Legislation Will Put Pennsylvania in Interstate Licensing Compacts
Legislation addressing worker shortages in healthcare and facilitating Pennsylvania’s entry into interstate compacts has been sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro to be signed into law. Sponsored by Rep. Frank Burns, D-Cambria, HB 2200 enables interstate licensing compacts to become operational. The legislation requires applicants in healthcare professions to submit fingerprints as part of their criminal history records check and lays out the process that Pennsylvania State Police and state licensing boards must follow in considering them. The change in law allows licensees to practice in other participating states with just one license. Without the fingerprinting process in place, previous efforts to implement the compacts were unsuccessful.
ACO PC Released a Flex Model Office Hour
– Tuesday, July 16 at 2:00 pm Eastern. In this hour-long session, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation will provide an overview of the new ACO Primary Care Flex Model (ACO PC Flex Model), which will focus on primary care delivery in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP). CMS has released a Request for Applications and the application portal is open until August 1 for new or renewing ACOs who submitted an application to SSP by June 17, 2024. CMS plans to announce applicants selected to participate in October 2024. This model seeks to increase accountable care relationships for people with Medicare, especially those in rural and underserved communities.
HHS Finalizes Section 1557 Nondiscrimination Rule – Impacts for RHCs
– Monday, July 15 at 2:00 pm Eastern. The National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) will host the free, FORHP-supported webinar, with information on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Civil Rights and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities and the RHC impacts, including:
- Requirement to post a notice of nondiscrimination.
- Requirements to post notice of availability of translation and auxiliary aid services in top 15 foreign languages.
- Requirement to establish and train employees on policies and procedures related to nondiscrimination.
Additional time for Q&A will be provided. Advanced registration is required.
CMS Proposed Rule on Anomalous DME Spending and MSSP Financial Calculations
– Comment by July 29. This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule for mitigating the impact of significant, anomalous, and highly suspect (SAHS) billing activity on the Medicare Shared Savings Program financial calculations in calendar year 2023. This proposed rule is part of a larger strategy to address significant, anomalous, and highly suspect (SAHS) within ACO reconciliation, and additional information will be forthcoming in the Physician Fee Schedule. Due to a recent, observed increase in Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics & Supplies (DMEPOS) billing to Medicare for selected intermittent urinary catheter supplies in CY 2023, CMS proposes to exclude use of these codes from any supplier in 2023 from ACO expenditure and revenue calculations.
New: Rural SUD Info Center Released
This exciting new clearinghouse highlights the work of three different Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders (SUD), all of which are funded by FORHP’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP). Visitors to the website will find current information and technical assistance opportunities on SUD through a rural lens.
New Funding Opportunity: Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning Program
– Apply by August 2. HRSA’s Office for the Advancement of Telehealth will invest approximately $3,800,000 for up to eight new cooperative agreements. Awarded entities will evaluate, develop, and expand the use of technology-enabled learning models to build capacity, improve retention of health care providers, and increase access to services. Eligible applicants include entities that provide, or support the provision of, health care services in rural areas, frontier areas, health professional shortage areas, or medically underserved areas, or to medically underserved populations or Native Americans, including Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations.
Maternal Mortality Rates Released, State by State
KFF has released a new analysis outlining maternal mortality rates for every state and Washington, D.C.
KFF used 2018-22 data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics to compile maternal deaths and mortality rates. Maternal deaths are defined as deaths of women while pregnant or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. Only causes of death from or aggravated by pregnancy are included.
Nationwide, 4,295 maternal deaths were reported between 2018 and 2022, resulting in a maternal mortality rate of 23.2 deaths per 100,000 live births. The U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed nation, according to The Commonwealth Fund.
To address this issue, CMS has proposed adding obstetrical standards for hospitals as part of its conditions of participation requirements. Hospitals and physicians have pushed back on the suggestion, arguing the approach is too punitive and could inadvertently hinder access to obstetrical care.
Below is a breakdown of maternal mortality rates by state.
