Author: dianawinder

Save the Date: Rural Health Day Celebration, November 20

August 22, 2025

Save the Date: Rural Health Day Celebration, November 20

National Rural Health Day celebrates the Power of Rural and aims to bring attention to the unique healthcare needs of rural communities.

It’s a day to recognize the individuals and organizations dedicated to addressing these challenges and ensuring access to quality healthcare for the nearly 61 million people living in rural America.

Mark your calendars to save the date for Thursday, November 20, when we will have conversations to bring much-needed attention to the ongoing efforts to communicate, educate, collaborate, and innovate.

More details will be shared as we develop the agenda and secure exciting speakers and presentations.

Webinar: Reducing ED Boarding & Boosting Surgical Growth: Inside Jackson Health’s AI Strategy, August 28

August 22, 2025

Webinar: Reducing ED Boarding & Boosting Surgical Growth: Inside Jackson Health’s AI Strategy, August 28

Medicaid cuts and eroding margins are top of mind for all health system leaders, and operational complexity makes matters worse. Jackson Health System faced similar obstacles – until leaders built a strategic AI framework that goes beyond the EHR.

In this webinar, Jackson Health’s president and COO will share how the team unlocked a .42-day reduction in excess days, a 4.5% increase in primetime OR utilization, and an 18% drop in ED boarding times and $6.7 million in annualized savings.

You’ll Learn How to:

  • Develop an AI strategy to address inpatient capacity and surgical growth,
  • Build alignment for enterprise AI investments that deliver ROI, and
  • Drive adoption of AI assistants across clinical and operational teams.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, August 28, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Comments Requested on Proposed Changes to the Medicare Hospital Cost Report, Comment by September 15

August 21, 2025

Comments Requested on Proposed Changes to the Medicare Hospital Cost Report, Comment by September 15

In the CY2026 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) seeks comments on their proposal to require that hospitals include in their Medicare cost reports, beginning January 1, 2026, the median payer-specific charges that they have negotiated with Medicare Advantage organizations, by Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups.

The rule also requests comments on a proposed methodology hospitals would use to calculate the median payer-specific charge.

Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Emergency Hospitals, and hospitals operated by an Indian Health Program would not report median payer-specific charges on cost reports because these hospitals are not paid using the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS).

Click Here to Read Proposed Rule and Make Comment

Click the links below to learn more about:

Announcement for Providers that Reassign their Benefits to CAHs

August 21, 2025

Announcement for Providers that Reassign their Benefits to CAHs

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that some Method II Critical Access Hospitals may be experiencing denials with Fiscal Intermediary Shared System (FISS) reason codes 31006 and 31007 indicating that providers do not have a reassignment on file in the Provider Enrollment Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS).

Medicare Administrative Contractors will reprocess these claims within approximately two weeks and Method II CAHs do not need to take any action.

Additional information to ensure eligible health care providers accurately reassign their benefits to Method II CAHs will be issued shortly.

Click Here to Learn More

August 21 is National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day

August 21, 2025

August 21 is National Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides a toolkit for sharing this year’s theme focused on hop and mental health, along with facts on fentanyl and life-saving resources with your communities.

Last week, the CDC released preliminary data showing an estimated 77,648 drug overdose deaths occurred in the 12 months ending in March 2025. This marks a 25 percent decrease compared to the same period ending in March 2024. In May last year CDC data showed that the percentage of people with drug use disorders was similar for rural and urban areas, but those living in rural areas at a greater risk of death from drug overdose than urban Americans.

Click Here for Facts on Fentanyl

Click Here for Life-Saving Resources

Click Here to read CDC report on drug use disorders

HRSA Webinar: Crush Med School Debt – Federal Programs for Financing Your Future in Medicine, August 28

August 21, 2025

HRSA Webinar: Crush Med School Debt – Federal Programs for Financing Your Future in Medicine, August 28

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is hosting a one-hour webinar about how the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) helps medical students, medical school faculty, and other clinicians interested in primary care pay down their education loans. In 2024, the NHSC supported 6,700 primary care physicians practicing in rural communities.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, August 28, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00p.m. ET

Click Here to Register

Save the Date: Minority Mental Health Webinar Series – Providing Mental Health Tips, August 28

August 21, 2025

Save the Date: Minority Mental Health Webinar Series – Providing Mental Health Tips, August 28

Join the Minority Mental Health Webinar to learn more from professionals at the University of Missouri’s Department of Psychiatry about ways to dispel myths and provide tips to address mental health disparities.

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, August 28, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register

Free Training Opportunity: Alpha-gal Training Module from CDC (Free CE)

August 21, 2025

Free Training Opportunity: Alpha-gal Training Module from CDC (Free CE)

To help increase awareness of alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) and more rapidly diagnose patients in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a new free online training module for healthcare providers (HCPs), epidemiologists, and public health officials.

The training includes opportunities for FREE continuing education in seven professional categories – CME, CNE, CEU, AAPA, CECH, AABSB/RACE, CPE, and CPH-providing educational credit for:

  • Physicians,
  • Nurses,
  • Pharmacists,
  • Physician Assistants,
  • Veterinarians,
  • Nurses,
  • Epidemiologists,
  • Public Health Professionals,
  • Educators, and
  • Health Communicators

Key Learning Objectives Include:

  • Describing the epidemiology identifying clinical characteristics,
  • Describing appropriate diagnostic testing,
  • Promoting appropriate management, and
  • Explaining tick bite prevention and its importance in preventing and managing the disease.

AGS is a serious, potentially life-threatening tickborne disease. People with AGS can have an allergic reaction to red meat and other products containing alpha-gal, like dairy and some medications. People can develop AGS after being bitten by some types of ticks, primarily the lone star tick in the United States.

CDC reported that between 2010 and 2022, there were more than 110,000 suspected cases of AGS identified. However, because the diagnosis of AGS requires a positive diagnostic test, and a clinical exam, and some people may not get tested, CDC estimates that as many as 450,000 people might be impacted by AGS in the US.

While suspected AGS cases are increasing each year, a 2022 U.S. Survey found that nearly half (42%) of healthcare providers had never heard of AGS and, among those who had, less than one third (29%) knew how to diagnose the condition. Limited awareness and knowledge of AGS among healthcare providers likely contributes to underdiagnosis of this condition. This can lead to incorrect patient management and underestimating of the number of AGS patient in the United States.

Click Here to Learn More About Alpha-gal Syndrome

Click Here to Read CDC Report

Click Here to Access Free Online Module

Webinar: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA): Federal Grants Landscape, August 28

August 21, 2025

Webinar: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA): Federal Grants Landscape, August 28      

Join Forvis Mazars for a webinar exploring OBBBA’s impact on federal grants. This webinar will share key changes and insights to understand OBBBA’s implications and opportunities for grants professionals and your organizations, providing perspectives on navigating the evolving federal grants landscape.

Gain practical strategies to identify new grant opportunities, develop adaptation plans, and navigate compliance requirements.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

  • Identify and prioritize new grant opportunities,
  • Prepare strategic adaptation plans, and
  • Recognize new compliance and accountability requirements

Target Audience:

  • Grants management and compliance officers,
  • Finance directors,
  • Controllers,
  • C-suite executives,
  • Program officers, and
  • Development staff in the nonprofit government services sector

Cost: Free

When: Thursday, August 28, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET

Click Here to Register