An NIH-funded study found that Black children with asthma accessed community health centers less than white children, while Latino children were more likely to visit health centers for acute, chronic, and preventive care overall.

A growing segment of the wait-and-see crowd may be warming to the idea of getting a COVID-19 shot for kids 5 and under, according to a poll provided exclusively to Axios from The Harris Poll. The Harris Poll found nearly half of parents who were unvaccinated themselves said they’d get the vaccine for their little kids, up from 35% in early February. It’s also well above the low of 22% later in February after a delay in Pfizer’s FDA authorization process was announced.

American women of reproductive age score worse on just about every major health metric compared to their peers in other wealthy countries according to a new report from the Commonwealth Fund. The researchers looked at women ages 18–49 in 11 developed nations and found the U.S. had the highest maternal mortality rate by far at 23.8 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. When broken out by race, the rate was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 births for Black women or about triple the 19.1 deaths per 100,000 for white women and 18.2 deaths per 100,000 for Hispanic women. American women also were among the most likely to have two or more chronic conditions, skip necessary care due to cost and have the worst rate of avoidable deaths.

The Center for Connected Health Policy (CCHP) has released an updated billing guide for telehealth encounters. The guide takes into consideration temporary Public Health Emergency (PHE) policies as well as permanent post-PHE policies. The guide provides an overview of billing terminology and service codes, as well as topics such as chronic care management and remote patient monitoring.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services indicated that transition milestones for the new Physical HealthChoices contracts have been shifted. The new date for managed care organization (MCO) readiness reviews is April 22, 2022, dissemination of letters to patients about selecting or being assigned to a new MCO will be delayed until after the readiness review process, and the launch date for 2022 MCO assignments will move to August 1, 2022.

In an announcement released last Friday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reminded states that beginning, April 1, 2022, they can provide 12 months of continuous postpartum coverage to Medicaid and CHIP enrollees as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). States must submit a state plan amendment for this option. This announcement comes at a crucial time when enrollees who have retained continuous postpartum coverage throughout the Public Health Emergency (PHE) are at risk of losing it when the PHE unwinding begins. This infographic from the Modern Medicaid Alliance provides more information about maternal health through Medicaid.

Pennie has just updated the Path to Pennie page and the Pennie Assister Resource page to add two new documents: Workaround for Path to Pennie Stakeholder Talking Points and Path-to-Pennie Customer Experience Job Aid. The Workaround for Path to Pennie Stakeholder Talking Points provides the steps for tax filers who used a known tax software program that did not provide the REV-1882 form and are uninsured to still be eligible for the Tax Filer Special Enrollment Period to enroll for coverage. The Path-to-Pennie Customer Experience Job Aid includes an example of the email the tax filer who is eligible for the Path to Pennie special enrollment period (SEP) will receive beginning Wednesday, April 6 telling them they will be receiving information via US mail because they submitted the REV-1182. Customers will receive a letter in the mail that will provide them with a unique access code. The document provides detailed instructions on how they go about accessing their Pennie account using this unique access code.

As Pennsylvania prepares for the eventual end of the federal public health emergency, the Department of Human Services (DHS) is strongly encouraging Pennsylvanians enrolled in Medical Assistance to make sure their contact information is correct and sign up for alerts through the myCOMPASS PA mobile app and by text to ensure they are getting updates about their cases quickly. Changes can be made on COMPASS, the state’s website to apply for and manage benefit information. On the COMPASS website consumers can also update their information for any of the following:

• Changes to the number of people living in the household
• Changes to the email address
• Changes to the phone number
• Changes to the mailing address

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ (DHS) seven program offices administer services that provide care and support to Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable individuals and families. The program offices are Administration, Child Development and Early Learning, Children, Youth and Families, Developmental Programs, Income Maintenance (IM), Long Term Living, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and the Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP). OMAP and IM work in tandem to oversee and provide healthcare coverage for eligible consumers. Enrollment assisters have access to the Medical Assistance Eligibility Handbook to review enrollment requirements, program descriptions, and consumer rights and responsibilities.