- Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
- Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs
- CMS Announces Resources and Flexibilities to Assist with the Public Health Emergency in the State of Texas
- CMS Proposes New Payments for Digital Health Under CY2025 PFS Draft Rule
- Improving Public Health by Strengthening Community Infrastructure
- Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities
- Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist
- Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center
- Rural RPM Program Is a Lifeline for Pregnant Women
- Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery
- Expert: Rural Hospitals Are Particularly Vulnerable to Increasing Cyberattacks Targeting Healthcare Facilities
- Biden-Harris Administration Invests Over $200 Million to Help Primary Care Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Care Providers Improve Care for Older Adults
- AJPH Call for Papers Special Section on Intersections of Public Health And Primary Care
- NIH HEAL Initiative Turns Attention to Pragmatic Trials in Rural Communities
- Limited Continuing-Care Options in Rural Virginia Create Challenges for an Aging Population
Childhood Vaccination Rates Have Plummeted
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused worldwide childhood vaccination rates for measles and polio to plummet, according to a November 2020 emergency call to action from the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Even when vaccines are available, the report says, people around the world have trouble accessing services because of lockdowns or fear of contracting COVID-19. If this issue is not addressed, it could lead to outbreaks of polio and measles. Nine million childhood vaccine doses may be missed in the U.S. in 2020. It is imperative that pediatricians make parents aware of established safeguards to prevent the spread of COVID-19, so that their children may continue to receive vaccines. Read more.
U.S. Maternal Death Rate Twice that of Other Developed Nations
The U.S. maternal death rate was 17 per 100,000 live births in 2018—more than double that of other developed countries according to a new report. There is an overall shortage of maternity care providers (including both obstetrician-gynecologists (OBGYNs) and midwives, but midwives in particular) relative to births, the report says. In most other countries, the number of midwives is several times greater than the number of OBGYNs and primary care “plays a central role in the health system.” Maternal deaths in the U.S. frequently occur post-birth, and the United States is the only studied country that does not guarantee access to provider visits or postpartum paid parental leave. Read more.
AMA Designates Racism as a Public Health Threat
The American Medical Association (AMA) announced the designation of racism as a public health threat and adopted associated policies to address healthcare inequities, says a Nov. 16, 2020, news release. The association will begin to “identify a set of current best practices for healthcare institutions, physician practices and academic medical centers to recognize, address and mitigate the effects of racism on patients, providers, international medical graduates, and populations” and to “work to prevent and combat the influences of racism and bias in innovative health technologies,” among other actions.
New Report Finds Nearly Half of All FQHC Patients Qualify for Phase One COVID-19 Vaccinations
For more than five decades, the nation’s community health centers have been a key part of broad scale immunization programs and will play an essential role in COVID-19 vaccination efforts. In a new analysis, researchers from the Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative estimate that nearly half of all patients served by FQHCs qualify for phase one COVID-19 immunizations, following health care workers, residents of long-term care facilities and other essential workers, under priority guidelines established by the CDC. Health centers are uniquely positioned to reach deeply impoverished, disproportionately minority populations that face elevated health risks for COVID-19. Because of their deep roots in the community, health center clinicians are well positioned to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy concerns in historically underserved populations that may not trust the medical establishment, the researchers said. Targeting the highest-risk people and communities for COVID-19 vaccines and ensuring that they are effectively reached is a national public health priority, making FQHCs absolutely essential to a successful vaccine strategy, and funding support for health centers ever more crucial. Read, Nearly Half of Community Health Center Patients – an Estimated 14.1 Million of 29.8 Million People Served – Qualify for Phase One COVID-19 Vaccinations Because They Fall within the CDC’s Highest Risk Categories. Read the press release.
AmeriHealth Caritas Northeast Changing Name January 1
AmeriHealth will be changing its name in the northeast region of Pennsylvania to AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania effective Jan. 1, 2021. The managed care organization said the change is designed to align its naming across the commonwealth outside of the southeast region, decrease provider administrative burden and provide greater consistency for its providers and community partners in Pennsylvania.
