The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued draft guidance to allow people with Medicare to pay out-of-pocket prescription drug costs in monthly payments. The New Medicare Prescription Payment Plan will help people pay Medicare Part D costs over the year instead of all at once. The draft guidance provides information on topics such as identifying Medicare Part D enrollees likely to benefit from the program, the opt-in process for Part D enrollees, program participant protections, and the data collection needed to evaluate the program. The draft guidance solicits comments on these topics and on strategies to help ensure eligible Part D enrollees benefit from programs like the Medicare Savings Program and Extra Help to lower their out-of-pocket prescription drug costs. The comment period is open until September 20, 2023.

Nationwide, millions of Medicaid beneficiaries are being disenrolled with many losing coverage because of missing or incorrect paperwork. Nearly 5.5 million people nationally are believed to have been disenrolled with at least 1 million of those being children. The Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University estimates that nearly half of people disenrolled still meet the eligibility criteria. In Pennsylvania, Medicaid enrollment has declined by 3% or 111,646 beneficiaries since April. Of the 3,596,759 enrollees, 2,172,041, or 60% are adults, and 1,424,718, or 40% are children. To review more data reporting information, access the DHS Federal Unwinding Report Dashboard.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-09, co-sponsored H.R. 1310 — the States Handling Access to Reciprocity for Employment (SHARE) Act — which will improve patient care and address workforce shortages that are causing a considerable strain on the healthcare system, particularly in rural communities. Current law requires healthcare providers to obtain a license or certification from each state in which they wish to practice. If a provider, such as a doctor or nurse, licensed in one state relocates to another, that provider must complete the licensure process again for each new state in which they wish to practice. This process is burdensome and strips providers of the ability to practice in any new state until the application is approved — sometimes taking more than half a year. The SHARE Act will make a technical correction to modernize a vital component of the licensure process for healthcare providers seeking a license under an interstate compact. Specifically, the legislation removes red tape and reduces administrative burdens by authorizing the FBI to share criminal history record information between states for licensure purposes. This will allow background checks to be completed in a much more efficient and timely manner, which is often one of the longest aspects of the license application process.

The Rural Health Value team recently updated Demonstrating Your Value: A Guide to Potential Value-based Care Partnerships for Rural Health Care Organizations. This resource can help rural healthcare leaders demonstrate the value their organizations can bring to networks, affiliations, payers, systems, or accountable care organizations (ACOs). The Rural Health Value team also updated its Catalog of Value-Based Initiatives for Rural Providers, as one-page summaries describing rural-relevant, value-based programs. The Rural Health Value team is funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.

  September is National Recovery Month and HRSA’s Office of Women’s Health has a toolkit to support organizations and healthcare providers that care for women living with opioid use disorder (OUD).

 On September 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting proposed rule. Under CMS’s proposal, nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid would be required to meet specific nurse staffing levels that promote safe, high-quality care for residents. Nursing homes would need to provide residents with a minimum of 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse per resident per day, and 2.45 hours of care from a nurse aide per resident per day, exceeding existing standards in nearly all states. CMS estimates approximately 75 percent of nursing homes would have to strengthen staffing in their facilities. As the long-term care sector continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposed standards take into consideration local realities in rural and underserved communities through staggered implementation and exemption processes. CMS specifically seeks comment on its proposed definition of “rural” for these exemptions. The proposed rule uses the Census definition of rural and urban, meaning that “rural” encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area. See the Census Bureau for more information on urban area classification, including a high-resolution map of the urban areas based on the 2020 Census. Comments are due by November 6, 2023.

 The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides a guide that considers risk factors, strengths, and common disaster reactions unique to rural communities.

  The Rural Health Research Gateway examines the behavioral health workforce supply, including the distribution of counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.