Pennsylvania Announces Expansion to SNAP for Qualifying College Students, Provides Update on Latest Medicaid, SNAP Enrollment Data

Posted on by lad3

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Teresa Miller and Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Deputy Secretary for Postsecondary and Higher Education Dr. Tanya I. Garcia today announced a temporary change in eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), expanding eligibility to certain college students who qualify based off their families’ income but normally would be ineligible for the program due to being a student.

“Our ways of life and routines have changed to keep ourselves and our communities safe from this virus. Jobs that students would normally work on campuses or around their schools may have reduced hours or are not an option anymore, meaning that students and families with more limited resources may be struggling even more to meet their most essential needs,” said Secretary Miller. “In a time when so many are struggling, we are hopeful that this will be another resource that we can extend to families who are feeling this economic strain most acutely. We urge congress to make this change permanent, so that no student has to go hungry again.”

“Food insecurity is yet another issue that learners are facing during the pandemic, and should not create further barriers to academic success,” Pennsylvania Department of Education Deputy Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education Tanya I. Garcia said. “I am grateful to Secretary Miller and the Department of Human Services for helping raise awareness about the expansion of SNAP benefits for college students and their families across the commonwealth.”

Eligibility rules set by the federal government dictate that students ages 18 through 49 who are enrolled in college at least half time are not eligible for SNAP unless they meet certain exemptions, including working an average of 20 hours or more per week, participating in a state or federal work study program, having a disability, or being a parent of a child under age six. Even if students reside at home with parents who qualify for and receive SNAP, they are not counted in the household unless they meet one of the exemptions.

Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, college students who are eligible for a state or federal work study program, regardless of whether they are actually participating, or students who have an estimated family contribution of $0 on their federal student aid determination are now eligible for SNAP. For those under the age of 22 for students who live at home with their parents. For now, these families will receive a benefit more commensurate to their household size that they would otherwise not get because their household contains a student.

This eligibility will remain in place until 30 days after the public health emergency ends. Since the Biden Administration has advised that the declaration will most likely remain in place at least until the end of 2021 and states will have 60 days-notice before it ends, this policy change will more than likely be something that can help families for the remainder of the crisis.

A Government Accountability Office report released in January 2019 found that at least one in three college students do not always have enough to eat. Additionally, 71 percent of college students today do not fit the model of a “typical” college student and may be financially independent, work at least part time, enroll in and stay in college at a later age, or have dependent children. These factors, when paired with other challenges students face like cost of tuition, lodging and/or transportation, books, and supplies, can create significant barriers to making ends meet. The report includes a literature review of 31 studies of college hunger and indicated there was a range of 9-50 percent of students who experienced food insecurity on campuses but that in 22 of these studies, food insecurity was estimated to be above 30 percent of the students surveyed.

December 2020 Public Assistance Enrollment Numbers
Secretary Miller also provided an update on enrollment in certain public assistance programs and how Pennsylvanians can apply.

Enrollment for SNAP statewide has increased by 84,389 people since February 2020, for a total enrollment of about 1,821,848 in December — a 4.9 percent increase. SNAP enrollment has trended slightly down since September. However, under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) will no longer be counted as income for people applying for SNAP eligibility, opening SNAP as an option for more people who have lost income or employment due to the pandemic.

SNAP is the nation’s most important and effective anti-hunger program. For every meal provided through a Feeding America Food Bank, SNAP provides nine. SNAP provides individuals and families with funds that can only be used to purchase fresh food and groceries, helping Pennsylvanians with limited resources have a set, stable food budget and expanding their purchasing power to meet other essential household needs.

Enrollment statewide for Medicaid has increased by 337,772 people since February 2020, for a total enrollment of 3,169,335 people in November — a 12 percent increase.

Pennsylvanians who have lost health coverage or are currently uninsured and need coverage for themselves or their children may qualify for coverage through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Medicaid and CHIP provide coverage for routine and emergency health services, tests and screenings, prescriptions, and COVID-19 testing and treatment are covered by both Medicaid and CHIP. Medicaid and CHIP enroll individuals throughout the year and do not have a limited or special enrollment time, so people needing health coverage can apply for these programs at any time. There are income limits for Medicaid, but all children qualify for comprehensive health, vision, and dental coverage through CHIP regardless of their parents’ income.

