Federal Administration Seeks Input Into National Plan on Aging

Posted on by lad3

The federal Administration for Community Level (ACL) is leading the charge to develop a National Plan on Aging and is seeking input from individuals and organizations who serve people of all ages, individuals who are caregivers, grandfamilies, and others. Please share this with your partners and encourage them to review the plan and submit comments at the National Plan on Aging Community Engagement Collaborative by September 15.

More information:

$3,600 In Spend, $600K In Savings at Pennsylvania’s WellSpan

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WellSpan Health, a York, Pa.-based system with nine hospitals and more than 250 care locations, saved seven patients $600,000 in healthcare costs by allocating an extra $3,600.

The organization’s mission is to be the safest place for patients to receive care and for employees to work, according to Michael Seim, MD, chief quality officer at WellSpan. One facet of that mission is improving life expectancies and removing disparities for its 900,000 annual patients.

Within seven miles on one road in southeast Pennsylvania lies a 20-plus year difference in life expectancy, Dr. Seim told Becker’s. WellSpan works on numerous health equity programs — one of which recently won an American Hospital Association award — with many projects focused on health screening efforts.

One of these was a $3,600 salary expense for interpreters to contact Spanish-speaking patients who have delayed screenings. After successfully connecting with about half of the targeted population, WellSpan employees found seven new breast cancer cases.

“If you look at what the cost would be for delayed presentation — if they would advance one stage further [without being screened] — we calculated it would cost about $600,000,” Dr. Seim said.

That return on investment is more than a 20-fold increase.

The projected savings depend on each case, including whether patients have insurance or what type of insurance they have, he said.

Through targeted interventions, WellSpan has screened an additional 23,000 patients for breast and colorectal cancer in the last 18 months. The outcome was about 375 patients helped and 4,000 years of life added.

“Whether they’re in a value-based program or not, [with] the importance of screening and early detection, you can make a total financial argument that it’s a good place for health systems to invest,” Dr. Seim said. “And, it’s the right thing to do.”

Rural Patients’ Barriers to Care Access: 7 Notes

Posted on by lad3

From Becker’s Hospital Notes

Researchers from the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah, both based in Salt Lake City, found that 34% of rural patients said they have easy access to medical specialists.

The Community Health Assessment Survey is the first to focus on patients in rural and frontier areas, according to an Aug. 8 news release from the organizations. Rural counties have fewer than 100 people per square mile while frontier areas have seven people or fewer per square mile. More than 1,700 rural residents across five states participated in the survey.

Here are seven findings:

  1. About 48% of rural residents said they had seen a physician in the past year, compared to the U.S. average of 85%.
  2. Forty percent of rural women of the recommended age had never had a mammogram, compared to the national average of 22%.
  3. Nearly 88% of rural respondents said they knew little or nothing about enrolling in clinical trials.
  4. One-third of respondents said more telemedicine could help access to care, but only 81% have access to high-speed internet, compared to 91% of Americans nationwide. About 10% of rural areas said they did not have cell coverage.
  5. Sixty-eight percent people said they were not aware of programs to help pay for medical costs.
  6. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they had difficulty accessing cancer screenings.
  7. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said increasing the number of visit specialists would improve access to care.

Bringing Health Care Back to a Rural Pennsylvania Community

Posted on by lad3

Snow Shoe Township is a small, rural community of around 1,700 people in central Pennsylvania that lies approximately 30 miles north of State College. A former coal mining town, Snow Shoe has seen an economic decline over the years.

Then, in the span of one year starting in 2020, Snow Shoe lost its only grocery store, hardware store, bank, pharmacy and federally qualified health center. The only businesses left in town were a dollar store, pizza shop, post office, laundromat, and an outdoor and sporting goods store.

With the closure of the town’s health care facility and pharmacy, many of Snow Shoe’s aging residents, and others with health needs, were no longer able to access health care.

This led clinicians from the Penn State College of Medicine (PSCOM) to initiate conversations with local, state, federal, University and health system leaders to see what they could do to help area residents access basic health care needs. Through these conversations, they learned that the primary barriers to receiving health care were transportation and time constraints.

Without the ability to access basic health care services, clinicians from PSCOM and faculty members across academic colleges at Penn State collaborated to support the health and wellness of the residents in Snow Shoe and the surrounding community.

