Beginning January 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will allow billing for two new provider types: Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT) and Mental Health Counselors (MHC).  To qualify, MFTs and MHCs must be licensed or certified by the state where they provide services, have performed at least two years of clinical supervised experience, and meet other requirements of the federal government. The coverage of MFT and MHC practitioners can help address behavioral health work shortages in rural areas; recent research found that nearly one-fifth (18.4 percent) of rural counties are without a counselor compared to other behavior health provider types.  Learn more from CMS about how to become a Medicare provider.

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This week, national experts in disease prevention issued draft recommendations for clinical treatment of children with a high body mass index (BMI).  The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force identifies children and teens who are Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Alaska Native, Non-Hispanic Black, and from lower income families as those with the highest rates of obesity, determined by a BMI at or above the 95^thpercentile for age and gender.  October 2023 research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that rural children and adolescents had higher odds of being overweight or obese than their urban counterparts.  The recommendation includes behavioral counseling interventions (pdf) from health professionals.

Comment by January 16.

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In January 2023, we first informed you of state-level changes to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) brought by the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). These programs play a critical role in rural areas, where people are more likely to be uninsured and face challenges accessing health care. In brief, states received extra federal funding to allow beneficiaries to keep their coverage – known as continuous enrollment – for as long as the PHE declaration remained in place.  As of August 2023, more than 13 million people had their enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP coverage renewed, but more than 7 million were disenrolled.  In this interim final rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) detail new reporting requirements for states as they “unwind” continuous enrollment – that is, return to reviewing the eligibility status of individuals and families.  The new requirements specify that reports for certain metrics, such as the number of individuals disenrolled and information about transitions to coverage through state Health Insurance Marketplaces, be completed and submitted in a timely manner.  New enforcement actions include suspended disenrollments, civil money penalties, and a reduction in federal funding known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage.

Comment by February 2.

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A newly formed Congressional caucus hopes to help rural hospitals stay open and increase the rural health workforce.

Earlier this year, U.S. Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) and Diane Harshbarger (R-Tennessee) formed the Congressional Rural Health Caucus with 47 members from both sides of the aisle. The group’s goal, the representatives said, is to help inform members of Congress about rural health issues and allow them to hear directly from patients, healthcare providers and health advocates about rural healthcare challenges.

The caucus is seeking to ensure fair and adequate reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid. Two of its members have already proposed legislation to address that.

In mid-November, U.S. Representatives Carol Miller (R-West Virginia) and Terri Sewell (D-Alabama) introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at giving rural hospitals better financial stability. The Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals (ARCH) Act (H.R. 6430), would extend both the Medicare-dependent hospital program and the Medicare low-volume hospital payments program for five years.

The legislation also requires the U.S. General Accountability Office to report on rural hospital classifications to ensure that those designations are bolstering rural health care.

But Representative Miller, a caucus member, said the bill’s goal was to cut federal spending in other areas and redirect it to rural healthcare through Medicare.

“It’s just what we have to do — get rid of whatever wasteful spending that we can, and make sure that we have the money that can go into the rural areas because rural health care is very important to me,” Miller said.

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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Pennsylvania State Director Bob Morgan today announced that Rural Development is investing $4.7 million in seven organizations to help people in rural Pennsylvania access remote education and health care resources.

“Education and health care are vital pillars to sustaining and improving the quality of life in our rural communities,” Morgan said. “The USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine program allows rural Pennsylvanians the capital necessary to ensure their students, teachers, patients, and health care professionals have the technology necessary to stay connected virtually.”

Rural Development’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants help fund real-time, interactive distance learning and telemedicine services in rural and tribal areas to increase access to education, training and health care resources that are otherwise limited or unavailable. This effort is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal that every American has access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet. Digital equity is an important component of that mission. For instance, the DLT program gives students the opportunity to participate in classes virtually. DLT funds can also help connect rural people virtually to medical professionals without leaving their home.

