- 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
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
ONDCP Announces $15.9 Million in New Awards for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, Expanding its Overdose Response Strategy to All 50 States.
The Office of the National Drug Control Policy announced $15.9 million in discretionary funding for its HIDTA Program, adding to the $266 million in baseline funding released earlier this year. Combined, this represents the highest award level ever for the HIDTA program. This new allocation of discretionary funds expands the HIDTA Overdose Response Strategy (ORS) — a public health and public safety partnership designed to reduce overdoses and save lives — to all 50 states.
Read the full ONDCP press release HERE
Pennsylvania Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Open for Public Comment
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs is providing the opportunity for public comment on its annual Pennsylvania Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SABG) Submission. This submission will occur in three parts:
- The Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Plan which will be submitted to SAMHSA by October 1 and is currently available in draft and available for review by September 30;
- The SAPT Report which will be available in November for comment prior to submission on December 1st, and;
- The Annual Synar Report which will also be made available in December for comment prior to submission on December 31st.
These documents can be accessed at bgas.samhsa.govOpens In A New Window utilizing “citizenpa” as your login and “citizen” as your password.
Please submit all comments to ra-dabaps@pa.gov by timeframes indicated.
Quality Payment Program Funding Available
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services contracts with technical assistance providers to offer customized assistance for clinicians in small practices, including those in rural locations, Health Professional Shortage Areas, and Medically Underserved Areas to help them participate and succeed in the Quality Payment Program. Through the Small, Underserved, and Rural Support initiative, clinicians included in the Quality Payment Program can receive both program and practice-level support. Assistance is available to practices with 15 or fewer clinicians.
NACCHO Profile of Local Health Departments Published
The National Association and County & City Health Officials (NACCHO) published their “2019 National Profile of Local Health Departments.” The purpose of the study is to develop a comprehensive and accurate description of local health department infrastructure and practice. The data are used to inform public health policy at the local, state, and federal levels and can support projects to improve local public health practice. Data are also used in universities to educate the future public health workforce about local health departments and by researchers to address questions about public health practice.
CDC Announces Dental Public Health Residency Program
The CDC Division of Oral Health is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 Dental Public Health Residency (DPHR) Program. This formal training program produces skilled specialists in dental public health who can work collaboratively with their public health and dental colleagues in an array of health settings to achieve improved oral health for populations. Applications must be submitted by September 28, 2020 to be considered.
MCH Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment Report Published for Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Bureau of Family Health (BFH) conducted its Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (MCHSBG) Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment. This assessment helped the BFH and the PA Title V program to evaluate the health status of women and mothers, infants, children, adolescents and children and youth with special health care needs in Pennsylvania, engage stakeholders and service recipients, and identify priorities that will inform Title V-funded work over the next funding cycle from 2021 to 2025. A report describing the planning, implementation, and results of the 2020 Title V Five-Year Needs and Capacity Assessment is now available.
Funding Received to Support Oral Health in Pennsylvania RHCs
Pennsylvania has received grant funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the project titled “New Approaches to Oral Health Infrastructure and Capacity.” The project aims to integrate oral health services into two Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) located in DHPSAs.
CMS COVID Billing Update for IPPS Hospitals
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated its April guidance regarding the implementation of section 3710 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) hospitals.
To address potential Medicare program integrity risks, effective with admissions occurring on or after September 1, 2020, claims eligible for the 20 percent increase in the Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Group (MS-DRG) weighting factor will be required to have a positive COVID-19 laboratory test documented in the patient’s medical record. Positive tests must be demonstrated using only the results of viral testing (i.e., molecular or antigen), consistent with CDC guidelines. The test may be performed either during the hospital admission or prior to the hospital admission.
CMS may conduct post-payment medical review to confirm the presence of a positive COVID-19 laboratory test and, if no such test is contained in the medical record, the additional payment resulting from the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight will be recouped. A hospital that diagnoses a patient with COVID-19 consistent with the ICD-10-CM Official Coding and Reporting Guidelines but does not have evidence of a positive test result can decline, at the time of claim submission, the additional payment resulting from the application at the time of claim payment of the 20 percent increase in the MS-DRG relative weight to avoid the repayment.
A Medicare Learning Network article with the updated guidance is available here. For information specific to what CMS is doing in response to COVID-19, please visit the Current Emergencies Website.
Trump Administration Seeks Applications for Capacity Building and Planning Grants in Rural Communities
The Trump Administration announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications to help rural communities enhance capacity for broadband access; preserve cultural and historic structures; and support the development of transportation, housing, and recreational spaces.
USDA is making $1 million in grants available under the Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge (RPIC). Eligible recipients may use the grants to develop multi-jurisdictional plans to benefit cities or towns with 50,000 residents or less. Organizations may use funds to develop actionable plans, convene partners, identify community needs and implement priorities to build rural prosperity.
Public or private groups, organizations, or institutions that demonstrate experience in providing placemaking technical assistance to rural communities are eligible to apply.
USDA encourages applicants to develop projects and plans that provide measurable results to help create livable communities; encourage partnerships; contribute to long-term community investment; and support community resiliency, social stability and collective identity.
USDA seeks to partner with one organization each located in the northeast, southern, midwestern and western regions of the United States. The maximum grant award is $250,000. Applicants must provide a 15 percent match in funding. Eligible placemaking plans will provide assistance to rural communities for two years.
Electronic applications must be submitted via grants.gov and a copy of the submission must be emailed to RD.Innovation@usda.gov by midnight Eastern Standard Time on Sept. 10, 2020. For more information, contact Angela.Callie@usda.gov or call (202) 568-9738.
USDA encourages applications that will support recommendations made in the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB).
If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program Open for Applications
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is pleased to announce the opening of the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Practitioner Application.
The LRP provides grant funding for educational loan repayment to primary care practitioners serving medically underserved populations. Educational loan repayment is an incentive to recruitment and retention of practitioners for service in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas and other underserved communities:
- The Request for Applications (RFA) #67-114 can be downloaded from https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Health-Planning/Pages/Loan-Repayment.aspx
- Applications are being accepted from August 17, 2020 until 11:59 pm September 30, 2020.
- Program information, application procedures and application instructions are found in RFA#67-114.
- All applications must be submitted via the Loan Repayment Program’s web-based application through the link on the above website.
- Questions regarding this RFA must be submitted via email to loanrepayment@pa.gov on or before D. No questions will be answered via phone or e-mail. Answers to all question submitted by September 4 will be posted on the above website by September 11, 2020 and will be considered an addendum to the RFA.