- 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
- 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
Medicare Changes Payments for COVID-19 Lab Results
Beginning January 1, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will lower its base payment from $100 to $75 for COVID-19 diagnostic tests using certain highly sophisticated equipment called “high throughput technology.” The change is explained in an amended Administrative Ruling, CMS 2020-1-R2. Labs that complete the test within two calendar days will receive a $25 add-on payment.
Report on U.S. Coal Industry
The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released the Annual Coal Report, which includes information on the number of mines, their productive capacity, prices, employment, and consumption. Highlights for 2019 include a decrease in the production, productive capacity, and average number of employees at U.S. coal mines, as well as a decrease in U.S. coal consumption. The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy manages the Black Lung Clinics Program that provides predominantly rural miners with access to educational, screening, medical, and benefits counseling services with the goal to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with occupationally-related coal mine dust lung diseases.
New Data on Local Use of Rural Hospitals
This new data brief from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services explores the extent to which rural Medicare beneficiaries bypass their nearest rural hospital and which hospital services rural Medicare beneficiaries most often seek locally and at distant hospitals. Traveling to a distant hospital for services rather than using the local rural hospital, aka ‘rural bypass’, can increase financial pressure on rural providers, especially Tribal hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals.
Medicare Open Enrollment Has Begun
Medicare beneficiaries can review health and drug plans for 2021 and make changes between now and December 7. The online system helps beneficiaries compare pricing and benefits between Original Medicare (Parts A and B), Medicare prescription drug plans (Part D), Medicare Advantage plans (Part C), and individually-purchased Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policies. Free, personalized counseling on Medicare options is available through the nonprofit State Health Insurance Assistance Program, or calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). Free materials are also available to support rural providers, among others, with outreach activities.
HHS Awards Nearly $500 Million to Workforce Programs
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced a new round of funding to recruit and support primary care professionals and students for the National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, and other programs building the health workforce. Through these efforts, more than 16,000 clinicians provide care to 17 million patients in underserved areas nationwide. Read more here.
Rural Infection Rate Exceeds Metropolitan Rate over 60%
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
Metropolitan counties accounted for more than three-quarters of the new Covid-19 cases last week. But on a per capita basis, the rate of new infections in nonmetropolitan counties is much higher.
Read more
Domestic Violence in Rural America Increases During Pandemic
By Liz Carey
Rising economic pressures during the pandemic and limited access to transportation contributed to a rise in physical violence and abuse in rural households.
Read more
Covid-19 Patients Swamp Rural Hospitals
By Christine Vestal
Hard-hit communities in the Midwest and Great Plains are beginning to run short on staff, beds, and ICU rooms.
Read more
Rural Infections Break Record for Fourth Week. Rural Cases Top 1 Million
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
New infections climbed by 16% in rural counties last week, putting 160 more rural counties on the red-zone list.
Read more
Pennsylvania Family Support Statewide Needs Assessment Released
In partnership with the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), PolicyLab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia released the 2020 Pennsylvania Family Support Needs Assessment (FSNA).
This assessment is a requirement for Pennsylvania to continue receipt of federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) funds. For the last two years, the research conducted a robust assessment that examines a wide range of maternal and child social, environmental and health factors impacting the well-being of children, families and communities across state.
The report can be accessed at: https://policylab.chop.edu/reports-and-tools/2020-pennsylvania-family-support-needs-assessment. A partner toolkit also has been developed that includes information on social media distribution and other dissemination tools. See: https://policylab.chop.edu/reports-and-tools/partner-toolkit-2020-pennsylvania-family-support-needs-assessment.