The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Rural Community Loan Repayment Program (LRP) is a new program for providers working to combat the opioid epidemic in the nation’s rural communities. The application cycle will open soon and you can sign up for email notices. The NHSC LRP will make FY 2019 loan repayment awards in coordination with the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) initiative within the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to provide evidence-based substance use treatment, assist in recovery, and to prevent overdose deaths across the nation. Check out information on the NHSC Rural Community Loan Repayment Program website.

More than 25% of rural U.S. residents had trouble accessing health care in the last few years, and almost half of them reported it was because they could not afford the care, according to a survey by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health released this week. The survey found that 49% of respondents said they would not be able to afford an unexpected expense, such as a medical bill totaling $1,000. (Source: NPR’s “Shots,” 5/21)

Virtual Training for Trauma-Informed Care.  The Office on Women’s Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers free online courses with continuing education credits to help providers integrate  the principles of trauma-informed care into clinical practice.  The course work is informed by research findings demonstrating that exposure to traumatic events, particularly in childhood, is highly prevalent in our society. A recent report from the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services examined the long-term health effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences for rural, tribal and other at-risk populations.

CMS Finalizes Medicare Prescription Drug Pricing Rule.  Last week, CMS finalized a rule  that will improve the transparency of prescription drug costs in Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage health plans and lower beneficiary out-of-pocket costs. For example, beginning in 2021, the Explanation of Benefits that Part D plans send members must display drug price increases as well as lower cost therapeutic alternatives.  In addition, beginning in 2020, Part D sponsors cannot prohibit or penalize a pharmacy from disclosing a lower cash price to an enrollee.  About 70 percent of rural Medicare beneficiaries had prescription drug coverage in 2017, mostly through stand-alone Part D plans as opposed to Medicare Advantage plans.

 Hardship Exclusion for Medicare Interoperability – July 1. Beginning in 2019, all eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, dual-eligible hospitals, and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are required to use 2015 edition certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) to meet the requirements of the Promoting Interoperability (PI) Programs.  Eligible hospitals and CAHs may be exempted from the Medicare downward payment adjustment if they can show that compliance with the requirements would result in a significant hardship. Hardship exceptions are valid for only one payment adjustment year, so hospitals must submit an exclusion application each year.  The deadline to submit an application is July 1, 2019 for eligible hospitals and November 30, 2019 for CAHs.

CDC Opioid Rapid Response Teams.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working with the U.S. Public Health Service Commission Corps to support state and local agencies when there is a spike in opioid-related overdoses or closure of a clinic where patients are prescribed opioid therapy.   The Opioid Rapid Response Teams (ORRTs) include technical expertise in epidemiology, clinical provider outreach, and community outreach, providing short term (28 days) support to public health partners, while also working to build a jurisdiction’s long-term response capacity.