Applications for SNAP, Medicaid, and other public assistance programs that provide help with utilities, home energy, and cash assistance can be submitted online at www.compass.state.pa.us. Those who prefer to submit a paper application can print from the website, pick one up at a County Assistance Office (CAO), or request an application by phone at 1-800-692-7462 and mail it to their local CAO or place it in a CAO’s secure drop box, if available. You do not need to know your own eligibility in order to apply. While CAOs remain closed, work processing applications, determining eligibility, and issuing benefits continues. Clients should use COMPASS or the MyCOMPASS PA mobile app to submit necessary updates to their case files while CAOs are closed to the public.

For more information about food assistance resources for people around Pennsylvania impacted by COVID-19 and the accompanying economic insecurity, visit the Department of Agriculture’s food security guide.

For more information on public assistance programs, visit www.dhs.pa.gov.

Pennsylvania Reminds Farmers of Deadline for $13 Million in Tax Credits to Improve Water Quality, Farm Sustainability

Posted on by lad3

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding reminded farmers to apply by March 1 for $13 million in tax credits for measures to improve soil and water quality. Tax credits are available through Pennsylvania’s nationally recognized Resource Enhancement and Protection Program (REAP), which was expanded under the PA Farm Bill.

“Taking care of the soil and water is an economic imperative for our farms,” said Redding. “REAP tax credits are just one element of our strategy to support farmers as they feed our future and grow a viable, sustainable Pennsylvania farm economy.”

REAP is a Pennsylvania tax credit program for agricultural producers who implement best management practices (BMP) or purchase equipment that reduces nutrient and sediment runoff, enhancing soil and improving the quality of Pennsylvania’s waterways. Farmers may receive up to $250,000 in any seven-year period, and spouses filing jointly can use REAP Tax Credits.

The most common projects approved are for no-till planting and precision ag equipment, waste storage facilities, conservation plans, Nutrient Management Plans, and protecting animal heavy-use areas, like barnyards. Cover crops that help soil retain water, carbon and nutrients, and planted buffers that keep sediment out of streams are also commonly funded projects. Farmers may receive REAP tax credits of 50 to 75 percent of the project’s eligible out-of-pocket cost. Farmers whose operation is in a watershed with an EPA-mandated Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) can receive REAP tax credits of 90 percent of out-of-pocket costs for some projects.

Almost 350 farms in 54 Pennsylvania counties were approved for REAP tax credits in 2019-20. Tax credits can be used in conjunction with other funding sources such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP), the Chesapeake Bay Program or Conservation Excellence Grants to help install BMPs. In 2019-20, applicants used $5.5 million in other funding to pay for projects receiving REAP tax credits.

REAP applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Baseline eligibility includes compliance with the PA Clean Streams Law and the Pennsylvania Nutrient and Odor Management Law.

Private investors may act as project sponsors by providing capital in exchange for tax credits. Any individual or business subject to taxation by Pennsylvania through personal income tax, corporate net income tax, the bank shares tax or others is eligible to participate in REAP.

Since the program began in 2007, REAP has awarded tax credits to more than 5,500 projects totaling over $100 million. Private investments in REAP have also contributed to the conservation projects, which in total are worth nearly $250 million.

More information about REAP, including the 2020-21 application packet and program guidelines, is available at agriculture.pa.gov.

Now Open! Applications to the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program

Posted on by lad3

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is pleased to announce the opening of the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Practitioner Application.

The LRP provides grant funding for educational loan repayment to primary care practitioners serving medically underserved populations.  Educational loan repayment is an incentive to recruitment and retention of practitioners for service in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas and other underserved communities:

  • The Request for Applications (RFA) #67-119 is attached for your reference.  Copies of RFA#67-119 can be downloaded from   https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Health-Planning/Pages/Loan-Repayment.aspx
  • Applications are being accepted from February 8, 2021 until 11:59 pm March 24,2021.
  • Program information, application procedures and application instructions are found in RFA#67-119.
  • All applications must be submitted via the Loan Repayment Program’s web-based application through the link on the above website.
  • Questions regarding this RFA must be submitted via email to loanrepayment@pa.gov on or before March 5, 2021.  No questions will be answered via phone or e-mail.  Answers to all question submitted by March 5 will be posted on the above website by March 12, 2021 and will be considered an addendum to the RFA.

New York Representatives Introduce Legislation to Save Critical Access Hospitals

Posted on by lad3

By Liz Carey

Proposed bipartisan legislation would put in place safeguards such as public comment period to ensure that facilities currently operating as Critical Access Hospitals can’t lose their designation overnight.

In an effort to protect rural hospitals, two members of Congress are introducing legislation that will rein in the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services.

