November 22, 2024
Health Equity: Research Recap
This research recap describes how telehealth impacts health equity and opportunities for reducing health disparities.
Click Here to Read More
Category: HRSA
DEA Extends Telehealth Flexibilities
November 22, 2024
DEA Extends Telehealth Flexibilities
This week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in concert with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issued a third extension of telemedicine flexibilities for the prescribing of controlled medications through December 31, 2025.
Click Here to Learn More
HRSA Announces Complete Lists of Health Professional Shortage Areas
November 18, 2024
HRSA Announces Complete Lists of Health Professional Shortage Areas
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) new lists, maintained and updated by HRSA’s Data Warehouse, were announced in the Federal Register last week. The lists identify all geographic areas, population groups, and facilities designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). Designations that are currently proposed for withdrawal will remain in this status until a second notice is published in the Federal Register.
Click Here to See New Lists
HRSA Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit
November 8, 2024
HRSA Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has introduced a new Health Center Performance Improvement Toolkit.
The toolkit can be used to conduct self-assessments to understand the focus areas and potential activities needed to achieve your performance improvement goals.
The resources aim to:
- Foster innovation
- Enhance patient care
- Improve health outcomes for underserved populations
Click Here to access the toolkit
Upcoming Webinar: Access to Maternity Care in Rural U.S. Communities, November 14
November 8, 2024
Upcoming Webinar: Access to Maternity Care in Rural U.S. Communities, November 14
Consider joining this webinar where the leadership of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center Maternity Care Team will provide a timely update on critical issues impacting maternal health in rural U.S. communities.
The presentation will describe disparities in maternal health outcomes for rural populations, the growing scarcity of obstetric care, and the far-reaching consequences of obstetric unit closures.
Additionally, the presentation will delve into the reasons behind these closures and examine policy solutions aimed at improving access to maternal health care and advancing health equity.
Registration is free and required. Attendance of the live webinar is limited to 500 persons. If you are unable to attend, you will be able to access the recording, archived on the Gateway website.
Cost: Free
When: Thursday, November 14, 10:00 a.m.
Click Here to Register
Medicare Finalizes New Standards for Hospital Obstetric Care
November 8, 2024
Medicare Finalizes New Standards for Hospital Obstetric Care
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicare Outpatient Hospital Prospective Payment System (OPPS) Final Rule for Calendar Year 2025.
In addition to annual updates in outpatient hospital Medicare payment rates, this rule finalizes new standards for hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) with obstetric (OB) units regarding maternal quality assessment and performance improvement, the organization, staffing, and delivery of OB care, and staff training on evidence-based maternal health practices.
For hospitals and CAHs with emergency services, it adds standards on facility readiness in caring for emergency services’ patients, including pregnant, birthing, and postpartum women.
The rule also finalizes new transfer policies for hospitals that mirror the current CAH and Rural Emergency Hospital standards. These Conditions of Participation (CoPs) will be phased in over two years.
Click Here to Read Final Rule
Policy Update: Medicare Finalizes Changes to Medicare Home Health Program, Effective January 1, 2025
November 8, 2024
Policy Update: Medicare Finalizes Changes to Medicare Home Health Program, Effective January 1, 2025
On November 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the Calendar Year (CY) 2025 Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) Rate Update final rule, which updates the Medicare payment policies and rates for home health agencies (HHAs).
CMS projects an increase in aggregate payments by 0.5 percent, and finalizes a permanent prospective adjustment of 1.975% to the CY 2025 home health payment rate.
CMS finalized a new standard for acceptance to service policy in the Home Health Conditions of Participation (HH CoPs) and their proposal with modification to require ongoing respiratory illness reporting for Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities. The rule is effective January 1, 2025.
Click Here to see 2025 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update final rule
Rural Health Research: Medical Debt in Collections Among Counties by Rural-Urban Location and Racial-ethnic Composition
November 8, 2024
Rural Health Research: Medical Debt in Collections Among Counties by Rural-Urban Location and Racial-ethnic Composition
Medical debt, or medical costs owed for health care services, is a pressing issue across the U.S., with implications for health and well-being for those facing debt burden. While recognition of medical debt as a social problem is growing, details about who is most at risk of holding this debt remain less clear.
This policy brief addresses this gap by examining the differences in the proportion of people with medical debt in collections and median amount of medical debt by rural-urban communities of color.
Key Findings:
- Rural counties have a higher proportion of people with medical debt in collections than urban counties (15.7% vs 14.8%), and this difference is associated with lower average household incomes in rural counties in general.
- The county-level median amount of medical debt in collections held by rural residents is $62 higher compared to their urban counterparts, even after accounting for income differences.
- The proportion of people with and amount of medical debt in collections are both higher in rural and urban communities of color than in rural and urban communities overall.
Click Here to Read Brief
NARHC Webinar: Regulatory Changes for Rural Health Clinics in 2025, November 18
November 8, 2024
NARHC Webinar: Regulatory Changes for Rural Health Clinics in 2025, November 18
The nonprofit National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) is hosting a free, FORHP-supported webinar with information about changes for RHCs in the federal regulation that determines how much physicians and other providers are paid for treating Medicare beneficiaries.
Experts will discuss changes that include:
- Removal of RHC productivity standards
- New billing processes for care coordination
- Streamlining required lab services
- Extending telehealth flexibilities
Advance registration is required.
Cost: Free
When: Monday, November 18, 1:00 p.m. CT
Click Here to Register
HHS: Current Trends and Key Challenges to Health Care in Rural America
November 8, 2024
HHS: Current Trends and Key Challenges to Health Care in Rural America
A new report evaluates programs at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and finds that uninsured rates among adults under age 65 in rural areas have fallen substantially since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), from 23.8 percent in 2010 to 12.6 percent in 2023.
Uninsured rates among rural residents are much higher is states that have not yet expanded Medicaid and analysts acknowledge ongoing disparities in health outcomes between rural and urban areas.
Research has shown, for instance, disparities in maternal outcomes, behavioral and mental health outcomes, risk factors for chronic disease such as obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease as well as in potentially harmful health behaviors such as smoking and physical inactivity to name a few.
Click Here to read full report