In this episode, Jordan Berg, Principal Investigator for the National Telehealth Technology Assessment Resource Center focuses on applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in rural health care, as well as how patient information in an AI system is safeguarded.

A new feature article in The Rural Monitor explains the importance of succession planning for leadership at rural health care organizations.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released factsheets, takeaway cards, and a new website related to the Medicare Prescription Payment Plan. The factsheets and takeaway cards are available in English Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese.  The Medicare Prescription Payment Plan is a new payment option in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that works to assist Medicare beneficiaries with management of their out-of-pocket expenses by spreading copayments across the calendar year. Beginning in 2025, anyone with a Medicare drug plan or Medicare health plan with drug coverage can use this option. Additionally, an enrollee’s out-of-pocket spending for insulin and 10 other frequently used drugs will be capped at $2,000 per year. In March 2024, the Assistant Secretary For Planning and Evaluation released a report that estimates this cap will help enrollees who take high-priced drugs, including rural enrollees.

On September 13, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury released the final rule Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addition Equity Act. The rule finalizes standards for determining network composition and out-of-network reimbursement rates, adds protections against more restrictive, Non-Quantitative Treatment Limitations in coverage; and prohibits plans from using biased or non-objective information and sources that may negatively impact access to mental health and substance use disorder care. The rule will be published September 23^rd with an effective date of November 23, 2024.

This study from the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center describes the availability of care to increase comfort for patients with serious illness and identifies novel solutions for providing this essential care to rural communities.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center summarize available data on the challenges of providing obstetric services in rural settings, as well as clinical and policy efforts to improve access.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports on the change in commuting patterns between rural workers and urban areas and describes the impact on rural communities and economies.

The federal Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) provides information on mortality disparities due to overdose, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease/cirrhosis among people ages 15-64.  The report is a collaboration among ARC, East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, and the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis.

 The Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal agency that examines how taxpayer dollars are spent, issued a new report on behavioral health benefit availability under Medicare and Medicare Advantage (MA) programs. The GAO reports findings on what beneficiaries pay out of pocket, and oversight by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services of cost-sharing in MA plans for behavioral health services. Behavioral health conditions were estimated to affect at least a quarter of the 66.7 million Medicare beneficiaries in 2023.  The 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated approximately 7.7 million nonmetropolitan adults reported having any mental illness (AMI) in 2023, accounting for 22.7 percent of non-metropolitan adults.

PHC4 has released a new resource on its website, intended to support informing interested Pennsylvanians on current topics that impact health care in the Commonwealth. This first occurrence aims to offer insight into non-compete agreements in health care and includes an extensive summary of the events on both state and federal levels.

PHC4 believes this coincides with its mission to empower Pennsylvanians through transparency, providing access to data, research, analysis, and reporting focused on the cost, utilization, and quality of health care delivery in the Commonwealth. Barry D. Buckingham, Executive Director at PHC4, stated, “I’m proud to be a part of expanding the reach of PHC4’s value by offering additional resources in support of every person in the Commonwealth making informed decisions.” He went on to say offering key insights and support to Pennsylvania’s stakeholders is paramount in assessing the relevance of this new requirement through Act 74 of 2024, as well as in the development of additional resources.

Announced alongside this is a public comment period in response to the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act, Act 74 of 2024. This recent legislation requires PHC4 to perform a study on the effects of the Act, and to report its findings. In support of this study PHC4 will be collecting public comment for analysis and inclusion within the final report. To ensure comments are included for analysis, the comment must be received by October 21, 2024. Those interested in commenting on Act 74 of 2024, may do so by sending an email or letter by mail to PHC4.

Email: publiccomment@phc4.org

Letter by Mail: PA Health Care Cost Containment Council, 225 Market St, Suite 400, Harrisburg, PA 17101

PHC4 is an independent council formed under Pennsylvania statute (Act 89 of 1986, as amended by Act 15 of 2020) to address rapidly growing health care costs. PHC4 continues to produce comparative information about the most efficient and effective health care to individual consumers and group purchasers of health services. In addition, PHC4 produces information used to identify opportunities to contain costs and improve the quality of care delivered.

For more information, visit phc4.org.