An interactive map from the national nonprofit allows the user to search eligible summer 2024 locations for reduced priced meals at meal site or day care homes. The map also shows qualifying rural areas that may provide non-congregate summer meals according to rural definitions used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
NARHC Hosting Free Webinar: Mobile Units and Your RHC – Is This a Good Fit? – Wednesday, February 21 at 3:00 pm Eastern
The National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) will host the free, FORHP-supported webinar with details about operational considerations for expanding RHC services and patient access opportunities through mobile unit, either as an extension of their current clinic or through a stand-alone unit. This webinar will feature representatives from Baptist Health in Kentucky who will share their successes and lessons learned in opening a mobile RHC, include information from RHC accreditor, Kate Hill, and provide additional time for Q&A.
CMS Shares Key Application Dates and Deadlines for Medicare Shared Savings Program
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) interested in participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP) starting January 1, 2025 can follow this one-pager from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. SSP ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who collaborate to give coordinated high-quality care to people with Medicare. Phase 1 of the application process opens May 20th and closes June 17th. Certain new ACO entities in rural and underserved areas may be eligible for Advance Investment Payments (AIPs), which are upfront and quarterly payments that can be used to build infrastructure and promote equity by addressing beneficiary needs. AIPs are recouped from earned shared savings in current and subsequent agreement periods.
CMS Updates Medicaid and CHIP Telehealth Toolkit
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services updated the resource that provides a compilation of telehealth policies for state Medicaid agencies. It includes flexibilities, requirements, and best practices for states to consider when using telehealth to deliver Medicaid and CHIP benefits and services, including in rural communities. There is information about telehealth platforms; billing best practices; best practices during and after the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency; strategies to promote accessible and culturally competent care via telehealth; strategies for telehealth in value-based care; evaluation strategies to understand how telehealth affects quality, outcomes, and cost; and strategies for communicating, training, and providing resources on telehealth for providers and for beneficiaries. Rural providers interested in learning more about telehealth policies, visit the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers.
CMS Requesting Input on Proposed Changes to Oversight of Accrediting Organizations – Comment by April 15
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks public input on proposals intended to strengthen oversight of the nine-accrediting organization (AOs) that survey Medicare and Medicaid certified health care providers for compliance with health and safety requirements. CMS proposes to prohibit AOs from giving a hospital or other health care facility advance notice of a survey; penalize hospitals that receive a condition-level citation during a validation survey; and require AOs to use CMS’s Conditions of Participation as their minimum accreditation standards.
CMS Updates Guidance on Texting Patient Information and Orders
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated guidance to now allow hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals to text patient information and orders to the electronic health records (EHR) using a HIPAA-compliant secure platform. Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) continues to be the preferred method of order entry by a provider, but CMS recognizes there have been significant improvements in the encryption and interface capabilities of texting platforms to transfer data into EHRs since their last guidance was issued in 2018.
CMS Seeks Public Input on Medicare Interoperability Reporting – Comment by March 7
In the FY 2024 Inpatient Hospital Final Rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized several changes to the information that eligible hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals report under the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program. CMS does not expect that these changes will increase the burden of collecting this information; however, they are required to give the public a second opportunity for public comment. Interested persons are invited to send comments regarding the estimated burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected.
CMS Creates New Prescription Drug Resource Hub
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new resource to get the word out about the agency’s efforts to reduce costs through Medicare drug price negotiation and other measures brought by the Inflation Reduction Act. The site explains a new $35 insulin cap and other savings, inflation rebates, health care cost savings by state, and other sharable details in fact sheets, social media messaging, and videos that explain the changes.
Preparing Behavioral Health Clinicians for Success and Retention in Rural Safety Net Practices
The researchers of this study analyzed survey data from licensed clinicians working in rural safety net practices across 21 states from 2015 to 2022. They found nearly two-thirds of the 778 survey respondents had formal educational experiences with medically underserved populations in rural counties. These results support the integration of clinicians within these communities for longer retention in rural safety net practices.
Unrelenting Pressure Pushes Rural Safety Net into Uncharted Territory
America’s rural health safety net has been in crisis mode since 2010. Rural hospital closures, decreasing reimbursements, declining operating margins, and staffing shortages have all coalesced to undermine the delivery of care in communities whose populations are older, less healthy, and less affluent. The mission of the safety net to serve under-resourced communities is unraveling.
The latest research conducted by the Chartis Center for Rural Health points to a startling new phase of this crisis as rural hospitals fall deeper into the red, “care deserts” widen throughout rural communities, and the increasing penetration of Medicare Advantage could further disrupt rural hospital revenue.
Click here to read the report.