ProviderBridge.org was created by the Federation of State Medical Boards through the CARES Act and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP)-supported Licensure Portability Grant Program. The site provides up-to-date information on emergency regulation and licensing by the state as well as a provider portal to connect volunteer healthcare professionals to state agencies and healthcare entities.
Concerns about cardiac risk are often the source of vaccine confidence issues. Data from 40 health care systems participating in a large network found that the risk for cardiac complications was significantly higher after COVID-19 infection than after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination for both males and females in all age groups. Read the CDC study.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reminded states that Medicaid agencies have the option to implement qualifying community-based mobile crisis intervention services in their state plans. The option took effect on April 1, 2022, as per the American Rescue Plan (ARP). CMS also awarded planning grants to 20 state Medicaid agencies, including Pennsylvania, for the purpose of implementing the option. CMS guidance states that programs must include health centers as part of the intervention services teams.
Changes made to the Pennsylvania Assister Dashboard and Pennie Customer Application will ease enrollment. Additional information, including screens to review enrollment details, customer enrollment history, coverage period by member, and premium history are available to review to assist with answering questions and removing the need to contact the Pennie Call Center. Income eligibility thresholds have been updated with 2022 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) data for Medicaid and CHIP eligibility as of April 1, 2022. Pennie continues to use 2021 FPL tables for the 2022 plan year eligibility.
Acting Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys announced the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) has submitted a statement of policy to the Pennsylvania Bulletin that will allow insurers to ask applicants to voluntarily provide race and ethnicity data on insurance applications in an effort to promote equity initiatives. The new statement of the policy ends the enforcement of a prohibition on data collection originally published in 1969. Pennsylvania’s insurance laws clearly prohibit discrimination, including discrimination based on race and ethnicity. PID clarifies that both questions as to “race or color” and data collection will be permitted when asked or collected in a manner that promotes health equity. Unfair discrimination remains prohibited.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has extended the public health emergency (PHE) by 90 days to July 15, 2022. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has said it will give states 60-days’ notice before the end of the PHE.
Pennsylvania pharmacists visited the state Capitol this week to push state lawmakers to allow them to continue providing a range of vaccinations to children, something they have been doing since early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.
Pennsylvania officials took a historic step by advancing a proposed rule that for the first time would extend the state’s anti-discrimination laws to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Developed by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the proposed rule appeared in the April 9 issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The proposed rule spells out the definitions of sex, race, and religious creed under state laws barring discrimination in employment, housing, education, commercial property, and public accommodations. A state panel called the Independent Regulatory Review Commission is taking comments on the proposal until May 9.
WASHINGTON, April 14, 2022 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small today announced that the Department is seeking applications for grants that will help create jobs and business opportunities for socially disadvantaged groups in rural America.
USDA is making the funding available under the Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant program, which provides technical assistance to socially disadvantaged groups in rural areas.
This program supports Rural Development’s mission to improve the quality of life for rural Americans and commit agency resources to those in need.
USDA is offering priority points to projects that advance key priorities under the Biden-Harris Administration to help communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, advance equity, and combat climate change. These extra points will increase the likelihood of funding for projects that will advance these key priorities and expand the geographic diversity of socially disadvantaged groups from these funds. A socially disadvantaged group is defined as one whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice without regard to their individual qualities.
Eligible applicants include cooperatives, groups of cooperatives, and cooperative development centers where a majority of governing board members are from socially disadvantaged groups.
Grants must be used to provide technical assistance to socially disadvantaged groups in rural areas. The maximum grant award is $175,000.
Examples of technical assistance include:
Electronic applications must be submitted to Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 13, 2022.
Interested applicants are encouraged to contact their local USDA Rural Development State Office well in advance of the application deadline to discuss their project and ask any questions about the Socially Disadvantaged Groups Grant program or the application process. Contact information for State Offices can be found at http://www.rd.usda.gov/contact-us/state-offices.
Additional information is available on page 22171 of April 14, 2022, of the Federal Register.
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In this guide, the HRSA-supported National Rural Health Resource Center presents an overview of how to develop a Sliding Fee Scale Discount Program for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). It also provides information on how sliding fee scale discount programs relate to Internal Revenue Code Section 501(r) compliance and participation in the National Health Service Corps.