U.S. Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Antonio Delgado (D-N.Y.) joined forces last week to introduce the bi-partisan Protecting Rural Access to Care Act, which would protect rural hospitals with the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation.

Rural hospitals designated as Critical Access Hospitals must be 35 miles by primary roads or 15 miles by secondary roads from the nearest other hospital, among other requirements. In exchange for higher rates of reimbursement on Medicare and Medicaid patients, in an effort to keep those hospitals open in rural areas.

For more information, read our explainer.

The legislation is designed to bring certification standards for CAHs back to their 2015 levels and to make them permanent. The legislation will also require the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) to use public notice and comment periods for any future guidance or regulation changes.

Currently, CMS can make changes to how CAHs are determined just by changing the rules, which it did in 2015. In 2006, a primary road was defined as an interstate highway, a U.S. highway, an expressway, a state-divided highway with two or more lanes each way, or any road with at least two contiguous miles where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour or greater.

What Is a Critical Access Hospital, or CAH?

In 2015, CMS changed the definition to any numbered Interstate or US route regardless of its terrain, meaning any road designated by I or U.S. would be considered a primary road. According to this definition, U.S. 220, or the Blue Ridge Parkway which runs through the Great Smoky Mountains would be considered a primary road and not a secondary one, and requiring any hospital on it to be 35 miles away from another hospital, instead of 15 miles.

Likewise, in Stefanik’s state, US 4, a two lane road that runs from East Greenbush, New York to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, would be considered a primary road. US 4 runs along the Hudson River to the Hudson Fallan and the Champlain Canal passing through riverside and canalside communities like Mechanicville, New York, population 5,107.

By changing the definition of what constituted a primary road, CMS essentially eliminated some rural hospitals from being CAHs without any warning at all. Typically, federal agencies must let people know that they are considering making changes to a rule, and allow the public time to comment on it before making those changes final.

Currently, in order to qualify as a CAH, a hospital has to be at least 35 miles from the nearest hospital, or have been certified as a necessary healthcare services provider prior to 2006. The new bill would correct the CMS changes made in 2015, and require CMS to let the public know in advance if it were making changes to its rules.

“The bill (Protecting Rural Access to Care) specifies that this (new primary road) guidance does not apply to CAHs that were certified prior to July 31, 2015, and that these CAHs are instead subject to the standards that were in place before the guidance was issued. Ongoing CAH certifications are also subject to pre-guidance standards until the CMS issues new guidance after a specified public comment period,” states the summary of the bill.

The bill would also require CMS rule changes to follow “notice of proposed rulemaking” (NPRM) procedures. Under NPRM, an independent federal agency must issue a public notice if it decides to add, remove or change a rule or regulation. Once that notice is made, the new rule or regulation is open to public comment before being enacted.

“This is an important issue for rural hospitals as this reflects a persistent problem at CMS, that of sub-regulatory guidance,” Brock Slabach, National Rural Health Association’s senior vice president for member services, said via email. “These documents don’t go through a NPRM process. Escaping the rulemaking process, policy can be made without any input or comment from the public.”

This happened in 2015, he said, when CMS made changes in the distance requirements of CAHs, essentially ending their reimbursement status for some hospitals with the stroke of a pen.

Stefanik said she wanted to ensure that didn’t happen again.

“I am proud to introduce the Protecting Rural Access to Care Act, a necessary and permanent solution to protect North Country hospitals and healthcare centers,” Stefanik said in a statement.

“The guidance that was released by CMS in 2015 put rural hospitals and healthcare centers at a dangerous risk of losing their Critical Access Hospital certification and the much-needed benefits that come with it. I was proud to work directly with district hospitals and the previous administration to place a temporary pause on re-certifications during the Covid-19 pandemic. This bill will provide a long-lasting solution.”

Stefanik also introduced the same legislation in August of 2020, where the bill was forwarded to the House Ways and Means Committee where it died.

Administrators with rural hospitals in New York support the bill.  “Critical Access Hospitals have been the cornerstone for providing quality healthcare to rural communities,” said Rich Duvall, Carthage Area Hospital CEO said in a statement.  “Without them, patients would have to travel long distances to receive care. Now more than ever, their importance is significant, especially during the Covid pandemic. The Protecting Rural Access to Care Act ensures the survival of Critical Access Hospitals in New York State and across the nation.”

COVID-19 Vaccine Resources: What Partners Need to Know Now about Medicare Fraud

Posted on by lad3

As COVID-19 vaccines begin rolling out across the country CMS is taking action to protect the health and safety of our nation’s patients and providers and keeping you updated on the latest COVID-19 resources from HHS, CDC and CMS.

