Category: HRSA

National Health Service Corps New Site Application, Apply by June 17

June 2, 2025

National Health Service Corps New Site Application, Apply by June 17

Eligible health care facilities can apply to become National Health Service Corps (NHSC)-approved sites.

NHSC-approved sites provide outpatient, comprehensive primary health care services to people. They are located in Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).

As an NHSC-approved site, eligible clinicians can apply for NHSC Loan Repayment Programs, and sites can hire NHSC Scholars or Students to Service participants. Sites can also post job opportunities and access on the Health Workforce Connector.

Apply by June 17.

Click Here to Learn More

New Guidance for Hospital Price Transparency

May 29, 2025

New Guidance for Hospital Price Transparency

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released new guidance on how hospitals should calculate the estimated allowed amount values for their online machine-readable files as part of the Hospital Price Transparency requirements.

Whenever possible, hospitals should:

  • Use electronic remittance data to determine the average dollar amount received over the last 12-month period.
    • If there is no historic data, hospitals should use the expected payment amount, encoded as a dollar figure.
  • Hospitals will no longer be able to use a code of nine number nines to signify that there was not sufficient historic data for that item or service over the last year.

Click Here to View Entire Guidance Document

Policy Update: CMS Proposes Updates for FY 2026 Hospice Payment Rates, Comment by June 10

May 22, 2025

Policy Update: CMS Proposes Updates for FY 2026 Hospice Payment Rates, Comment by June 10

This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated the deadline for comments on their proposed rule for Medicare Hospice Payment Rates from June 30 to June 10.

Click Here to see the CMS Fact Sheet for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update Proposed Rule for a summary. When commenting, refer to file code CMS-1835-P.

Apply to Become an NHSC Site – Application Open Through June 17

May 15, 2025

Apply to Become an NHSC Site – Application Open Through June 17

Health Care facilities can now apply for approval to become National Health Service Corps (NHSC) sites. Eligible sites include those that provide outpatient, ambulatory, and primary health care services – such as medical, dental, and behavioral health – to populations in high-need rural and urban areas.

This year, Rural Emergency Hospitals are also eligible for NHSC approval. Approved sites gain the advantage of recruiting and retaining NHSC participants through the Loan Repayment, Scholarship, and Students to Service programs.

Click Here to learn more about NHSC eligibility requirements and apply before June 17, 11:59 p.m. ET.

Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PCMHA) Program

May 15, 2025

Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PCMHA) Program

According to the most recent National Survey of Children’s Health, nearly 26 percent of children ages 3-17 had a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral problem. Of those children, approximately 20 percent did not receive needed mental health treatment or counseling from a mental health professional in the past 12 months.

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Maternal and Child Health Bureau is working to close that gap through the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) program. This program offers free teleconsultation services for health professionals to help them better care for children and youth in their practice with behavioral health concerns. Most consultations are competed in as little as 30 minutes and almost always within one business day.

Click Here to Learn More

CMS Seeks Comments on the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program – Comments Due by June 10

May 14, 2025

CMS Seeks Comments on the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program – Comments Due by June 10

In the recently released Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) included several requests for information for the Promoting Interoperability Program, which requires hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to submit data demonstrating meaningful use of certified electronic health record technology (CEHERT). Hospitals and CAHs that do not meet the requirements are subject to a downward payment adjustment. Some issues that CMS seeks public input on include:

  • Query of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Measure – This measure requires eligible hospitals and CAHs to attest yes/no on whether they have integrated their state’s PDMP electronic database, which monitors the use of controlled substances, into their EHRs.
    • CMS seeks comments on whether this measure should be performance-based and measure the percent of electronic prescriptions for which the hospital queried the PDMP for prescription drug history.
    • They also seek comment on whether they should expand the types of drugs to which the Query of PDMP measure could apply.

Click Here to Learn More and Comment

  • Public Health and Clinical Exchange Data Objective Measure Scoring – Currently, eligible hospitals and CAHs must attest yes/no on whether they are exchanging data with six required measures in this category.
    • CMS seeks comments on whether they should change the scoring method to allow eligible hospitals and CAHs to earn up to 5 points for each measure, for a total of 30 points for the objective, but must earn at least 1 point for each measure to meet the requirement.
    • CMS also seeks comments on whether these measures should be performance based with a numerator and denominator.

Click Here to Learn More and Comment

  • Use of Modern Technologies to Ensure Data Quality – CMS wants to encourage and support eligible hospitals’ and CAHs’ use of modern technologies and standards to ensure data are usable, complete, accurate, timely, and consistent.
    • They seek feedback on what challenges hospitals and CAHs are experiencing with collecting high quality data,
    • What the primary barriers are, and
    • How CMS can partner with eligible hospitals, CAHs, industry, and Federal agencies to drive further improvements in the quality and usability of health information being exchanged.

Click Here to Learn More and Comment

Telehealth Best Practice Guides

May 6, 2025

Telehealth Best Practice Guides

Whether you are an administrator, hospitalist, or private practitioner – learn how others in your field are using telehealth to connect with patients. Get practical recommendations on billing, strategy, and more to help understand if telehealth is right for you.

Telehealth.HHS currently has 22 Telehealth Best Practice Guides, including but not limited to:

Click Here to explore all Telehealth Best Practice Guides

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is May 5 – 11

May 1, 2025

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is May 5 – 11

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is May 5 – 11, help spread the word about the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (1-833-TLS-MAMA).

  • This free and confidential service offers 24/7 support via call or text to new and expecting moms and their loved ones.
  • The Hotline’s trained counselors help thousands of women and their families needing emotional support during or after pregnancy.
  • The Hotline is available in English and Spanish and offers interpreters in more than 60 languages.

Take advantage of HRSA’s promotional toolkit or order a limited number of printed products for free to share the Hotline with someone who is currently pregnant or postpartum, their loved ones, or caregivers – the Hotline is here for them.

Click Here to go to HRSA’s National Maternal Mental Health Hotline

Click Here to access HRSA’s Free Promotional Toolkit/Order printed products

CMS Seeks Input to Streamline Medicare Regulations, Comment by June 10

April 29, 2025

CMS Seeks Input to Streamline Medicare Regulations, Comment by June 10

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing this Request for information (RFI) to solicit public feedback on potential changes to Medicare regulations with the goal of reducing the expenditures required to comply with Federal regulations.

Examples of questions they would like input on include:

  • Are there documentation or reporting requirements within the Medicare program that are overly complex or redundant?
  • How can Medicare better align its requirements with best practices and industry standards?
  • Are there existing regulatory requirements that could be waived, modified, or streamlined to reduce administrative burdens?

Healthcare providers, researchers, stakeholders, health and drug plans, and other members of the public should submit all comments in response to this RFI through the online submission form.

Comments must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET, June 10, 2025.

Responses to this RFI must be provided via on-line submission at the following website: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/unleashing-prosperity-through-deregulation-medicare-program-request-information.pdf

For assistance or technical problems related to this form, please send an email to: patientsoverpaperwork@cms.hhs.gov.

Click Here to Learn More about this RFI

Click Here to go to online submission form

Article: Researcher Experience and Comfort with Telemedicine and Remote Patient Monitoring in Cancer Treatment Trials

March 25, 2025

Article: Researcher Experience and Comfort with Telemedicine and Remote Patient Monitoring in Cancer Treatment Trials

Since the onset of COVID-19, oncology practices across the US have integrated telemedicine ™ and remote patient monitoring (RPM) into routine care and clinical trials. The extent of provider experience and comfort with TM/RPM in treatment trials, however, is unknown. Oncology researchers were surveyed to assess experience and comfort with TM/RPM.

Click Here to Read More