Through HRSA’s cooperative agreement with National Organizations of State and Local Officials (NOSLO), the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) conducted a comprehensive 50-state scan of how each state Medicaid program pays for and oversees non-licensed SUD staff. Learn how state Medicaid agencies are developing and deploying a growing workforce of peers, counselors, and other qualified staff to supplement licensed SUD provider capacity. The report can be accessed here.
Catalog of Value-Based Initiatives for Rural Providers
This catalog summarizes programs implemented by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services that support the transition of payment models from fee-for-service to value-based care. Updated in October 2019 by the Rural Health Value team, the catalog includes the rural impact and participation for such programs as the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program, the Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model, and the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. Recent catalog additions include: the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport Model; the Maryland Total Cost of Care Model; and Primary Cares Initiatives.
Access the catalog here: Catalog of Value-Based Initiatives for Rural Providers.
Partial Psychiatric Hospitalization Program Availability in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Hospitals Nationally
The wide range of services involved in such programs requires substantial resources that are often limited. Researchers from the Rural and Underserved Health Research Center at the University of Kentucky found that fewer than 5 percent of nonmetropolitan hospitals offer partial psychiatric hospitalization in-house. Click here to view the report.
ARC POWER 2020 Request for Proposals (RFP) Now Available
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative 2020 grant cycle. Pending final congressional appropriation, ARC is expected to invest up to $48 million in fiscal year 2020 to continue investing in the region’s coal-impacted communities by building a competitive workforce, fostering entrepreneurial activities, developing industry clusters in communities, and strengthening responses to substance abuse. The focus of ARC’s POWER 2020 Initiative will remain on investments that are regional, strategic, and transformational. Yesterday, nearly 150 people were in Champion, Pennsylvania for the first of three ARC POWER 2020 Application Workshops. Led by ARC staff, the workshop focused on the core elements of a strong POWER proposal: project development, budget planning, performance measurement, organizational structure, and partnership development. Two additional workshops are planned for January in Ashland, Kentucky and Johnson City, Tennessee. Workshop registration, the POWER 2020 RFP, a resource catalog for applicants, and more information is available at www.arc.gov/power .
Since 2015, ARC has invested $190 million in 239 projects touching 326 counties via the POWER Initiative. These investment are projected to create/retain over 23,000 jobs and leverage more than $811 million in private investment into Appalachia’s economy. Most of these projects are multi-year with a long-term vision for economic sustainability. “While it is too early to measure the true impact of POWER funding and POWER projects, grantees described long-term vision for economic transformation driven, in part, by social change that includes the building of hope and the shifting of mindsets in areas that have seen severe economic distress,” noted Chamberlin/Dunn, a third party evaluator contracted by ARC to assess implementation of the POWER Initiative. “Reported early impacts include the power of POWER to set vision and build hope; progress toward potential long-term change; social change; and economic development.”
A 1st for Medicaid Work Requirements
CMS approved South Carolina’s request to implement Medicaid work requirements, marking the first time that CMS has approved work requirements in a state that has not expanded its Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. CMS also approved a separate request from South Carolina to increase its maximum income threshold for parents with minor children to qualify for Medicaid from 67% of the federal poverty level to 100%. (Source: Modern Healthcare, 12/12)
Differences in Select Measures of Health Care Access, Utilization, and Financial Burden by Urbanicity, 2017
Examines healthcare access, utilization, and financial burden among adults aged 18-64 living in large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), small MSAs, and nonmetro (rural) areas. Includes both unadjusted data and data adjusted to focus on the effects of urbanicity by accounting for potential sociodemographic or health characteristics that might impact access.
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
Date: 12/2019
Read report here: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr134-508.pdf
Characteristics of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Households: Fiscal Year 2018
Presents an overview of the SNAP Program eligibility requirements and benefit levels. Provides detailed tables showing comparisons in rural-urban areas. Reports that 16.2% of SNAP households are in rural and micropolitan areas. Coverage includes October 2017 through September 2018.
Additional links: Summary
Sponsoring organization: USDA Food and Nutrition Service
Date: 11/2019
Read report here: https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/resource-files/Characteristics2018.pdf
Characteristics of Physician Assistant Students Planning to Work in Primary Care: A National Study
Examines the predictors associated with physician assistants’ (PAs) intention to practice in primary care. Compares the characteristics of enrolled PA students intending to practice in primary care, and more likely to work in rural practice, with enrolled PAs planning to enter other specialties. Data is taken from the 2013-2014 Physician Assistant Education Association’s (PAEA) Matriculating Student Survey (MSS).
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Health Workforce Studies, University of Washington
Date: 10/2019
Read report here: http://depts.washington.edu/fammed/chws/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2019/10/CharPA-Students-PB-201910.pdf
DOT: Rural Opportunities To Use Transportation for Economic Success: Request for Information
Nov 27, 2019 — The Department of Transportation (DOT) is seeking public comment on unmet transportation needs in rural areas to inform their Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative. The DOT is specifically looking for information on infrastructure needs, barriers to addressing these needs, applicants’ experiences with applying for DOT grant and credit programs, and opportunities to improve DOT services and technical assistance to rural communities related to grant and credit programs. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
Commentary Says Rural Hospitals Should Regionalize Adult Care, Like They Do with Maternity and Infant Care
Nov 30, 2019 — Summarizes a commentary published in the Journal for Rural Health that suggests regionalization of adult healthcare to help save rural hospitals. The authors explain how regionalization could allow hospitals to expand some services and develop specialties to improve patient care.
Source: The Rural Blog
Read here: http://irjci.blogspot.com/2019/11/commentary-says-rural-hospitals-should.html