- 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
- 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?
- Rural Families Have 'Critical' Need for More Hospice, Respite Care
- Rural Telehealth Sees More Policy Wins, but Only Short-Term
- States Help Child Care Centers Expand in Bid To Create More Slots, Lower Prices
Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care
Can alternative payment methods (APM) transform dentistry? Under our current system, the United States pays the most for health care and achieves the lowest performance among comparable countries. The DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement analyzes how this applies to dentistry – and how APMs can make a difference. As more states use their purchasing power to encourage better access, quality and accountability in oral health care for children in Medicaid, growth of APMs will continue in dentistry. Learn how the approach works, as the costs were lower than traditional fee for service models, while utilization was higher in the APM plans. Read the article here.
Confronting the Nation’s Oral Health Crisis
With 61 percent of U.S. adults rating oral health as “fair” or “poor” and 51 percent listing it as their top health concern, there’s no question that our national oral health care system is failing the majority of Americans. Read Confronting the Nation’s Oral Health Crisis.
Medicaid Adult Dental Benefits Increase Access and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Expenditures
Part 2 of a research report from the DentaQuest Partnership for Oral Health Advancement demonstrates how Medicaid, with its limited dental coverage, significantly improved adults’ access and utilization of dental services, compared to those who lack medical coverage. Read the report.
Application Portal for POWER 2020 Now Open
On January 15, 2020, more than 160 attendees were in Ashland, Kentucky for ARC’s Regional Workshop to learn more about how to prepare competitive applications for ARC’s POWER Initiative to diversify the economy in Appalachia’s coal impacted communities. Topics discussed included project development, budgeting and matching, evaluation and performance measurement, as well as partnership development. This was one of three field workshops to prepare potential applicants. Short tutorials on the same topics are available online as a virtual workshop.
To date, ARC has invested over $190 million in 239 projects to strengthen the economies of 326 coal-impacted communities. Competitive POWER projects are regional, strategic, and transformational in their approach to the economic revitalization of coal-impacted communities.
The first steps to applying for POWER funding are to:
- Read the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative: FY 2020– Request for Proposals (RFP) available here.
- Contact the ARC State Program in the state(s) included in the proposal to review project ideas and confirm they’re in alignment with relevant state(s) economic development priorities. Contact information available at www.arc.gov/power.
The required Letter of Intent, which is a one-page snapshot of your POWER application, providing ARC and its state partners with a general idea of the proposed scope of work and the players involved, is due by February 28th. Final applications can be submitted here by March 27th.
Applications Now Open for Residential Summer Experiential Learning Programs for Appalachian Students
In the week of January 19, 2020, ARC began accepting applications for the Appalachian Entrepreneurship Academy (AEA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as well as the ARC/ORNL Summer STEM Program in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Each program is an all expenses paid, summer immersive, learning experience for Appalachia’s high school and middle school students.
As part of AEA, Appalachia’s rising high school seniors will participate in a curriculum focusing on mentorship, from leading entrepreneurs and businesses in the Pittsburgh area, skill building, access to soft and hardware maker spaces, and providing connections to the ARC’s larger regional network. With support from the Institute for Education Leadership (IEL), the program will take place from July 6th through July 31st, 2020. Applications are due March 6th and can be submitted at www.arc.gov/aea.
The ARC/ORNL Summer STEM program is designed for the Region’s high school and middle school students, and high school teachers, who are interested in STEM. Students will have the opportunity to work with award-winning scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the largest U.S. Department of Energy research facilities in the U.S., work on guided group science, math, and computer science technology research projects, and high school teachers work with science practitioners to develop a STEM-related curriculum. The program runs from July 5th through July 17th, 2020. Applications are due February 28th and can be submitted at www.arc.gov/summerSTEM.
In Pa., N.J., and across the country, the ACA has narrowed racial gaps in health-care access
Recent work by the Commonwealth Fund has shown that the ACA narrowed racial gaps in access to healthcare in PA, NJ, and across the country. The uninsured rate gap between white and black adults is now less than 4 percentage points in Pennsylvania. Read more here.
Maryland plans to sue Pa. over Chesapeake Bay pollution
Maryland is planning to sue PA over Chesapeake Bay Pollution after multiple requests to improve cleaning up the pollution. Suggestions of investing in support for the 33,000 farms nearby to support in reducing harmful run-off has been a key component. Read more here.
Deaths of people with intellectual disabilities in Pa. went unreported, says federal regulator
Federal regulator finds out about the deaths and injuries of individuals with intellectual disabilities that were never officially reported. Read more here.
‘Egregious breach’ leads to another Philly school closure for asbestos
This school year has seen 6 Philadelphia schools closed as a result of potential exposure to asbestos, and the problem seems to be continuing still. Responses to the issue have been questioned and environmental safety in schools remains a public health concern. Read more here.
Penn study: Counties that lost auto plants suffered spike in opioid overdoses
A new study by Penn has found that the opioid epidemic and opioid overdoses are more prevalent in counties across the US that lost auto plants and subsequent economic instability. Read more here.