- 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
HHS and DoD Created the National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network
A joint program of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is available at no cost to hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients. Teams of critical care clinicians – critical care physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other specialized clinical experts – are available to deliver virtual care through telemedicine platforms, such as an app on a mobile device. Hear from participating clinicians, and email to learn more and sign up.
The Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal Opens in January
The Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Reporting Portal will be open from January 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023 for Reporting Period 4 (RP4). Providers who received one or more PRF (General or Targeted) and/or American Rescue Plan Rural payments exceeding $10,000, in the aggregate, from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 must report on their use of funds during RP4. Resources are available to assist providers with completing their reports. For a quick glance at all our reporting-related resources, visit the PRF Reporting Resources Page.
Thriving PA Report Highlights WIC Program Community Feedback
Thriving PA’s newest report, WIC Participants Encourage Improvements to Remove Barriers to Access, highlights community feedback about the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly referred to as WIC. Over the summer, Thriving PA partnered with several community organizations across the state to hold seven focus sessions with current and former WIC clients to hear directly from their experiences on the strengths and barriers of the WIC program.
The WIC program provides eligible pregnant and postpartum women and infants and children up to age 5 with access to nutritious foods, breastfeeding supports, nutritional education, and health referrals. Unfortunately, participation in PA’s WIC program has been declining in recent years, a trend that is happening nationally. From 2018-2022, the PA program saw nearly a 25% decline in participation. The pandemic also impacted these numbers, with Pennsylvania seeing the third largest decrease in participation from February 2020 to February 2022.
To address the declining participation, which impacts the federal funding Pennsylvania receives to administer the program, Thriving PA sought out direct feedback from participants to identify solutions to the WIC program’s challenges. Many of the recommendations in the report highlight opportunities to modernize the program and provide greater flexibility for participants. Some recommendations include technology improvements like moving to an online EBT card system and simplifying the application process through system integration with other state application systems like COMPASS. Others include allowing virtual visits to continue and coordinate care between health professionals, so participants do not need to provide the same information to multiple providers.
Thriving PA hopes the incoming administration and WIC Advisory, a stakeholder group formed earlier this year, will consider the recommendations from WIC clients to help improve the WIC program and increase participation statewide.
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children Releases Annual Health Care Report
Pennsylvania’s child uninsured rate improved slightly to 4.4% from 4.6% during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the federal continuous coverage provision that prevents states from disenrolling children and families from Medicaid during the public health emergency, according to our recently released 2022 State of Children’s Health report.
Even more families turned to Medicaid during the pandemic when child enrollment increased by 20%. More than 1.4 million Pennsylvania children currently have Medicaid as their health insurance.
We are cautiously optimistic about the improvement in our child uninsured rate in Pennsylvania. While we have made progress, Pennsylvania has the 8th highest number of uninsured children in the nation, with 126,000 children who do not have health insurance and don’t have regular access to preventive and primary health care.
And hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage when the public health emergency ends and the state begins to unwind the disenrollment freeze and resume pre-pandemic operations. According to the latest estimates from DHS, 1 in 4 children enrolled in Medicaid could lose coverage when the public health emergency ends and the process to redetermine eligibility begins.
It will be imperative for DHS to implement an unwinding process that does not disconnect the children most at risk of losing coverage, particularly when Pennsylvania’s uninsured rate is starting to improve.
We recommend DHS:
- Reaffirm its commitment to using a 12-month unwinding period as recommended by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which most other states plan to use. Using the full 12 months permitted will give Pennsylvania the best chance to minimize inappropriate terminations and disruptions in coverage (churn) that often impact children more than the adult population.
- Immediately expand the 12-month continuous eligibility policy to children ages 4 through 21 in Medicaid when the public health emergency ends to make it more equitable—Pennsylvania already provides 12-month continuous eligibility (regardless of changes in circumstances) in Medicaid for children up to age 4. All Pennsylvania children in CHIP have continuous eligibility for a full year.
According to the report, factors such as race and ethnicity, poverty level and geographic region impact children’s access to health insurance. Some additional key findings include the following:
- Hispanic or Latino children, children who identified as Some Other Race, and children who identified as Two or More Races have worse rates now than in 2019, showing they are more likely to be uninsured.
- 5% of children in PA who qualify for no-cost or reduced-cost health insurance through Medicaid, CHIP, or Pennie™ do not have health insurance.
- The uninsured rates improved in 38 counties and worsened in 29 counties over the last two years.
New to this year’s report are fact sheets for each of the 67 counties that show the local uninsured rate, race and ethnicity profiles, and public health insurance enrollment data.
Read the latest coverage:
Seeking Draft Recommendation Statement for Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV Prevention
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force seeks comments on a draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for the prevention of HIV infection. Based on its review of the evidence, the Task Force recommends that healthcare professionals prescribe PrEP to people at increased risk for HIV to help prevent HIV infection. The draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review are available for review and public comment from Dec. 13, 2022, to Jan. 17, 2023.
COVID-19 Vaccine Ordering and Testing Supplies
HRSA released their Health Center COVID-19 Holiday Ordering Schedule on Dec. 13. All ordering will be disabled and no deliveries will be made during the weeks of Dec. 18 and Dec. 25. Regular ordering cadence will resume the week of Jan. 1. Additionally, BD Veritor Point-of-Care (POC) products have been exhausted at this time. Other distributors for these test strips can be found on the website Ordering & Reimbursement | BD Veritor™ Plus System.
Clinicians Urged to Consider Measles with Recent Outbreak
Currently, there is an ongoing outbreak of measles in Columbus, Ohio. As of Dec. 12, there were 73 confirmed cases with the growing concern of spreading to neighboring states, including Pennsylvania. Providers are encouraged to consider measles in patients presenting with clinically compatible symptoms. Providers who order testing must obtain samples from the following sites: throat/nasopharyngeal swab, urine, and serum. Timely measles testing is available through the PA Department of Health (DOH) Bureau of Laboratories after consultation with the local or state department of health. Measles is a reportable condition and providers should immediately report suspected cases to local health authorities or DOH. See Dec. 14 PAHAN 676 for more information.
The Affordable Connectivity Program is Accepting Applications
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides funds and discounts for families and households struggling to afford internet service. Those living in households where the household income is below 200% of the Federal Poverty Line are likely eligible but can check their household’s eligibility. Eligible households may receive the assistance of up to $30 a month in discounts for broadband service, and/or a one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop, computer, or tablet purchased through a participating provider. Click here to apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program and learn more.
New Pitt Apprenticeship Program Aims to Address the Dental Assistant Shortage
The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine has been awarded state funding to train dental assistants through a paid 14-month paid apprenticeship, which also covers tuition and exam fees. The new program, which is funded through a PAsmart grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, is partnering with Pittsburgh Public Schools to recruit the first cohort of six students. The program will focus on attracting underrepresented minority students from high schools in Allegheny County, as well as the surrounding counties of Butler, Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland. The first cohort of students is expected to start in January 2023. Find more information about the apprenticeship and instructions to apply.
Juul Reaches $38.8 Million Settlement with Pennsylvania
Juul, the popular electronic cigarette manufacturer, has agreed to pay $38.8 million to Pennsylvania’s Department of Health as part of a settlement in a lawsuit over its youth marketing practices, brought by the state Attorney General’s office. Read more.