- 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
Read About Updated RHC and FQHC Medicare Benefit Policy Manual
On January 26, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revised Chapter 13 of the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual to include payment policy for Rural Health Clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers as finalized in the CY 2022 and CY 2023 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rules. Key updates can be found in the CMS Medicare Learning Network (MLN) Connects newsletter.
The DEA Announces Proposed Rules for Permanent Telemedicine Flexibilities
Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced proposed rules for the prescribing of controlled medications via telemedicine beyond the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. One rule addresses the expansion of induction of buprenorphine via telemedicine encounter while the other covers telemedicine prescribing of controlled substances when the practitioner and the patient have not had a prior in-person medical evaluation. While opioid use disorders occur at similar rates in both rural and urban areas, medication-assisted treatment (MAT) prescribers have been disproportionately located in urban areas. Comments are due by March 31, 2023.
New Information Has Been Released on COVID-19 Waivers and Flexibilities
Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a fact sheet with updates to policy on vaccines, testing, and treatments; telehealth services; continuing flexibilities for healthcare professionals; and expanded hospital capacity through care in a patient’s home. Last week, the agency provided updates specific to Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals, describing the Medicare and Medicaid waivers and flexibilities that have been terminated, made permanent, or that will end with the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023.
HRSA Needs Rural Reviewers for Grant Applications
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) relies on grant reviewers to select the best programs from a competitive group of applicants. Over the coming months, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy will be competing a number of programs, including among other things: substance use disorders and opioid use disorder, rural workforce, and rural hospitals. Having reviewers with expertise in rural health greatly benefits the review process and is also an opportunity to learn about the review process itself. Reviews are typically held remotely over a period of a few days and reviewers who participate and complete their assigned duties receive an honorarium. Registration is easy and does not commit you to serving as a reviewer. Please consider lending your expertise to these important initiatives.
The Economic Research Services Released County-Level Data Sets
The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture released updates to its data on socioeconomic indicators such as poverty rates, population change, unemployment rates, and education levels. ERS State Fact Sheets, which show numbers comparing rural and urban, were also updated to add estimates on educational attainment.
Greater Hardship for Rural Hospitals in States that Haven’t Expanded Medicaid
A new analysis from the national nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation reports slimmer operating margins for rural hospitals (2.2 percent versus 3.9 percent in states with Medicaid expansion) for the period from July 2021 through June 2022. Moreover, the report says these margins would have dropped to 1.2 percent in expansion states and -0.7 percent in non-expansion states if not for federal COVID-19 relief funds.
Understand Firearm Deaths by State Here
RAND Corporation, an independent research organization, examined state-level mortality data to compare state-by-state and national-level rates of death. An interactive map that sorts by gender, race (Black, White, and Hispanic), urban/non-urban, and age shows that 29 of 50 states have an annual rate of death higher than the national average. The data originated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which last year announced historically high rates of firearm homicide nationwide and the highest rates of firearm suicide in rural areas. RAND reports that suicide deaths drive the overall death rate higher in nonurban areas. A second interactive map shows how adding or removing firearm laws could affect death rates in each state.
The USDA Advances Equity
In February of last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched an effort focused on removing barriers to federal programs within the agency’s mission. The announcement named historical discrimination – racial, and also geographic, social, and economic – it intends to address with a newly formed Equity Commission. In the year before, USDA made a Request for Information from the public and held five public listening sessions, asking for feedback on customer experience with USDA programs. The response pointed to a history of discrimination, barriers to funding and land, and loss of trust with Indian Tribes among several other findings that have become priorities for the equity initiative. Earlier this week, the Equity Commission released its first set of recommendations. These and information about other efforts can be found at www.usda.gov/equity.
You Can Apply for NHSC Loan Repayment Here!
HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce announced the next opportunity for three loan repayment programs from the National Health Service Corps (NHSC). Of more than 20,000 NHSC members serving across the country, about one in three works in a rural area. In exchange for a commitment to serve at an NHSC-approved facility, practicing clinicians providing primary medical, dental, or behavioral health care services may qualify for loan repayment up to $50,000 with an NHSC Loan Repayment Program award, up to $75,000 for the NHSC Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program, and up to $100,000 for the NHSC Rural Community Loan Repayment Program. The rural NHSC program is in coordination with FORHP’s rural opioid programming providing evidence-based substance use disorder treatment. The Deadline is April 25, 2023.
The Health Resource & Service Administration Releases New Recommendations on Rural Child Care
The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services has a new policy brief examining the challenges in rural areas. The brief focuses on the long-standing difficulties and its importance for the well-being and economic stability of rural families. The pandemic brought greater attention to these challenges, along with historic levels of funding to childcare providers through COVID-19 supplemental appropriations to ensure the continued availability of care.