In total, Rural Development is investing $4,742,260 to seven projects in Pennsylvania through its DLT grant program to the following organizations:

Geisinger Clinic in Montour County – $948,741

This Rural Development investment will be used to equip one hub site and two end-user sites throughout Montour and Northumberland counties in central Pennsylvania with innovative virtual care telemedicine devices. Medical professionals at Geisinger Justin Drive in Montour County, Pennsylvania will deliver virtual nursing care to two locations benefitting 21,551 individuals.

Cen-Clear Child Services Inc. in Blair County – $150,863

This Rural Development investment will be used to equip one hub site and seven end-user sites throughout Centre, Huntingdon, Clearfield, Blair, Elk, and Mifflin counties in central Pennsylvania with interactive telehealth equipment. Medical professionals at Cen-Clear Child Services Inc. will deliver mental health care/psychiatric services and substance/opioid use disorder treatments with medication-assisted treatments to seven locations benefitting 7,435 individuals.

Conemaugh Township Area School District in Somerset County – $939,512

This Rural Development investment will be used to connect 11 hub sites and one end-user site throughout Somerset, Cambria, Blair and Allegheny counties in western Pennsylvania with telehealth and distance learning equipment. Instructors at Penn Highlands Community College, University of Pittsburgh Johnstown, Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center and other area colleges and museums will deliver distance learning in the form of dual enrollment courses, foreign language instruction, virtual field trips, and educational experiences benefitting 483 students.

Forest Hills School District in Cambria County – $549,589

This Rural Development investment will be used to equip 11 hub sites and two end-user sites throughout Cambria, Dauphin, and Blair counties in central Pennsylvania with telecommunications equipment. Instructors at Forest Hills School District will deliver instructional content to 13 locations benefitting 1,707 students.

Port Allegany School District in McKean County – $599,382

This Rural Development investment will be used to equip two hub sites and two end-user sites throughout McKean, Warren, and Potter counties with video conferencing equipment. In addition to the mental health care services, instructors at the University of Pittsburg – Bradford and Northern Pennsylvania Regional College will provide STEM education through coding classes benefiting the same individuals. Counselors at the University of Pittsburg – Bradford and Northern Pennsylvania Regional College will deliver mental health care to two locations benefitting 507 individuals.

Punxsutawney Area Hospital Inc. in Jefferson County – $838,749

This Rural Development investment will be used to equip six hub site and one end-user site in Jefferson County in west central Pennsylvania with audio and video telemedicine technology. Medical professionals at Punxsutawney Area Hospital, Behavioral Health Services, IRMC/ PAH Specialty Services, Indiana Regional Medical Center in Jefferson County and Tyrone Penn Highlands will deliver mental health care including substance and opioid use disorder treatment, specialty consultations, in real time to pne location benefitting 5,962 individuals.

The Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation in Dauphin County – $715,424

This Rural Development investment will be used to equip three hub sites and one hub end-user site throughout Adams, Dauphin, Lancaster, and York counties in southeastern Pennsylvania with interactive teleconferencing equipment. Instructors at Harrisburg Area Community College in Dauphin, Lancaster, and York counties will deliver Biology, Business, Criminal Justice, English, Healthcare Management, Mathematics, Mechatronics, Medical Assisting, Nursing, and Psychology courses to three locations benefiting 7,620 students.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/pa.

To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates in Pennsylvania, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.

The Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) has posted the COVID-19 ARPA Multi-Purpose Community Facilities Program (Facilities) guidelines for review. The Facilities Program will offer $45 million in competitive grants to community anchor institutions and units of local government for community projects to construct, acquire, or improve facilities that are, or will be open to the public and will directly enable work, education, and health monitoring at the respective facility. You can review all guideline details to include eligibility and project criteria on the website.

Guidelines will be available for review from 12.12.23 – 1.10.24. The Program will be open and begin to receive applications beginning 1.11.24 and will close 4.9.24 at 11:59 PM.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) announced the Center for Transition to Adult Health Care for Youth with Disabilities, a national resource center funded by ACL’s Administration on Disabilities (AoD), has launched a new website to help young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) direct their own transition to the adult health care system. The website includes resources for youth/young adults, parents/caregivers, and clinicians/ direct service providers.

Click here to launch the website.