CMS Revises FQHC/RHC Telehealth Cost-Sharing Policy
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) earlier in the current public health emergency (PHE) issued New & Expanded Flexibilities for RHCs & FQHCs during the COVID-19 PHE, establishing the billing rules/amounts for FQHC/RHC distant site telehealth during the PHE. On Dec. 3, CMS revised the document to clarify the Medicare cost-sharing rules. Effective Jan. 27, 2020, for telehealth services with cost-sharing, the coinsurance will be 20 percent of the lesser of the allowed amount ($92.03) or the actual charges, and payment will be 80 percent of the lesser of the allowed amount or charges. Before the change, coinsurance was 20 percent of charges and Medicare’s payment was $92.03 minus the coinsurance. MACs will be automatically reprocessing claims for telehealth services furnished on or after Jan. 27, 2020, based on this new “lesser of” methodology.
Medicare Modifies Telehealth Payment Policy
Currently, during the public health emergency (PHE), FQHCs and other distant site telehealth providers may bill Medicare for certain telehealth services using audio-only telephone and CMS expanded the telehealth codes for the duration of the PHE to include telephonic E/M services (CPT 99441-99443). CMS sought comment on whether/how CMS should continue coverage of audio-only telephonic E/M services after the PHE and NACHC recommended that CMS continue to recognize these services as telehealth services. Instead, CMS finalized its proposal to eliminate those codes as telehealth codes and instead add a new G-code to the “virtual communication services” bundles payment to include an 11-21 minute medical discussion via audio-only phone (G2252), not limited to the PHE “Category 3 telehealth services.” Category 3 services are those that were added to the Medicare telehealth code list during the PHE for which there is likely to be clinical benefit when furnished via telehealth, but for which there isn’t yet evidence available to make them a permanent addition. CMS will now recognize these services on the telehealth list until the end of the calendar year in which the PHE ends. Examples include certain psychological and neuropsychological testing and physical and occupational therapy services.
HHS Seeks Public Recommendations to Improve Regulations
On Nov. 27, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input from the public to improve existing regulations, and eliminate unnecessary or duplicative regulations, through future exercise of rule-making authority. The RFI seeks input on regulations issued by any HHS office or agency.
Pennie Issues New Special Enrollment Period
Pennsylvania customers unable to make an appointment with a Pennie-certified Assister by December 15 may be eligible for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP). This SEP provides customers who attest to having tried unsuccessfully to make an appointment with an assister or navigator in the seven days leading up to and including Dec. 15, 2020, with up to five (5) additional business days (Dec. 22, 2020) to enroll in coverage with a Jan. 1, 2021 effective date. To qualify for this SEP, an individual would need to attest to the above by contacting a Pennie customer service representative or by having their assister make the same attestation on the customer’s behalf. Navigators and assisters play a critical role in connecting Pennsylvanians to coverage through Pennie, specifically underserved and uninsured populations. One of Pennie’s established goals for this year is to reach those populations who may have found individual market coverage to be unattainable in the past or navigating the federally facilitated marketplace to be difficult. To contact the Pennie Call Center, dial 1-844-844-8040.
Pennsylvania Enrollment Trends 2020
New this year, Pennie has auto-renewed consumers at the beginning of the enrollment period instead of at the end as in previous enrollment periods under the federal marketplace, Healthcare.gov. Also, enrollment assisters have observed more consumers qualifying for Medicaid coverage (Medical Assistance) due to COVID-19, after previously qualifying for marketplace coverage. Medicaid enrollment has risen steadily since the beginning of the pandemic declaration partially due to the moratorium on cancellation of coverage due to loss of eligibility or changes in income and new consumers qualifying due to income and coverage loss. Medical Assistance enrollment topped the 3 million mark in July. This further solidifies the need for enrollment assisters at our community health centers to help consumers navigate the complex health insurance waters.