- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
- HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson, Joined by Co-Chair of the Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus Congresswoman Lauren Underwood, Announces New Funding, Policy Action, and Report to Mark Landmark Year of HRSA's Enhancing Maternal Health Initiative
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces $60 Million Investment for Adding Early Morning, Night, and Weekend Hours at Community Health Centers
- Volunteer Opportunity for HUD's Office of Housing Counseling Tribe and TDHE Certification Exam
- Who Needs Dry January More: Rural or Urban Drinkers?
RWJF Leadership for Better Health Programs
In an effort to extend the influence and impact of leaders working to build a Culture of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has launched a call for applications for its national leadership programs. As an organization committed to improving health and the performance of the health system, AcademyHealth is proud to serve as a subcontractor on two of these leadership programs:
- Health Policy Research Scholars: This is a four-year national leadership development program to train full-time doctoral students from non-clinical, academic disciplines with a policy focus who build a culture of health in their disciplines and communities.
- Interdisciplinary Research Leaders: This program supports and expands action-oriented and community-engaged research to create healthier communities. Its goal is to produce diverse, interdisciplinary leaders who conduct and apply equity-focused health research in order to drive improvements in the health of communities and help advance a Culture of Health.
Application Deadline: Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Learn more here.
New Diabetes Resources from CMS
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released new resources for healthcare providers and patient advocates to help overcome the challenges diabetes treatment can present. The Diabetes Medication Management: Directory of Provider Resources will facilitate diabetes treatment for primary care teams, especially those working with Medicare and vulnerable populations who experience a higher prevalence of Type 2 diabetes and its complications. And last, but not least, CMS released A Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Type 2 Diabetes Resources Inventory that features a catalog of diabetes prevention resources tailored to racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ communities, people with disabilities, and people with limited English proficiency.
New Oral Health During Pregnancy Resource from OHRC
The Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) recently released “Promoting Oral Health During Pregnancy: Update on Activities.” This is the seventh in a series of updates to highlight national, state, and local activities focusing on oral health care for pregnant women. The update includes briefs, guides, handouts, reports, toolkits, and trainings for health professionals and consumers.
Expanding Career Paths for Youth and Adults on the Autism Spectrum
On Jan. 27 at 3:00 pm, the National Institute of Mental Health will host a free webinar on expanding career pathways and opportunities for youth and adults on the autism spectrum. This webinar will provide autistic youth and adults, caregivers and employers with information and resources to support access to workplace accommodations for individuals. Please click here for further information on how to access the webinar.
Report Lists State Workforce Incentive Programs
A new report by the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies describes state incentive programs that provide loans, scholarships, and other incentives for allied health professionals in exchange for service in rural and underserved areas. This study examined the operation of these programs across the U.S., allied health professionals targeted, and efforts to gauge programs’ success in recruitment and retention through a review of publicly available information on state programs and interviews with program leaders in 27 states. Read the report.
New CDC Resource Guide Promotes Physical Activity Breaks in the Workplace
Nearly half of U.S. worksites have a workplace health promotion plan. A new guide from the Centers for Disease Control explores ways employers can help workers incorporate short physical activity breaks into the workday. The ideas are scalable, and most require little to no equipment. View and save the 22-page PDF guide.
100 Billion Opioid Doses Dispensed over Nine Years
The Washington Post reports that newly released federal drug data shows that more than 100 billion doses of oxycontin and hydrocodone were shipped across the nation in the nine-year period from 2006 through 2014. The data, which traces the path of every pill shipped in the U.S. from manufacturers and distributors, shows how the drugs flooded the nation and reaffirms that six companies distributed the vast majority of pills. Read more.
New Community Health Center Report Released
A new analysis examines the continued growth of America’s Community Health Centers. The authors analyze health center activity for 2018 and comparative years based on data from the Uniform Data System (UDS) and document the near tripling of health center capacity from 9.6 million patients served in 2000 to 28.4 million in 2018. While this growth is attributed to several factors, key among them is the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion. Despite the significant growth in both health center capacity and scope, the authors caution that health centers are vulnerable to major federal policy decisions that directly affect the healthcare safety net, including uncertainty regarding the future of the Community Health Center Fund, the administration’s public charge rule, changes to the Title X family planning program, and Medicaid work requirement programs. Download the report here.
CMS Issues Guidance on Avoiding 340B Duplicate Discounts
On Jan. 8, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a new Information Bulletin, Best Practices for Avoiding 340B Duplicate Discounts in Medicaid. While the bulletin makes clear that the exclusion file is solely for fee-for-service Medicaid (not managed care), an issue on which the Department of Human Services had disagreed with PACHC, there are also provisions of the bulletin that might prove problematic. PACHC and NACHC are reviewing the bulletin and its implications.
Updated Federal Poverty Guidelines Released
The Department of Health and Human Services has published its annual update of federal poverty guidelines. The new guidelines are effective Jan. 14, 2020, unless an office administering a program using the guidelines specifies a different effective date for that program. You can find the new guidelines here.