- Request for Information (RFI): Evolving the Network of the National Library of Medicine
- Dental Therapists, Who Can Fill Cavities and Check Teeth, Get the OK in More States
- 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
Here You Can Watch the Testimonial Video on How Telehealth Helps Patients Access Care
Telehealth can make it easier for patients to find or connect to a healthcare appointment. Watch this video to see how an HRSA grantee, Cherokee Health Systems, is using telehealth to help patients connect to a healthcare appointment and how they use resources on Telehealth.HHS.gov.
Labor Numbers Improve: Is the Great Resignation Over?
The Great Resignation — workers furiously quitting for new, likely higher-paying jobs — is a thing of the past according to Axios. The historic surge of quitters was a symptom of an on-fire labor market, where demand for workers far outstripped supply. Axios based its analysis on U.S. Department of Labor numbers that showed the quits rate falling to 2.4% in April. “We are pretty much back to a strong, robust labor market, but one that is no longer overheating,” Julia Pollak, an economist at ZipRecruiter, told Axios. Read the Labor Department’s press release.
Applications for the Federal Loan Repayment for SUD Providers Are Now Being Accepted
Applications are now being accepted for the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program (STAR-LRP) administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). You are eligible if you provide direct treatment or recovery support to patients with or in recovery from a substance use disorder at a Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program-approved facility. That facility must be in either a county (or a municipality, if not contained within any county) where the mean drug overdose death rate is higher than the most recent available national average overdose death rate per 100,000 people or in a mental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). The program pays up to $250,000 for six years of service. Check out the STAR-LPR details including registering for application Q&A sessions.
Learn More Here About the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program
Eligible clinicians—pediatric medical subspecialists, pediatric surgical subspecialists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers (LCSW), licensed or certified master’s level social workers (LSW or LCMSW), psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners, marriage and family therapists (MFT), licensed professional counselors (LPC) and substance use disorder counselors (SUD counselors)—providing pediatric subspecialty services or child and adolescent mental and behavioral health care including SUD prevention and treatment services may apply for up to $100,000 in loan repayment. Learn more about HRSA’s Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program on HRSA’s website.
The Pandemic’s Toll on Community Health Centers
Community health centers are often the first line of defense during health crises in America, including the opioid and HIV epidemics, operating as a safety net for 30 million patients who would otherwise struggle to access primary care, including 13 million patients living in poverty, 6 million uninsured patients, and 1 million patients experiencing homelessness. Despite their vital role, health centers are in a precarious financial position. Operating within tight financial margins leaves them with little room for investments in technology, staffing, and other resources and when financial uncertainty grows, health centers often impose hiring freezes or reduce services. Read more in Underfunded and Overburdened: The Toll of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Community Health Centers.
New Brief Highlights State Opioid Settlement Spending Decisions
In order to spend funding received through the national settlement and other opioid-related settlements, states have developed legislative and legal frameworks that distribute funds and decision-making authorities between the state government, local governments, and/or special abatement funds or trusts. States are in different stages in the process of receiving money, deciding how to spend it, implementing funded programs, and reporting on spending and outcomes. However, 17 states have now approved and published their plans for a first year of spending, which often include priority areas or approved uses for funds. A smaller subset of states have awarded settlement funds to specific abatement programs. Many of these plans were published in the final months of 2022 or first months of 2023 as part of annual reports on settlement spending activity.
This issue brief provides an overview of published statewide opioid settlement spending plans and appropriations made to date and highlights initial priorities and investments outlined in these plans.
National Rural Leaders Program Accepting Applications
The National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA) Rural Health Fellows Program is a yearlong, intensive training program that develops leaders who can articulate a clear and compelling vision for rural America. The goal of the fellows program is to educate and develop a network of diverse rural leaders that will step forward to serve in key positions in the association, affiliated advocacy groups, and local and state legislative bodies with health equity as a main focus.
Each year, NRHA selects 10 to 15 highly motivated individuals who have proven their dedication to improving the health of rural Americans through their educational or professional experience.
The submission period for 2024 Rural Health Fellows applications is now open. For more information, contact Ally Zimmerman.
USDA Partners with Agricultural Producers to Strengthen Markets and Create Jobs for Producers in 19 States
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is making investments that will create new and better markets for agricultural producers and food businesses in 19 states across rural America.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are standing up for America’s farmers and ranchers by expanding processing capacity, creating fairer markets, more revenue streams and market opportunities which help bring down food costs for families at the grocery store,” Secretary Vilsack said. “We are partnering with entrepreneurs in rural areas to build brighter futures, connect business owners to new markets and create good jobs for generations to come. These investments reflect the goals of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to rebuild our economy from the bottom up and middle out and make our communities more resilient.”
USDA is making investments worth $320 million to strengthen food supply chains and create more opportunities for producers and entrepreneurs in 19 states: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia.
To learn more, read the full news release.
KFF Launches Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker
The Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker presents the most recent data on monthly Medicaid enrollment, renewals, disenrollments, and other key indicators reported by states during the unwinding of the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision. The unwinding data are pulled from state websites, where available, and from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
To view data for specific states, click on the State Enrollment and Unwinding Data tab.
Pennsylvania Governor’s Administration Eliminates Medicaid Provider Enrollment Application Backlog
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s administration announced it has completely eliminated a backlog of Medicaid provider enrollment and revalidation applications, paving the way for more health care providers to become part of the Medicaid program, and giving Medicaid recipients more options for care. As of January 2023, there was a backlog of more than 35,000 provider applications and revalidation applications that were more than 30 days old. By federal law, organizations are not able to offer care to patients under the Medicaid program unless they are enrolled providers. In addition, the Department of Human Services must revalidate Medicaid service providers every five years.
Any backlogs in processing applications means that providers who want to offer services to Medicaid recipients cannot do so until their applications are approved.