Congratulations to the 40 fellows selected for the 2022-2023 Class of the Appalachian Leadership Institute!

This class of ARC’s leadership development program includes a diverse network of professionals representing all 13 Appalachian states and a wide spectrum of perspectives and sectors, including tourism, healthcare, education, civil service, and more.

“These leaders are already growing their Appalachian communities and will be even better equipped to drive positive change after their work with this program,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin. “I am eager to see this class of fellows collaborate across state lines to set big goals that will help the entire Appalachian region thrive.”

Over the next nine months, the fellows will participate in sessions focused on skill-building with regional experts, peer-to-peer learning, and case study analysis. They will then join a robust network of program alumni across the region.  Click here to read about the 2022-2023 Class!

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) made this declaration for Florida, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico after determining that the devastation of Hurricane Iain required an urgent response from the federal government.  Recent public health emergencies include COVID-19, Monkeypox, and the opioid epidemic; naming an event as such allows agencies within HHS to bypass the typically lengthy process to make grants, enter into contracts, and rapidly investigate the cause, treatment, or prevention of a disease or disorder. For natural disasters, this means putting personnel from the National Disaster Medical System on the ground in affected areas and collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and regional coordinators of HHS’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, also known as ASPR.  The Rural Health Information Hub has a wealth of information on the challenges specific to rural areas and links to resources for disaster preparedness and response.

See below for recently released information about the Inflation Reduction Act.  You can view a timeline showing when these changes happen in the Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Health Insurance Marketplace®.   Also the See Frequently Asked Questions has information about reduced drug prices and enhanced Medicare benefits under the Inflation Reduction Act.

It is FLU season and CMS has prepared Partner materials to be shared with the public!  These can be accessed on CMS.gov using the links below.

• 2022 Partner flu toolkit
• 2022 Partner flu toolkit (Spanish)
• Medicare flu shot images
• Medicare flu shot images (Spanish)

This CDC page of helpful FAQs is a great resource, too.  Remember that it’s safe to receive the updated COVID booster at the same time as the Medicare flu shot.

The federal resource telehealth.hhs.gov outlines how to build a school telehealth program and prepare students and guardians for attending telehealth appointments.  The guide is also available in Spanish.

Through its Bureau of Health Workforce’s National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, HRSA recently awarded $5 million in funding to nine Health Workforce Research Centers to help decision-makers at the federal, state, and local levels understand health workforce needs. In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, two of the nine centers have been awarded, specifically, to expand research into public health and behavioral health areas.

New data show the outbreak is slowing; as of Wednesday, September 28, there were there were 25,509 confirmed cases.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to provide updates on trends and resources, recently focusing on reducing stigma.  CDC also recommends health care personnel adhere to recommended infection prevention and control measures and stay up to date on pain management for infected patients.  See Funding and Opportunities below for the CDC’s Monkeypox Vaccine Equity Pilot Program.

The federal agency charged with examining how taxpayer dollars are spent reports on the effects of temporary waivers issued by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to ease the use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic.  For beneficiaries of Medicare – the public health insurance that allows access to care for those who are 65 years and older, and younger people with certain disabilities – use of telehealth increased from about 5 million services pre-pandemic to more than 53 million services from April to December 2020.  GAO also found that, while telehealth use increased across all provider specialties, 5 percent of providers delivered over 40 percent of services.  The difference in telehealth use between rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries was slight – 33 percent versus 39 percent respectively.  In considering whether to make these changes permanent, GAO makes three recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services: 1) clarify guidance for billing audio-only telehealth to allow tracking of these visits, 2) require providers to use available place of service codes, and 3) make a comprehensive assessment of the quality of services delivered via telehealth to insure improved outcomes for patients.