- Colorectal Cancer Is Rising among Younger Adults. Some States Want to Boost Awareness.
- Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
- Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs
- CMS Announces Resources and Flexibilities to Assist with the Public Health Emergency in the State of Texas
- CMS Proposes New Payments for Digital Health Under CY2025 PFS Draft Rule
- Improving Public Health by Strengthening Community Infrastructure
- Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities
- Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist
- Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center
- Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery
- Rural RPM Program Is a Lifeline for Pregnant Women
- Expert: Rural Hospitals Are Particularly Vulnerable to Increasing Cyberattacks Targeting Healthcare Facilities
- Biden-Harris Administration Invests Over $200 Million to Help Primary Care Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Care Providers Improve Care for Older Adults
- AJPH Call for Papers Special Section on Intersections of Public Health And Primary Care
- NIH HEAL Initiative Turns Attention to Pragmatic Trials in Rural Communities
President Biden Issues New Vaccination Goal
President Biden has doubled the administration’s vaccination goal for the first 100 days in office from 100 million to 200 million doses. This follows the administration meeting the initial goal of 100 million doses after just 58 days in office. About 2.5 million doses are being issued in the U.S. every day.
NIHB Legislative and Policy Agenda for Indian Health
The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is a non-profit organization focusing on health care priorities for American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes. This annual report lists issue areas ranging from COVID-19 response to telehealth capacity to water and sanitation infrastructure.
New: Coverage to Care Telehealth Resources
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two new resources to support the use of telehealth. The first educates patients on what to expect during a telehealth visit, and the second supports providers in how to conduct a successful telehealth visit and how to keep up to date on Medicare and Medicaid telehealth payments. Social media graphics are also available.
HHS: Health Disparities by Race/Ethnicity During the Pandemic
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released a report with existing data on rates for infection, hospitalization, death, and vaccination by race and ethnicity. The brief discusses the drivers of these disparities, and offers policy recommendations for achieving health equity.
New Covid Cases Increase Slightly in Rural Counties for the First Time Since January
By Tim Murphy and Tim Marema
Missouri’s reporting anomaly could be part of the cause. But Alabama, Michigan, and California also see increases in rural cases.
Read more
CHWs and Peer Specialists Helping to Address Diabetes Control
A new issue brief showcases the important role of front-line community health workers (CHWs) and peer specialists in leveraging connections with their communities for diabetes control in response to demand and challenges of the COVID-19 health pandemic. MHP Salud and the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), both HRSA-funded National Training and Technical Assistance Partners (NTTAPs), developed the brief.
The Power of the First Impression
The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped how physicians are being recruited. But whether a first interview is on-site or virtual, it still is critical to master that interview and deliver a first-time “WOW” experience for the right candidate. Jackson Physician Search, in an article on its website, says the first interview is so powerful because first impressions stick and often overwhelm second and third impressions. “It may seem counterintuitive, but follow-up interviews do not necessarily increase the candidate’s feelings of confidence about the job and the likelihood that an offer will be accepted,” the article states.
Pandemic Fueling Interest in Public Health Careers
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the public health and medical workforces like never before. And yet people in those fields say they see emerging signs that the crisis will inspire the next generation of doctors, nurses, and public health professionals to join the ranks. Public health schools, for example, saw a 23 percent jump in applicants for master’s and doctoral programs from fall 2019 to fall 2020, and are reporting an even bigger increase so far in this application cycle, according to the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.
COVID-19 Vaccine Administration Rates Adjusted
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is updating the Medicare payment rates for COVID-19 vaccine administration. Effective for services furnished on or after March 15, 2021, the new rate will be approximately $40 to administer each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This represents an increase from approximately $28 to $40 for a single-dose vaccine, and $45 to $80 for vaccines requiring two doses. Exact payment rates depend on the type of entity furnishing the service and will be geographically adjusted based on where the service is furnished. To read more, click here. It is important to note that Medicare vaccine administration payment for FQHCs at the current time will still occur retroactively with the cost report. Also, whether this CMS payment change will also result in a payment increase by Medicaid is still being evaluated by the PA Department of Human Services (DHS). As shared previously, DHS is working on an FQHC/RHC-specific COVID-19 vaccine payment bulletin which has not yet been released but has shared some of the payment policy it will implement with PACHC:
- For fee-for-service (FFS) billing, PROMISe has been updated to allow FQHCs/RHCs to bill using the administrative codes identified in bulletin Medical Assistance Bulletin 01-20-59, Addition to the Medical Assistance Program Fee Schedule for Administration of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines. DHS directs that you use your PT/Spec and POS.
- For HealthChoices Medicaid managed care plans, you will need to check with your contracted MCOs on how to bill.
- DHS is in the process of requesting CMS approval to use an alternate payment methodology (APM) for all COVID-19 vaccines administered outside of defined requirements for a T1015 visit/encounter billing. (PACHC Note: In other words, if a vaccination visit meets the definition of eligible FQHC/RHC encounter the visit is billable as a PPS encounter and you do not bill for the vaccine administration separately). The APM would pay vaccinations that are not part of an eligible FQHC encounter at Medicare rates.
- DHS is directly reimbursing the MCOs for the cost of vaccine administration and expects that MCOs will reimburse at least what DHS is reimbursing. However, FQHCs need to check with each of your MCOs on how they will handle vaccine administrative billing.
Health Alert Network Updates
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has issued several Health Alert Network (HAN) updates in the last week.
- Updated Quarantine Recommendations for Persons Exposed to COVID-19: This guidance replaces PA-HAN-538 and PA-HAN-551 and provides clarification on quarantine recommendations for persons exposed to COVID-19. This guidance provides information about the need for quarantine for both individuals who are and are not fully vaccinated.
- Work Restrictions for Healthcare Personnel with Exposure to COVID-19: The existing guidance on how to evaluate and respond to exposure of healthcare personnel (HCP) to COVID-19 in the healthcare setting has not changed, but additional items have been added to this guidance to clarify the post-exposure recommendations.
Click here for all 2021 Health Alerts, Advisories and Updates.