The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released two reports that compare health issues between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of the U.S. In Potentially Excess Deaths from the Five Leading Causes of Death, researchers found that the gap in the percentages of preventable deaths between rural and urban counties widened over the eight-year study period for cancer, heart disease, and chronic lower respiratory disease, remained relatively stable for stroke, and decreased for unintentional injuries. A study on Lung Cancer Incidence found that rates decreased in both urban and rural areas during the ten year period from 2007-2016, but the smallest decrease occurred among females living in nonmetropolitan counties. Click here to access the report.
Flex Program Support for Rural EMS
This document is a practical guide for ambulance services to use in their pursuit of sustaining effective and efficient delivery of patient care and developing into an integrated system with other agencies. It provides insights from agencies to promote integration to the benefit of the agencies, the staff, and, most importantly, to the patients. The guide can be accessed here.
Rural Community Ambulance Agency Transformation Toolkit Released
The primary goal of the Rural Community Ambulance Agency Transformation Readiness Assessment and associated resources is to help ambulance agency leaders in rural America assess the state of their agency’s readiness in the core competency areas outlined below. This assessment follows the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Blueprint for Performance Excellence, adapted specifically for rural ambulance agencies, from the Baldridge Excellence Framework for Health Care. It provides resources and tools to assist rural ambulance agency leaders to succeed with moving from volume to value in their agency’s culture and operations. Leaders are encouraged to complete the assessment periodically to monitor their progress and receive updated resources to guide their journey. The toolkit can be accessed here.
Report Looks at Drug Industry’s Profitability
Large, brand-name drugmakers could lose $1 trillion in sales and remain profitable enough to maintain their current investments in research and development, according to a report released last week by West Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Sean Dickson, director of health policy at the West Health Policy Center and the lead author of the analysis, said the findings suggest drug pricing regulations would not substantially harm the industry. (Source: Healthcare Finance News, 11/14)
Federal Exchange Signups Reach 1.7M
On November 20, 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that 737,352 people signed up for federal exchange plans during the third week of the Affordable Care Act’s current open enrollment period, bringing total federal exchange plan signups to about 1.7 million since the open enrollment period launched Nov. 1. Total signups so far this open enrollment period are down 13% when compared with the same point in last year’s open enrollment period. (Source: Modern Healthcare, 11/20
CMS Flags Nursing Home Citations
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on its Nursing Home Compare website has added a new icon—a red circle with a white stop hand in the center—to ratings for 760 facilities, indicating that the facilities have been cited for an incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. Consumer advocates have applauded the move, but some in the nursing home industry say the alerts are misleading. (Source: Wall Street Journal, 11/19)
Rural America at a Glance, 2019 Edition
Provides an overview of social and economic factors affecting rural America, with a focus on trends impacting rural areas after the end of the 2009 recession. Includes data on population, employment and labor force participation, poverty, and income.
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Read it here: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/95341/eib-212.pdf?v=5832
DOJ Awards More than $100 Million to Combat Human Trafficking and Assist Victims
The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $100 million in funding, through the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), to combat human trafficking and provide vital services to trafficking victims throughout the United States. For a complete list of individual grant programs, award amounts, and jurisdictions that will receive funding, visit the DOJ webpage here.
Hospital Groups to Fight Price Transparency Rule
Millennials’ Health Worse that Previous Generations
Millennials are experiencing chronic health issues at greater rates than previous generations, according to a report released this month by Moody’s and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The report noted that higher rates of chronic conditions could have a significant effect on millennials’ economic potential and health spending in the future. (Source: Bloomberg, 11/6)