- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Prospective Payment System and Consolidated Billing for Skilled Nursing Facilities; Updates to the Quality Reporting Program for Federal Fiscal Year 2026
- Public Inspection: CMS: Medicare Program: Fiscal Year 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update and Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements
- 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
New Analysis Highlights Rural and Racial Disparities in Accessing COVID-19 Testing
According to a new Surgo Foundation analysis: Nearly two-thirds (64%) of all rural counties in the United States do not have a COVID-19 testing site, leaving 20.7 million people in a ‘testing desert.’ Of the rural population without a COVID-19 testing site, 8.5 million (41% of this population, 20% of the total rural population) live in highly vulnerable areas geographically concentrated in four states: Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Arkansas. Drilling deeper, 1.27 million rural Black Americans (35% of the rural black population) live in highly vulnerable testing deserts. Compared to the average rural American, Black Americans are 1.7 times more likely to live in these areas. And rural Black Americans are 2.7 times as likely to be living in a vulnerable area with a lack of testing sites and increasing deaths, compared to the average rural American.
Rural Hospice Workers Struggle to Overcome Physical and Emotional Barriers to Care
Tribal organizations and activists step up as Covid-19 begins to threaten mental wellness among tribes hit hard by the pandemic. Read more here.
Rural Counties Set Record for New Cases of Covid-19
By Tim Marema
The cumulative number of infections in rural counties jumped 13% in the last week, a faster rate than the rest of the nation. Read more here.
Clarification on RHC and FQHC Cost Sharing Announced
On July 6, CMS updated MLN Matters Article SE20016 to clarify how Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) can apply the Cost Sharing (CS) modifier to preventive services furnished via telehealth. This update includes:
- Additional claim examples
- New section on the RHC Productivity Standard
COVID-19 Crisis Fire Company and EMS Grant Program Funding Available in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council has announced that COVID-19 Crisis Fire Company and EMS Grant Program funding is now available. Organizations are urged to access the following links to check eligibility and for application details.
https://www.osfc.pa.gov/GrantsandLoans/Pages/COVID-19-Fire-Rescue-EMS-Grant.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0C9oOMttwYWykLir2_qPHMLvsVY4js7awH8grFZbqJds4HiZNAmtZMMa8
Providers Urged to Submit Data by July 20 Deadline for Medicaid and CHIP Relief Funds
HHS recently announced the additional distributions from the Provider Relief Fund to eligible Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs. HHS expects to distribute approximately $15 billion to eligible providers that participate in state Medicaid and CHIP programs and have not received a payment from the Provider Relief Fund General Distribution. Eligible providers must submit their data by July 20.
Before applying through the Enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal, applicants can watch a webinar about the application process for Medicaid/CHIP providers. An additional webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, July 8 at 4:00 pm EDT, which you can register for here. I also encourage you to review the most recent FAQs on the program and the Medicaid/CHIP targeted distribution here.
More Research Points to Importance of Masks, Mandatory Mask-Wearing Order Remains in Effect
Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration highlighted recent research studies that further point to the importance of wearing masks to stop the spread of COVID-19.
According to a recent, comprehensive study published in The Lancet and funded by the World Health Organization, which identified 172 observational studies across 16 countries and six continents, face mask use could result in a large reduction in risk of infection from COVID-19, in particular when combined with social distancing.
A study by a team of researchers led by a Texas A&M University professor has found that not wearing a face mask dramatically increases a person’s chances of being infected by the COVID-19 virus. The findings were published in the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). According to the study’s findings, “not wearing a face mask dramatically increases a person’s chances of being infected by the COVID-19 virus.”
And a recent modeling study by the Royal Society A notes that wearing masks in public could have a major impact toward reducing the spread of COVID-19. According to the modeling, “Under certain conditions, when lock-down periods are implemented in combination with 100% facemask use, there is vastly less disease spread, secondary and tertiary waves are flattened, and the epidemic is brought under control. The effect occurs even when it is assumed that facemasks are only 50% effective at capturing exhaled virus inoculum with an equal or lower efficiency on inhalation.”
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine signed an order mandating mask-wearing on July 1. It remains in effect. Frequently Asked Questions about the mask-wearing order can be found here.
Rural Health Network Development Planning Program Recipients Announced
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) awarded approximately $2 million to twenty awardees for the 2020 Rural Health Network Development Planning (Network Planning) Program.
The Network Planning program, administered by HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) focuses on the planning and development of integrated health care networks, specifically network participants who do not have a history of formal collaborative efforts in order to (i) achieve efficiencies; (ii) expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of essential health care services; and (iii) strengthen the rural health care system as a whole. The intent is that rural health networks will expand access to care, increase the use of health information technology, explore alternative health care delivery models, and continue to achieve quality health care across the continuum of care from prevention and wellness, to acute and long-term care.
Recipients from 15 states received up to $100,000 for a one-year project period that will focus on building, strengthening, and formalizing integrated health care networks and systems, developing training cooperatives, conducting community health needs assessments, increasing service capacity, addressing behavioral health conditions, and addressing the opioid epidemic. You can view the list of awardees here.
With FORHP support, these organizations will work towards becoming operational and sustainable beyond the one-year project period, achieving long-term outcomes such as increasing their focus on showing value in health care delivery creates incentives to develop regional systems of care that preserve local autonomy for rural communities while also ensuring access to the appropriate continuum of care for the local service population. These funded organizations are helping to change how health care is being delivered in rural communities.
Pennsylvania BLS Ambulance Staffing Exceptions Bulletin Published
Act 17 of 2020 amended the EMS System Act to permit the Department of Health to grant exceptions to the ambulance staffing standard for Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulances for agencies not licensed to provide service higher than the BLS level. The Bureau of EMS has established a process and criteria for accepting and reviewing these exception requests from EMS agencies.
The BLS Ambulance Staffing Exceptions Bulletin from the Pennsylvania Department of Health can be accessed below.
EMSIB 2020-27 Act 17 of 2020 BLS Ambulance StaffingExceptions
Pennsylvania Hospital Transitions HRSA-Funded Program to Online Services and Addresses COVID-19 Stress
by Allee Mead
Butler Memorial Hospital in Pennsylvania received a HRSA Rural Health Care Services Outreach grant to develop a program for chronic disease patients. Partway through the grant cycle, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The hospital shares how it was able to transition its program services to an online format and develop new initiatives to address stress in the healthcare workforce and the larger community.
Access the full article here.