The Pennsylvania Department of State requested, and Governor Wolf approved, several waivers/suspensions related to the clinical licensure examinations for both dentists and dental hygienists who have just graduated or are about to graduate.
For Some Primary Care Practices, COVID-19 Fueling Innovation
While many primary care practices are struggling to keep their doors open during the pandemic, others are leveraging it as an opportunity to innovate. Commonwealth Fund researchers looked at three practices that have gotten creative in how they reach patients and deliver care. These providers have benefited from investments made prior to the pandemic in remote monitoring tools, telehealth and texting platforms to identify high-risk patients. Read, Primary Care as a Bulwark Against COVID-19: How Three Innovative Practices Are Responding.
Pennsylvania Releases Cross-Agency Telehealth Guidance
Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration provided consolidated telehealth guidance for all state agencies, outlining the expanded role of providers, expanded reimbursement for telehealth services, telehealth for infant toddler intervention procedures and telehealth for behavioral health. Access Pennsylvania’s April 29, 2020 Cross-Agency Telehealth Guidance here.
Rural Health CEO on the Financial Struggles of COVID-19
Gabriel Perna | April 24, 2020
The ongoing struggles of rural health care in America are not a secret to anyone in this industry.
In 2019, a record 19 rural hospitals closed. Thus far in 2020, nine hospitals have already closed and the COVID-19 pandemic, with its devastating impact on hospital operating margins, threatens to make it a much more staggering amount.
Financial resources dedicated to providers in the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act will help, rural health advocates say. The National Rural Health Association says that half of rural hospitals and providers operated at a financial loss before the pandemic. The loss of revenue from the pandemic meant hundreds were at risk of closure before the funding came in.
But the funding from Congress hasn’t come without hiccups or concerns. There were complaints that the initial $30 billion to be distributed from HHS didn’t give enough to rural providers. HHS said the next round will be geared towards rural health providers, but America’s Essential Hospitals, a trade group for vulnerable health systems and hospitals, has concerns about how the agency targets its funding dollars.
“Targeting will require complete and accurate data, and we have concerns about technical problems providers now face as they try to comply with the department’s request for targeting data. We call on the department to extend its data submission deadline until it has resolved these technical issues and clearly and publicly communicated how it will use this information,” stated Bruce Siegel, MD, President and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals. The group also wants HHS to minimize the application process to streamline funding.
Guidance Available on Telehealth and HHS-Operated Risk Adjustment for Individual and Small Group Health Insurance Health Plans
In response to the increased need for providing telehealth due to COVID-19, CMS has given additional consideration to telehealth services in HHS-operated risk adjustment for issuers in the individual and small group health insurance markets inside and outside the Marketplaces. CMS’ new guidance clarifies which telehealth services are valid for HHS-operated risk adjustment data submission in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dear Clinician: CMS Adds New COVID-19 Clinical Trials Improvement Activity to the Quality Payment Program
CMS issued a letter thanking clinicians for their ongoing efforts to treat patients and combat COVID-19 and shared additional details on the new Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) improvement activity. As announced earlier this month, clinicians who participate in a COVID-19 clinical trial and report their findings to a clinical data repository or registry many now earn credit in MIPS under the Improvement Activities performance category for the 2020 performance period by attesting to this new activity.
CMS Gives States Additional Flexibility to Address Coronavirus Pandemic
CMS has approved 140 requests for state relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including recent approvals for Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wyoming. These approvals help to ensure that states have the tools they need to combat COVID-19 through a wide variety of waivers, amendments, and Medicaid state plan flexibilities, including for programs that care for the elderly and people with disabilities. CMS developed a toolkit to expedite the application and review of each request and has approved these requests in record time. These approved flexibilities support President Trump’s commitment to a COVID-19 response that is locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.
1915(c) Waiver Appendix K Amendments
Rural Counties Shed a Quarter Million Jobs in March
By Bill Bishop and Tim Marema
In the first jobs report after the pandemic forced widespread shutdowns, rural employment dropped 1.2% from February to March. Metropolitan counties fared worse, with a drop of 1.9% of total employment.
Meatpacking and Prisons Drive the Rural Covid-19 Infection Rate
By Tim Marema
A rural county’s economic type seems to have a strong impact on how quickly the coronavirus is spreading. Hotspot counties with meatpacking plants or prisons have infection rates much higher than the national average.
Farmers Markets in Pennsylvania
Ths pandemic has spotlighted the need for fresh fruits and vegetables. Pennsylvania’s hardworking farmers, farm workers, farmers market operators, and others in the agricultural industry have shown their commitment to ensuring residents across the commonwealth have access to these products.
Here is a list of all the operating farmers markets across Pennsylvania.