Open-access commentary from JAMA Network examines trends in the rural-urban distribution of clinicians through the federal National Health Service Corps, proposing that the persistent gap should be addressed with policies more purposefully tailored to rural areas.  The authors reference new data about the number and distribution of NHSC clinicians reported in cross-sectional study also published in JAMA Network this week.

Check out the fiscal year 2024 data to see where HRSA-supported providers are serving. More than 21,000 clinicians are making an impact across the U.S. and its territories in the areas that need them most. You can filter data discipline, state or territory, rural status, and more.

The Economic Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides an overview of social and economic factors affecting rural America, with a focus on population migration, poverty, child care and elder care, broadband, and employment. The annual resource includes county-level maps as well as metro and nonmetro comparisons.

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh held a roundtable discussion to inform development of the Shapiro Administration’s Maternal Health Strategic Plan. The event also promoted the maternal health strategic plan survey, which aims to collect community input primarily focused on woman’s lived experiences during pregnancy and the postpartum period while receiving maternal health care in Pennsylvania. Read more.

Access to affordable, comprehensive health care for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is still available under the Affordable Care Act through Health Insurance Marketplaces nationwide, including Pennie. Enrolling in coverage is not considered a public charge determination and should have no impact on DACA recipient’s current status. There have not been any policy changes to date and enrollment assisters should continue to assist all those who do not qualify for Medicaid, Medicare or other coverages to preview options through Pennie by Dec. 15 for coverage to begin Jan. 1. The first initial premium payment must be made by Dec. 31 for policies to be made active.

In 2023, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department partnered with Texas A&M University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study barriers to accessing healthcare. The study found that only 13% of the provider listings had accurate contact information, and up to 44% of providers were unreachable because of incorrect information. The most common inaccuracies involved outdated contact information and incorrect specialty listings, which could mislead patients and lead to care delays and unexpected charges. The secret shopper survey of almost 7,000 providers listed in provider directories for Pennsylvania’s ACA Marketplace plans indicates that inaccuracies often persist for long periods of time and beyond the requirements set by recent federal law.

The Advisory Commission on Additional Licensing Models has released draft preliminary recommendations for public comment. The recommendations are intended for state medical boards, state legislators, policymakers, and interested stakeholders to help inform those jurisdictions interested in developing or modifying additional licensing pathways for physicians who have completed training internationally. The Advisory Commission compiled the draft preliminary recommendations in response to a growing number of U.S. state and territorial legislatures interested in modifying traditional post-graduate training requirements for medical licensure of physicians who have completed training internationally by eliminating the traditional requirement for completion of ACGME-accredited graduate medical education in the U.S. All interested parties should submit comments about the draft recommendations by Dec. 6, 2024.

The Jewish Healthcare Foundation and Health Career Futures are proud to announce the 2025 Death and Dying Fellowship. Over the course of nine sessions, fellows will learn critical skills and concepts in serious illness care as part of a multidisciplinary group. The program features opportunities to engage with experts, participate in site visits, and practice conversation skills in a low-pressure environment.

The Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health results, including two infographics highlighting overall findings and findings by race and ethnicity. The data showed that in the past year, 23% of adults had a mental illness, 3% of people misused opioids, and 32% of adolescents received mental health treatment. Visit SAMHSA’s website for the data, infographics, and more.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly revealed that it had planned to impose a 340B rebate model on all covered entities (including CHCs) for all Lilly drugs, effective in Nov., and had communicated their plans to HRSA over the summer. However, after HRSA threatened to remove Johnson & Johnson’s access to the Medicaid and Medicare Part B markets if they implemented their own limited 340B rebate model, Lilly decided to put its rebate plans on-hold. Eli Lilly’s plans became public when they filed a lawsuit against HRSA, claiming that the agency exceeded its authority by seeking to block the rebate model. A similar suit was filed two days earlier by J&J. Lilly was the first manufacturer to impose contract pharmacy restrictions, so it is not surprising that they would seek to be an “early adopter” of a rebate model. While both lawsuits name the current HHS Secretary and HRSA Administrator as defendants, these individuals will soon be replaced by Trump appointees. Currently, there is no reliable information about how the Trump Administration will respond to the drugmakers’ arguments.