Applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) awards will open on September 1, 2023. LRPs can repay up to $100,000 of qualified educational debt for those who are eligible and agree to perform NIH mission-relevant research. The deadline to submit an application is November 16, 2023.

The LRPs help recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals to careers in biomedical or behavioral research. Several different extramural LRP categories are available, so review each to see which may be the right fit for your research. Please also take a couple minutes to watch this brief video where Matthew Lockhart, M.B.A. Director of the OER Division of Loan Repayment (DLR) discusses eligibility criteria and the program categories.

Similar to when we expanded the Health Disparities Research LRP for the FY 2020 LRP program cycle, we are doing the same for the Clinical Research LRP for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds. The recently published funding opportunity explains who qualifies as an individual from a disadvantaged background and this post shares some other related information.

The process of applying for and managing an LRP award is also now simpler and more cybersafe. Along with moving the application to ASSIST to prepare and submit applications electronically a couple years ago, we also recently launched two new portals that can be accessed through eRA Commons. The enhanced cybersecurity features afforded by eRA means their financial and other personal information is more safe and secure.

• The LRP Participant Portal allows awardees to see their student loans as well as payment and verification history.

• Research supervisors can use their portal to verify an LRP awardee’s research service by answering a series of questions about LRP recipients under their supervision, including their research service hours and ensuring they are fulfilling other necessary requirements.

We hope all eligible candidates consider applying for the FY 2024 LRP cycle. Be sure to review each Institute or Center Mission and Research Priorities first, and consider discussing the process and your ideas with appropriate scientific LRP liaisons at NIH.  Research and funding priorities can change on a yearly basis, so it is essential that applicants contact a liaison – ideally in advance of the opening of the application cycle – to ensure an appropriate understanding of each NIH Institute and Center research priorities. DLR is also available to answer any questions you may have by phone, or email, Monday through Friday, 9.a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

CMS will host a series of Patient-Focused Listening Sessions this fall as part of the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. The virtual public Listening Sessions will provide an opportunity for patients, beneficiaries, caregivers, consumer and patient organizations, and other interested parties to share input relevant to the drugs selected for the first round of negotiations.

CMS is interested in patient-focused input, including information related to therapeutic alternatives of the selected drugs and how the selected drugs address unmet need, as well as how the selected drugs impact specific populations. The sessions will be listen-only; CMS will not be responding to feedback during the sessions.

Dates: The Listening Sessions will be held October 30 – November 15, 2023. Speaker registration is open September 1 – October 2, 2023.

Attendance: The public does not need to register to attend. All sessions will be livestreamed here.

Public Input Opportunities: There are two ways the public can share feedback and input to CMS related to the selected drugs and their therapeutic alternatives:

1. Public Statement: Those who wish to make a brief live, public statement should register for the chance to speak at a Listening Session. Each session can accommodate approximately 20 speakers. Additional information for speakers and registration to speak can be found here.
2. Submitted Statement: Because there are limited speaking opportunities during the live Listening Sessions, CMS encourages the public to submit written input, if interested, in response to the 2023 CMS request for information about selected drugs and evidence about alternative treatments. Information can be submitted here.

The deadline for both public input opportunities is October 2, 2023 at 11:59 PM PDT.

The Listening Sessions are subject to change, including postponement and/or cancellation.

Additional information on the public Listening Sessions can be found here.

Additional information about the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program can be found here.

Employer registration for the 2023 3RNET (National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network) Academy is now open.  The six-session Academy is free to Pennsylvania-based health centers, rural health clinics, rural hospitals, and other safety net facilities thanks to the sponsorship of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers.

When you register and/or complete the program, you receive:

• Access to six live 90 minute webinars featuring national experts on rural/underserved retention
• Password protected portal to gain access to the webinar recordings, session materials, & more
• Ability to ask questions to other Academy attendees and 3RNET members via the Academy listserv
• A certificate of completion

Go to this custom page for Pennsylvania to find more information and to register. You will find the promo code to insert while checking out after registering.

For more information contact Judd Mellinger-Blouch.

During the week of September  4, 2023, CMS will launch a new version of CMS.gov. The new version of the site will feature an updated information architecture and streamlined navigation, as well as a refreshed home page. We worked with stakeholders throughout the development of these website improvements and this input is reflected in the new website navigation.

Here are some important things to keep in mind with regards to the new version of CMS.gov:

• Once the new site goes live, if you are still seeing the old site, please try refreshing the page, closing and re-opening your browser window, or opening a different browser.
• Redirects
  • All pages will automatically redirect to the new URLs
  • All redirects will remain in place indefinitely
  • For anyone who has pages or files bookmarked, those links will continue to work properly
  • All links from existing materials such as documents and press releases will continue to work properly
  • All links from external websites will continue to work properly
  • All links from search engines such as Google will continue to work properly
• Marketplace.cms.gov and Innovation.cms.gov
  • These two domains will be migrated into the www.cms.gov website and retired as standalone websites
  • All of the content from these domains has been migrated into the new information architecture on CMS.gov
  • All of the above information about redirects applies to these two sites as well
  • Once the new version of CMS.gov launches, you can navigate to Innovation Center content by going to cms.gov/innovation, and you can navigate to Marketplace content by going to cms.gov/marketplace
  • It will take a day or two for the Innovation and Marketplace content to be indexed by our site search

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of Minority Health (CMS OMH) released a new Z code infographic entitled: Improving the Collection of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Data with ICD-10-CM Z Codes (2023). This resource aims to assist providers with understanding and using Z codes to improve the quality and collection of health equity data. Using social determinants of health, Z codes can enhance quality improvement activities, track factors that influence people’s health, and provide further insight into existing health inequities.

