Harrisburg, PA – On October 9, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration announced that, under the guidance of the Department of Human Services (DHS), it is expanding home visiting supports to first-time mothers and mothers of children with special needs covered by Medicaid. The expansion, made possible in collaboration with physical health Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs), will guarantee at least two home visits to new parents and families with children with additional risk factors across Pennsylvania, expanding access to evidence-based models that promote and support healthy child and family development.

“There is no more important focus of my administration than giving all children and families a strong start,” Gov. Wolf said. “By expanding access to evidence-based home visiting programs, we will put more kids, parents and families on a path to a healthy, happy future.”

Since 2015, investments totaling nearly $16.5 million in state funds have helped increase the number of children and families who can receive home visiting supports in communities around Pennsylvania. Guaranteeing a minimum of two home visits to all first-time mothers and mothers of children with special needs through Medicaid continues this work.

“Being a parent can be a challenge for anyone,” said Secretary Miller. “Because children don’t come with an instruction manual home visiting programs create support systems for families to learn to better understand children’s needs, monitor milestones, and identify other opportunities for support that can continue to facilitate healthy long-term growth. A home visitor can be a major resource for parents to bond with their child(ren) and create bridges to success in early childhood and primary education.”

The home visiting expansion is effective January 1, 2020 through the MCOs’ 2020 agreement. Under the new agreements, MCOs will be required to establish an evidenced-based, standardized maternal, infant and early childhood home visitation program for all first-time parents and parents of infants with additional risk factors. All parents and children identified through this effort will receive at least two home visits at no cost, and depending on need, may be referred to other established home visiting programs to continue these services. DHS expects that these programs will be in place with eligible new parents receiving home visiting services s by July 1, 2020.

Evidence-based home visiting family support programs have a family-centered focus and strength-based approach that works with both the child and parent. A home visitor can help parents gain the skills and connect to resources necessary to improve their family’s health, safety, economic security, and success in early childhood education. Studies of various nurse-family partnership programs have shown positive impacts for the mother and baby during pregnancy and after birth, such as a decrease in domestic violence and smoking during pregnancy, a significant decrease in pre-term births, and a majority of babies being born at a healthy weight.

Home visiting can also improve parents’ child development knowledge and skills, help develop social support systems, and improve access to education, health, and community services. Examples of services include:

• Regularly scheduled home visits with trained family development specialists;
• Monthly parent meetings; and
• Routine screenings to identify post-partum depression and detect potential problems with vision, hearing, growth, and learning age-based milestone

Gov. Wolf is committed to helping the youngest Pennsylvanians. In September, his Ready to Start Task Force released its report, including two priorities tied directly to home visiting: to “increase availability of high-quality childcare and home-visiting service slots” and to “promote education, engagement, and support of parents and families as children’s first teachers.”

“This significantly expanded access to home visiting truly helps to fulfill our mission for increasing the ways to help our youngest residents get a strong, focused beginning,” Gov. Wolf said.

Read the Ready to Start Task Force report.

For more information on home visiting programs, visit dhs.pa.gov.

CDC last week released new guidance for clinicians to use to evaluate and treat patients with a lung illness officials believe is linked to e-cigarette use and vaping—and gave the illness a new name. CDC dubbed the illness EVALI, which stands for “e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury,” and stressed that clinicians should closely follow up with patients experiencing symptoms of the illness, as symptoms in some cases can progress rapidly or overlap with symptoms of influenza and other viral respiratory illnesses. (Source: STAT News, 10/11)

HHS last week released a guide outlining the steps clinicians should take to taper patients off of opioid prescriptions without causing patients harm. Brett Giroir, HHS’ assistant secretary for health, said the guidelines reflect “a very large body of data across the scientific and medical literature that would say that abrupt discontinuation or abrupt reduction in [opioid] dosage can be harmful to patients.” (Source: STAT News, 10/10)

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The Wolf Administration announced this week that, under the guidance of the Department of Human Services (DHS), it is expanding home visiting supports to first-time mothers and mothers of children with special needs covered by Medicaid. The expansion, made possible in collaboration with physical health Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs), will guarantee at least two home visits to new parents and families with children with additional risk factors across Pennsylvania, expanding access to evidence-based models that promote and support healthy child and family development. The home visiting expansion is effective Jan. 1, 2020 through the MCOs’ 2020 agreement. Read more.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Oct. 9, that the Department of Human Services (DHS) will implement a single preferred prescription drug list for all companies that manage pharmacy benefits under Medicaid, starting Jan. 1, 2020. DHS estimates the change will save the state $85 million per year, at least in part by allowing the state to take full advantage of federal Medicaid drug rebates. Managed care organizations (MCOs) are not eligible for federal rebates. The companies affected, loosely organized as the Pennsylvania Coalition of Medical Assistance MCOs, assert the proposed change would cost the state $81 million more in the first year and make life harder for doctors. Read More.

This toolkit from the National Academy for State Health Policy highlights state initiatives to help older rural adults age in place by increasing services that help people remain in their homes, expanding and professionalizing the caregiver workforce, and making delivery system reforms within Medicaid programs.  According to research referenced in the toolkit, more than 85 percent of older adults prefer to remain in their own homes and communities, and serving older adults in their homes is usually less expensive than housing people in facilities. This resource was funded by the Geriatrics Program in the Bureau of Health Workforce at the Health Resources and Services Administration.   The Toolkit can be accessed here.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is seeking input from the public on a 10-year national strategy for addressing vaccine-preventable diseases.  The plan will update all aspects of vaccine research and development, supply, financing, distribution, and safety, and address causes of an increased reluctance to vaccinate that led to recent outbreaks of pertussis, hepatitis B and measles.  Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released research showing a lower rate of vaccination for rural teenagers and made recommendations for making it a routine part of clinical care.   Click here to access the Federal Register notice.  Comments are due on October 24, 2019.

In 2017, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) launched its Strategy to Address Intimate Partner Violence, with targets and projects that involve each of the agency’s bureaus and offices.  This month, HRSA’s Office of Women’s Health released the first progress report for that initiative, describing its achievements between 2017 and 2018.  Victims in rural areas may be reluctant to report intimate partner violent abuse, and unaddressed abuse has an impact that goes beyond the individual and into communities.