Note: KFF expressed caution at making comparisons between states, as data for many states are based on small numbers and could be statistically unreliable. The organization suppressed data for several states, if mortality rates were based on fewer than 20 deaths. Variation in state rates is likely due to differences in the quality of maternal mortality data, KFF said.
Tennessee
Maternal mortality rate: 41.1
Number of deaths: 166
Mississippi
Maternal mortality rate: 39.1
Number of deaths: 70
Alabama
Maternal mortality rate: 38.6
Number of deaths: 112
Arkansas
Maternal mortality rate: 38.3
Number of deaths: 69
Louisiana
Maternal mortality rate: 37.3
Number of deaths: 108
Kentucky
Maternal mortality rate: 34.6
Number of deaths: 91
Virginia
Maternal mortality rate: 32.7
Number of deaths: 158
South Carolina
Maternal mortality rate: 32.3
Number of deaths: 92
Georgia
Maternal mortality rate: 32.1
Number of deaths: 201
Indiana
Maternal mortality rate: 30.9
Number of deaths: 124
Arizona
Maternal mortality rate: 30
Number of deaths: 118
Oklahoma
Maternal mortality rate: 29.6
Number of deaths: 72
Texas
Maternal mortality rate: 28.2
Number of deaths: 532
New Mexico
Maternal mortality rate: 28
Number of deaths: 31
North Carolina
Maternal mortality rate: 26.7
Number of deaths: 159
New Jersey
Maternal mortality rate: 26
Number of deaths: 131
Nebraska
Maternal mortality rate: 25.1
Number of deaths: 31
Ohio
Maternal mortality rate: 24.5
Number of deaths: 161
Florida
Maternal mortality rate: 24.1
Number of deaths: 263
West Virginia
Maternal mortality rate: 23.9
Number of deaths: 21
Missouri
Maternal mortality rate: 23.8
Number of deaths: 84
Kansas
Maternal mortality rate: 22.8
Number of deaths: 40
New York
Maternal mortality rate: 22.4
Number of deaths: 241
Maryland
Maternal mortality rate: 21.3
Number of deaths: 74
Nevada
Maternal mortality rate: 20.4
Number of deaths: 35
Idaho
Maternal mortality rate: 20
Number of deaths: 22
Iowa
Maternal mortality rate: 19.5
Number of deaths: 36
Michigan
Maternal mortality rate: 19.1
Number of deaths: 101
Illinois
Maternal mortality rate: 18.1
Number of deaths: 123
Washington
Maternal mortality rate: 18
Number of deaths: 76
Pennsylvania
Maternal mortality rate: 17.5
Number of deaths: 116
Oregon
Maternal mortality rate: 16.6
Number of deaths: 34
Massachusetts
Maternal mortality rate: 16.4
Number of deaths: 56
Colorado
Maternal mortality rate: 16
Number of deaths: 50
Connecticut
Maternal mortality rate: 15.6
Number of deaths: 27
Utah
Maternal mortality rate: 15.5
Number of deaths: 36
Wisconsin
Maternal mortality rate: 13.2
Number of deaths: 41
Minnesota
Maternal mortality rate: 12.3
Number of deaths: 40
California
Maternal mortality rate: 10.5
Number of deaths: 228
Alaska
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 12
Delaware
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 9
District of Columbia
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 12
Hawaii
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 13
Maine
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 7
Montana
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 17
New Hampshire
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 11
North Dakota
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 11
Rhode Island
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 9
South Dakota
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 16
Vermont
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 1
Wyoming
Maternal mortality rate: Data suppressed
Number of deaths: 7
Pennsylvania Fluoride Study Featured in Journal of the American Dental Association
A Pennsylvania-based study will be featured in the upcoming August issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA). “Cross-sectional study of association between caries and fluoridated water among third-grade students in Pennsylvania,” authored by Pennsylvania Department of Health Oral Health Program epidemiologist Dr. Jun Yang, also features PCOH Executive Director Helen Hawkey as a co-author. The study found that community water fluoridation was significantly associated with a reduced risk of developing caries among Pennsylvania children.