December 5, 2023
Calendar Year 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule Summary
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Learning Network released a summary of the CY24 PFS final rule with information on key changes.
The Medicare Telehealth Services section includes information on:
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December 5, 2023
Center for Rural Health Releases Communication Toolkit
The Center for Rural Health (CRH), housed within the University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences, recently updated its Communication Toolkit. The toolkit is designed to help Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, public health departments and other healthcare organizations in navigating the realm of communications. It has sections on communicating with a target audience, working with the media, and how to successfully use tools, such as social media and website analytics, to share information with the public.
Helpful items in the toolkit:
The toolkit is free and open to the public and may be helpful for:
Access Communication Toolkit Here
December 5, 2023
NRHA Webinar – Finding Financial Support for Prescription Medications and Understanding the Medicare Reforms to Lower Out-of-Pocket Costs
The inability to pay for essential medical care is not just a significant problem for the uninsured but also for people who have health insurance. Recent polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that 47% of U.S. adults said that it is very or somewhat difficult to afford their healthcare costs, and about 50% said they would be unable to pay a $500 unexpected medical bill without borrowing money. That is where the PAN Foundation comes in—to serve as a critical safety net for hundreds of thousands of underinsured patients each year. As an independent, national organization, PAN helps people across the country get the medications and treatments they need by assisting with their out-of-pocket costs and advocating for improved access, affordability, and equity for all.
Join PAN’s Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer, Amy Niles, as she explores the important role PAN plays every day in connecting patients with the lifesaving care they need and deserve.
During this webinar, Amy will walk through how healthcare providers and pharmacists can help their eligible patients find and apply for grants through PAN’s easy-to-use application process. Finally, Amy will review Medicare reforms, now law, that will lower costs for people on Medicare.
Attendees will walk away from this webinar with a better understanding about:
When: Thursday, January 25, 1:00 – 3:00 pm CST
Register Here
December 5, 2023
Webinar – Safe by Design: ER Designs to Accommodate Behavior Issues
Emergency rooms serve as a single entry point for a variety of patients into a hospital. From sick children and expecting mothers to victims of violent crime and traumatic incidents, the ER has to accommodate a wide range of needs, and increasingly, this includes behavioral health patients. Intentional design is critical to the overall safety of hospital staff, patients and visitors.
When designing Emergency Rooms for behavioral health patients, preserving security for patients and staff security should be the number one priority. Crucial security considerations during design include:
These elements and more will be discussed in this lecture by two subject-matter experts:
When: Tuesday, January 23, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. CST
Register Here
December 5, 2023
Webinar – Latest CMS Updates and the Most Frequent Findings in Rural Health Care
CMS Certification is not only necessary for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to receive Medicare and Medicaid payments, but also for payment from many private insurers and participation in Federal grants. Preparation for a CMS survey is critically important for CAHs and RHCs, as adverse CMS survey outcomes can result in termination of your CMS Certification. Rural hospitals and rural health clinics, in particular, have unique challenges, such as limited resources.
Set your organization up for a successful survey and join this webinar to hear from a former CMS surveyor about the latest updates affecting rural hospitals and rural health clinics and the most commonly cited CMS CfCs and CoPs.
After the webinar, attendees will be able to:
When: Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Register Here
December 4, 2023
New Product: A Comparison of Non-Operating Revenue between Rural and Suburban Hospitals
A new product exploring non-operating revenue (NOR) in rural and urban hospitals was released by the Flex Monitoring Team. NOR is an important source of hospital revenue; some hospitals are able to use NOR to offset operating losses, improve total margins, and remain profitable overall despite experiencing negative operating incomes. NOR, defined as revenue from sources other than patient care and activities closely related to patient care, is comprised of investment income, medical office rental revenue, government appropriations (such as state and local tax transfers and grants), and philanthropic sources.
The new brief, A Comparison of Non-Operating Revenue between Rural and Urban Hospitals, compares the relative percentage and composition of NOR among Critical Access Hospital (CAHs), Rural Prospective Payment System (R-PPS) hospitals, and Urban Prospective Payment System (U-PPS) hospitals. This information may be important to hospital executives seeking to improve financial performance, and to policymakers to understand how non-operating revenue affects hospital financial performance.
December 4, 2023
CMS Webinar – Final Rules Overview – Impact for RHCs, Monday, December 11 at 2:00 p.m.
The recently released Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 2024 final rules contain a significant number of changes for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs).
This year, the rules include details about the implementation of the two additional provider types billable as RHC Medicare providers beginning January 1, 2024, as well as information on the Intensive Outpatient Services Treatment category. According to the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC), RHCs will now have a way to bill for remote physiologic monitoring and other care management services under an expanded G5011 code.
During this webinar, policy experts will provide an overview of changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System that will go into effect on January 1, 2024. Among many, these changes include:
RHCs are encouraged to join this upcoming webinar to hear the discussion about the final rule and receive answer to your questions about the implementation of these various policy proposals.
When: Monday, December 11, 2:00 p.m. ET
December 4, 2023
Application Assistance for Rural Residency Funding – Apply by February 12
Learn more about what’s needed to apply for the newest funding opportunity for establishing rural residencies, the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program (RRPD) – HRSA-24-022. The FORHP-supported RRPD provides start-up funding for new residency programs to address physician workforce shortages in:
Eligible applicants are rural hospitals and graduate medical education consortiums that may include:
A maximum of 15 awardees will receive up to $750,000 for a three-year grant period to develop new and sustainable programs approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, especially programs specifically designed for underserved areas and populations.
Research has shown that physicians from a rural background and those trained in rural settings are more likely to continue practicing in rural areas after completing their residencies.
December 4, 2023
Updates to Requirements for Buprenorphine Prescribing
As announced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in January 2023, clinicians no longer need a federal waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder. Clinicians are still required to register with the federal Drug Enforcement Agency to prescribe controlled medication.
On June 27, the DEA began to require that registration applicants – both new and renewing – affirm they have completed a new, one-time, eight hour training. Exceptions for the new training requirement are practitioners who are board certified in addiction psychiatry, and those who graduated from a medical, dental, physician assistant, or advanced practice nursing school in the U.S. within five years of June 27, 2023.
Watch this 11-minute video that explains the changes
Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) still have the opportunity to apply for a $3,000 payment on behalf of each provider who trained between January 1, 2019 and December 29, 2022 (when Congress eliminated the waiver requirement). Approximately $889,000 in program funding remains available for RHCs and will be paid on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted.
Please contact DATA2000WaiverPayments@hrsa.gov for additional information.
December 4, 2023
Trends in the Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
A review of data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System showed the prevalence of COPD has remained stable overall, but with disparities based on rural residence. Specifically, between the years 2011 and 2021, prevalence increased for adults 75 years and older, for those living in rural areas, and for those who smoked.
Researchers suggest the COPD National Action Plan provides a comprehensive framework for COPD prevention, treatment, and management strategies. These can be tailored to address risk factors specific to various populations. In rural areas, for example, there are higher rates of smoking, history of asthma, and exposure to lung irritants, but limited access to pulmonologists.
The Rural Health Information hub (RHIhub) recently updated the Rural Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Toolkit, with models for effective COPD programs, issues to consider when implementing, and resources for funding and sustainability.