Read more.

2025 Proposed CMS Rules – What’s in the Rules for RHCs & How You Can Get Involved in Regulatory Advocacy

Posted on by vfl5083

– Thursday, August 15 at 2 pm Eastern. The National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) will host the free webinar with details on the recently released Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Calendar Year 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) proposed rule. This annual regulatory update contains Rural Health Clinic (RHC) specific proposals to eliminate productivity standards, remove hemoglobin/hematocrit from the six required lab services, reform care management billing, and allow RHCs to bill for administration of part B preventive vaccines at time of service, among other proposals. Additional time for Q&A will be provided. Advanced registration is required.

New Changes to Behavioral Health Intensive Outpatient Program Coverage in Medicare

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MedicareThe Center for Health Care Strategies published a policy cheat sheet highlighting the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ coverage of intensive outpatient program (IOP) services.  As of January 1, 2024, Medicare now covers IOP services. IOPs are structured treatment programs that take place on an outpatient basis. IOPs are designed for individuals with mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) conditions, including those with co-occurring mental health and SUD conditions, who have treatment plans demonstrating a need for 9-19 hours a week of therapeutic services. The cheat sheet highlights the latest policy changes in IOP covered services, how changes impact dually eligible individuals, Medicaid-only enrollees, and new billing requirements and guidance for crossover claims.

CMS Updated the 2025 Contract Year Medicare Part D Bid Information and Premium Stabilization Demonstration

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On July 30th, CMS released the technical Medicare Part D bid information for the 2025 contract year to help Part D plan sponsors finalize their Part D and Medicare Advantage (MA) offerings and prepare for Medicare Open Enrollment. For 2025, the base beneficiary premium will be $36.78, which is $2.08 more than 2024. Other significant changes include the out-of-pocket spending capped at $2,000 and elimination of the drug coverage gap (also known as the “donut hole”).

Comments Requested on Information Collection for Hospital and CAH CoPs – October 7

Posted on by vfl5083

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is announcing an opportunity for the public to comment on CMS’ intention to reinstate the information collection for the Hospital Conditions of Participation (CoPs) and Supporting Regulations (Office of Management and Budget control number 0938- 0328) that expired in 2017 and update the annual hourly burden.  The previous iteration of this document and supporting materials can be found here.

CMS Updates Hospital Policies for Fiscal Year 2025 and Finalizes a New Payment Model for Select Surgeries

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Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule for the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-term Care Hospital payments (LTCH-PPS) for fiscal year 2025. Effective October 1, 2024, the IPPS rates will increase by 2.9% for hospitals that successfully report quality measures and are meaningful electronic health record users. CMS finalized policies to extend the low wage index adjustment; provide a separate payment to small, independent IPPS hospitals to establish and maintain a buffer stock of essential medicines for use during future shortages; distribute an additional 200 Medicare-funded residency payment slots to train physicians as required by statute; adjust hospital payments when patients have inadequate housing and housing instability; and extend certain COVID-19 and influenza data reporting requirements for hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).  They did not finalize a proposal to define ‘new’ in the context of residency training programs.

In this rule, CMS also finalized a new, mandatory Innovation Center episode-based payment model entitled Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM). For this model, acute care hospitals in select geographic areas will be accountable for ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries receive coordinated, high-quality care during and after five surgical procedures: coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), lower extremity joint replacement (LEJR), major bowel procedure, surgical hip/femur fracture treatment (SHFFT), and spinal fusion.  Additionally, within TEAM, CMS finalized a voluntary Decarbonization and Resilience Initiative, in which participants will collect and share greenhouse gas emissions data with CMS and CMS will provide technical assistance to enhance climate sustainability for their organizations.

Promoting A Healthy Mouth for Every Body: New HRSA Resources Available

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Led by HRSA’s Office of Special Health Initiatives, raises awareness about the connection between oral health and overall health. HRSA now has new content on oral health and nutrition, emphasizing the importance of healthy eating as a foundation for good oral health. Additionally, new resources highlight the critical role of oral health during pregnancy, including the importance of maintaining dental care for the well-being of both pregnant people and baby. Discover the latest content and resources to support oral health in the community.