Z codes are a set of ICD-10-CM codes used to report social, economic, and environmental determinants known to affect health and health-related outcomes. Nine broad categories of Z codes represent various hazardous socioeconomic, and environmental conditions. Z codes can be used in any health setting and by any provider as a tool for identifying a range of issues related to education and literacy, employment, housing, ability to obtain adequate amounts of food or safe drinking water, and occupational exposure to toxic agents, dust, or radiation.

Looking for more information about Z codes? Review the journey map: Using SDOH Z Codes Can Enhance Your Quality Improvement Initiatives, which provides step-by-step instructions for healthcare professionals on how to use Z codes.

For more CMS OMH health equity-focused resources, visit: go.cms.gov/omh.

Resources

• Check out the Z code infographic: Improving the Collection of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Data with ICD-10-CM Z Codes (2023).
• Review the journey map: Using SDOH Z Codes Can Enhance Your Quality Improvement Initiatives.
• Read this Data Highlight from CMS OMH on Z code usage.
• Visit the CDC website for more information on Z codes and other health equity initiatives. Use the CDC National Center for Health Statistics ICD-10-CM Browser tool to search for all the current Z codes.
• Join the public process for SDOH code development and approval through the ICD-10-CM Coordination and Maintenance Committee.

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Health Systems Bureau (HSB) developed a set of English and Spanish language materials on living organ donation. It includes web content, donor and recipient fact sheets, videos, and an infographic.

We designed these materials to raise awareness. They describe the benefits, risks, and considerations that come with living organ donation.

Organ donation professionals, people working in public outreach, and people interested in living donation can use these materials to learn more and educate others.

What is living donation?

A living donation takes place when a person who is alive donates part of their liver,  kidney, or certain other organs and tissues. Doctors transplant their organ into someone who needs it.

Is living donation safe?

Living donation is typically safe for the donor. A donor’s hospital stay is between two and five days after donation. They resume normal activities within a few weeks. Most living donors go on to live active, healthy lives and can see the positive impact of their donation.

Why is living donation important?

About 6,500 living donation transplants take place each year, but more than 100,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant. More than 95% of people on the National Transplant Waiting List need a kidney or part of a liver. These are organs living people can donate. Unlike deceased organ donors, living organ donors can choose who to donate their organs to. This shortens recipients’ wait time for a transplant.

How can I learn more and help others?

Download and share these living organ donation outreach materials today.

What does HSB do?

HSB manages the nation’s Organ Donation and Transplantation program. This program works to extend and enhance the lives of people with end-stage organ failure.  An organ transplant is the most appropriate treatment for these people.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced more than $80 million in awards to rural communities in 39 states to support key strategies to respond to the overdose risk from fentanyl and other opioids. These awards help advance President Biden’s commitment to beat the opioid epidemic as part of his Unity Agenda for the nation.

HRSA funding will support interventions such as distributing the lifesaving overdose reversal drug naloxone to prevent overdose; creating and expanding treatment sites in rural areas to provide medications to treat opioid use disorder; expanding access to behavioral health care for young people in rural communities; and, caring for infants in rural areas who are at-risk for opioid exposure or experiencing symptoms related to opioid exposure.

“Far too many rural families have faced the devastation of overdose, and these deaths are felt deeply across rural communities – where often everyone knows someone lost too soon,” said HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson. “At the Health Resources and Services Administration, we know that funding based on population size or other broad-based rubrics can miss the vital treatment and response needs of rural communities. That’s why the investments we are announcing today are targeted to rural communities and tailored to the unique challenges of helping rural health care leaders expand access to treatment and build recovery pathways to prevent overdose.”

More than 100,000 people die each year from overdose. Individuals who call rural communities home and who are experiencing opioid use disorder – including from fentanyl, heroin or other opioids – can face challenges in accessing treatment and recovery services. Geographic isolation and transportation barriers can make finding treatment particularly challenging and limited mental health and substance use disorder health care providers in the community can further complicate access. The stigmatization of substance use disorder and its treatments are additional barriers to access. HRSA’s funding is targeted to helping communities address these critical needs and expand access to services.

The announcement includes the following investments:

• Expanding Access to Medication to Treat Opioid Use Disorder: $24 million will support 26 awards to rural communities to establish treatment sites for individuals to access medications to treat opioid use disorder. The use of medication to manage opioid use disorder is the standard of care, but not always readily available.
• Supporting Rural Communities in Preventing and Responding to Overdoses: $14 million will support 47 awards to help rural communities respond to their specific and immediate needs, including the distribution of life-saving opioid overdose reversal medications.
• Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of Young People: Nearly $9 million will support 9 awards to focus on building, strengthening and expanding mental health and substance use disorder services for young people in rural communities to expand treatment and help prevent overdose.
• Preventing and Addressing Neonatal Exposure: Nearly $20 million will support 41 awards to develop and implement interventions in rural communities to prevent, treat and care for opioid exposed infants by focusing on systems of care, family supports, and social determinants of health.
• Investing in and Disseminating Best Practices: $10 million will support three Rural Centers of Excellence on Substance Use Disorders to disseminate treatment and prevention best practices to help inform rural communities’ response strategies, and $5 million will support evaluation of this overall initiative.

To view the full list of awardees, see https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/opioid-response/fy2023-rcorp-awards-overview.

To learn more about the RCORP program, visit the RCORP Webpage.

Additional resources

• White House Fact Sheet: On Int’l Overdose Awareness Day, the Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces More Than $450 Million in New Funding to Support President Biden’s Unity Agenda Efforts to Beat the Overdose Epidemic and Save Lives
• Statement from Secretary Becerra on International Overdose Awareness Day

See other HRSA news & announcements.