The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released the 21st Century Cures Act: Establishment of Disincentives for Health Care Providers That Have Committed Information Blocking (Disincentives Final Rule). Information blocking by healthcare providers is when they engage in practices they knew were unreasonable and likely to interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage the access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI), except as required by law or covered by a regulatory exception. This final rule establishes disincentives for Medicare-enrolled providers determined by the OIG to have engaged in information blocking.  Specifically, under the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program, hospitals found to have committed information blocking would no longer be a meaningful user, so they would not receive the program’s positive payment adjustment. Critical Access Hospitals would have their payments reduced from 101% to 100% of reasonable costs, while clinicians in Medicare’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) would receive a score of zero in the MIPS Promoting Interoperability performance category. Under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP), accountable care organizations (ACOs) or providers participating in the ACO that commit information blocking may be ineligible to participate in SSP for at least one year and may not receive revenue they may have earned through the program. ONC and CMS released a fact sheet and Frequently Asked Questions which provide an overview of select provisions of the final rule.

Profitability of rural hospitals in 2020-21 and 2021-22 was influenced by the Public Health Emergency (PHE) funding distributed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three briefs from the North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center examine hospital profitability from 2018 to 2023, taking PHE funding into account.

The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides the latest on population, income, poverty, food security, education, and more in State Fact Sheets.  County-level poverty rates, population change, educational attainment, and unemployment rates/median household income have been updated in County-Level Data Sets.

This week, the nation’s top health official made the first-ever advisory addressing the issue, citing new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and declaring firearm violence as an “urgent threat to the health and well-being of our country.” Compared with rates of emergency medical service (EMS) encounters in 2019, EMS increased among multiple demographic groups and across all county-level factors. The largest age group-specific increases occurred among children and adolescents aged 0-14 years; for children aged 1-19 years, firearms are now the leading cause of death.  Last year, the nonprofit KFF used federal data to report that firearms contributed to a record-high number of suicide deaths in 2022.  Rates were highest among American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) people, males, and people who live in rural areas.

– Apply by September 20.  The TMaH Model’s primary focus is improving health outcomes for mothers and their infants who are enrolled in Medicaid and Childrens’ Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Under TMaH, selected state Medicaid agencies will receive targeted technical support to develop a whole-person approach to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care.  Medicaid pays for nearly half of all births nationally and covers a greater share of births in rural areas.  Rural residents have a 9 percent greater chance of experiencing severe maternal morbidity and mortality compared with urban residents.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expects to award cooperative agreements to up to 15 state Medicaid agencies.

– Apply by September 9.  Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH) Model. The IBH Model is focused on improving the behavioral and physical health outcomes and quality of care for people with Medicaid and Medicare who experience moderate to severe behavioral health conditions. The IBH Model is a state-based model, led by state Medicaid agencies (SMAs), and CMS will select up to eight SMAs to participate in the IBH model via cooperative agreement funding. CMS is hosting a webinar for states interested in applying on Thursday, July 11 at 2:00 pm Eastern.

New Guidance Will—For the First Time—Enable Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Recipients to Use Funds for Housing Security Deposits for Eligible Patients

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced new policy action to facilitate access to housing for people with HIV served by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program recipients. The new guidance enables—for the first time—the use of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds to cover housing security deposits for eligible clients. This guidance advances critical elements of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (PDF – 1 MB) announced by President Biden and the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. Initiative and addresses a key barrier that has been raised by patients and advocates.

HRSA Deputy Administrator Jordan Grossman announced this guidance during the Advancing Housing, Health, and Social Care Partnerships Conference, which is bringing together federal agencies, states, and housing and services organizations across the country participating in the HRSA-supported Health and Housing Initiative, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness ALL INside Initiative, and the HHS and HUD-supported Housing and Services Partnership Accelerator.

“We know that lack of access to stable housing impacts health outcomes for individuals living with HIV,” said Carole Johnson, HRSA Administrator. “This new action will help individuals with HIV by addressing one of the barriers to remaining engaged in care. We look forward to this action helping to facilitate more housing opportunities which will support better health outcomes.”

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides care and treatment services to more than 560,000 low-income people with HIV, with a strong focus on tailoring approaches to best meet the needs of high-need communities and addressing factors like access to housing and transportation that directly affect clients’ ability to enter and stay in care. In 2022, 77.9% of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients with unstable housing who received medical care reached viral suppression—meaning they cannot sexually transmit HIV to other people and can live a long, healthy life—compared to 90.6% of those with stable housing.

Current program guidelines have been viewed as an obstacle to assisting clients with security deposits. The guidance issued today explains how recipient can use Ryan White Program funds for security deposits for their clients provided that they ensure the deposits are returned to the program, not the client, at the end of the lease.

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy, developed by the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) in collaboration with federal partners and with input from the HIV community across the country, outlines a vision for ending the HIV epidemic in the United States through goals, objectives, and strategies to prevent new infections, treat people with HIV to improve health outcomes, reduce HIV-related disparities, and better integrate and coordinate the efforts of all partners.

The Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative builds upon the foundational efforts of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to reach people newly diagnosed with HIV and those who are disconnected from care by enhancing linkage to and engagement in care, decreasing disparities, and improving viral suppression.

HRSA thanks the HIV community for its invaluable contributions in advancing health outcomes for individuals at risk of or experiencing housing instability and homelessness and for sharing insights which have been instrumental in shaping this new guidance.

To access the Security Deposit guidance, please see the Housing Security Deposits in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program letter (PDF – 81 KB).

See News & Announcements on HRSA.gov.