With information coming from many different sources, CMS has compiled resources and materials to help you share important and relevant information on the COVID-19 vaccine with the people that you serve. You can find these and more resources on the COVID-19 Partner Resources Page and the HHS COVID Education Campaign page.

We look forward to partnering with you to promote vaccine safety and encourage our beneficiaries to get vaccinated when they have the opportunity.

COVID-19 SCAMS

As the country begins to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, scammers are taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic. The HHS Office of Inspector General alerted the public about COVID-19 fraud schemes, with scammers using telemarketing calls, text messages, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits to perpetrate COVID-19-related scams.

Con artists may also try to get Medicare Numbers or personal information so they can steal identities and commit Medicare fraud. Medicare fraud results in higher health care costs and taxes for everyone.

What can you do to help prevent Medicare beneficiaries from being a victim of fraud?

Share this important information with Medicare beneficiaries to help them protect themselves from Medicare fraud:  

Medicare covers the COVID-19 vaccine, so there will be no cost to you.

You will need to share your Medicare card with your health care provider or pharmacy when receiving your vaccine, even if you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan.

  • If anyone else asks you to share your Medicare Number or pay for access to the vaccine, you can bet it’s a scam.
  • You can’t pay to put your name on a list to get the vaccine.
  • You can’t pay to get early access to a vaccine.
  • Don’t share your personal or financial information if someone calls, texts, or emails you promising access to the vaccine for a fee.

Guard your Medicare card like it’s a credit card.

  • Medicare will never contact you for your Medicare Number or other personal information unless you’ve given them permission in advance.
  • Medicare will never call you to sell you anything.
  • You may get calls from people promising you things if you give them a Medicare Number. Don’t do it.
  • Medicare will never visit you at your home.
  • Medicare can’t enroll you over the phone unless you called first.

Learn more tips to help prevent Medicare fraud.

  • Learn How to Spot Medicare fraud. Review your Medicare claims and Medicare Summary Notices for any services billed to your Medicare Number you don’t recognize.
  • Report anything suspicious to Medicare. If you suspect fraud, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users can call 1-877-486-2048.
  • If you need to replace your card because it’s damaged or lost, log into (or create) your secure Medicare account to print an official copy of your Medicare card. You can also use your Medicare account to access your Medicare information anytime, add prescription drugs to help you find and compare health and drug plans in your area, and more.

What role can partners play in fighting healthcare fraud, waste and abuse?

  • Become a HFPP partner. The Healthcare Fraud Prevention Partnership (HFPP) is a voluntary public-private partnership that helps detect and prevent healthcare fraud through data and information sharing. Partners include federal government, state agencies, law enforcement, private health insurance plans, employer organizations, and healthcare anti-fraud associations.
  • By working together, we can be more effective at preventing health care fraud, waste, and abuse. The Healthcare Fraud Prevention Partnership (HFPP) continues to expand nationally by encouraging participation by all eligible public and private health care entities. The insights and input of each member contribute to the overall value of the Partnership.

Questions? Please e-mail us: Partnership@cms.hhs.gov

Eight Most Convincing Messages to Promote COVID-19 Vaccines

Posted on by lad3

About 57 percent of U.S. adults say they would be more willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine if they heard it was “highly effective” in preventing falling ill to the virus, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s latest COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor report released Jan. 27.

The survey, which was conducted from Jan. 11-18 and included 1,563 U.S. adults who were contacted via random digit dial telephone samples, examines people’s willingness to get the vaccine as well as the messages and information they find most convincing to support the effort.

Here are the messages respondents said would make them more likely to get vaccinated for COVID-19:

  • The vaccines are highly effective in preventing illness: 57 percent
  • The vaccine will protect you from getting sick: 56 percent
  • The quickest way for life to return to normal is for most people to get vaccinated: 54 percent
  • Millions of people have safely been vaccinated: 46 percent
  • We need people to get vaccinated to get the U.S. economy back on track: 45 percent
  • A physician/provider you trust got the vaccine: 38 percent
  • There is no cost to get the vaccine: 36 percent
  • A close friend/family member got vaccinated: 32 percent

Click here to view the full report.

States Begin to Incorporate Children into their COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plans

Posted on by hjr5089

In a new blog post, the National Academy for State Health Policy describes how states are beginning to incorporate children in their COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans in preparation for when a vaccine is authorized for children under age 16.

The blog post was produced as part of HRSA’s cooperative agreement with National Organizations of State and Local Officials.

Read the blog post.