Newswire Archives
A new updated tool from the Kaiser Family Foundation can be used to track coronavirus policy actions, along with data on current cases, deaths, and state-level data on health coverage and provider capacity.
The tool can be obtained at https://www.kff.org/health-costs/issue-brief/state-data-and-policy-actions-to-address-coronavirus/.
The Trump Administration on March 17, 2020 announced expanded Medicare telehealth coverage that will enable beneficiaries to receive a wider range of healthcare services from their doctors without having to travel to a healthcare facility. Beginning on March 6, 2020, Medicare temporarily will pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for beneficiaries residing across the entire country.
A fact sheet can be obtained at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/medicare-telemedicine-health-care-provider-fact-sheet.
Published in the journal Cancer, the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer finds that cancer death rates continued to decline from 2001 to 2017 in the United States for all cancer sites combined. These decreases were seen in all major racial and ethnic groups and among men, women, adolescents, young adults, and children. Rates of new cancers (cancer incidence) for all cancers combined leveled off among men and increased slightly for women during 2012 to 2016.
The report can be obtained at https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/cncr.32802.
Every day, more and more colleges are moving to online/remote classes and closing their campuses while others are continuing to proceed as normal. Factors such as institutional size, wealth, and location all play into these decisions.
Read more here.
An analysis from The Pew Charitable Trusts discusses how the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act could benefit more than eight million student loan borrowers, depending on how the 2019 law is implemented. Decision-makers putting the FUTURE Act in place should consider five key issues.
The analysis can be obtained at https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/03/02/law-will-ease-access-to-affordable-student-loan-repayment-if-implemented-effectively?utm_campaign=2020-03-11+Rundown&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Pew.
A “To The Point” posting by the Commonwealth Fund shows why Medicaid’s design allows it to respond nimbly to a crisis by enrolling additional individuals and covering new services. Medicaid’s flexibility is a strength to streamline the enrollment process, sign up beneficiaries whenever needed, and make eligibility retroactive so providers are not financially punished for furnishing emergency care.
The posting can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/medicaid-and-coronavirus-putting-nations-largest-health-care-first-responder-work.
Several colleges in California, New York, and Washington have either cancelled classes or online instruction in light of the coronavirus outbreak. The Department of Education has relaxed their rules that institutions must gain permission from accreditors and the Department to move to online courses. Higher ed institutions have also expressed concerns to the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of their international students, who have in-person learning requirements. Many institutions continue to cancel study aboard programs and university-sponsored travel.
Read more here.
The Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Department of Education, and American College Health Association have released guidance for institutions of higher education to prepare for a potential COVID-19 outbreak on campus. The CDC guidance outlines preparation plans for administrators and students to ensure the safety of individuals on campus or studying aboard. The U.S. Department of Education focuses on potential disruption to federal financial aid, while the ACHA details plans for student health centers to have the capacity for increased student demand or a COVID-19 outbreak.
Read more here.
A new Issue Brief from the Commonwealth Fund estimates Medicaid expenditures under current law on a state-by-state basis and compares them to funding available under a block grant. States that take up the block grant would see substantial reductions in Medicaid funding.
The Brief can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/Mann_fiscal_impact_Medicaid_block_grants_ib.pdf.
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took additional actions to ensure America’s patients, healthcare facilities, and clinical laboratories are prepared to respond to the 2019-Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). CMS has developed a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code that can be used by laboratories to bill for certain COVID-19 diagnostic tests to help increase testing and track new cases. CMS also released new fact sheets that explain Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Individual and Small Group Market Private Insurance coverage for services to help patients prepare as well.
Medicare Fact Sheet Highlights can be obtained at https://www.cms.gov/files/document/03052020-medicare-covid-19-fact-sheet.pdf.
The CDC has provided interim guidance for administrators of Institutions of Higher Education to plan, prepare, and respond to the Coronavirus. The CDC provided guidance for IHE that do not have COVID-19 identified in their community as well as guidance for IHE with identified cases of COVID-19 in their community. The CDC also released interim guidance for organizers and staff responsible for planning mass gatherings or large community events.
COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel
An updated Fast Fact prepared by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) examines historically Black colleges and universities in the United States and provides new data on topics such as enrollment, degrees conferred, and finance.
The Fast Fact can be obtained at https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=667.
The Supreme Court agreed today that in its term beginning in October 2020 it will review a federal appeals court decision that held the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate unconstitutional to determine which of the law's provisions could survive without the mandate. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have petitioned the Supreme Court to review a decision that sent back the case to the district court in Texas.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing on “Fiscal 2021 Budget Request for the Department of Education” in which Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testified. Career and technical education garnered bipartisan support, especially for the nearly $900 million increase in the President’s Budget.
Rep. Moolenaar and Ranking Member Cole were supportive of the Second Chance Pell; Rep. Moolenaar noted that community colleges in his district are interested in participating. Secretary DeVos hopes to make Second Chance Pell a permanent program but believes Congress needs to authorize the program, which is why there was no line item in the budget for it. Republicans would also like to see Federal Work Study programs collaborate with the private sector to allow students to work in their field of study, such as teaching or health professions. Rep. Bustos was particularly concerned about the budget’s proposal to eliminate Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Secretary DeVos highlighted the College Score Card and myStudentAid app as ways for students to gain a better understanding on how much college may cost, if they will need loans, how they could pay it off, and have FAFSA more accessible. Secretary DeVos discussed the Department’s proposal to cap graduate student loan amounts and cap the amount for parents.
Summary of the hearing is available here.
A report from the Commonwealth Fund describes how seven states have adopted a payment standard for out-of-network bills based on different data sources: the Medicare fee schedule, which sets a reimbursement amount for each service; publicly available data from multiple insurers, like a state-run all-payer claims database; and insurers’ internal data on amounts they have agreed to reimburse in-network providers.
The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/addressing-surprise-billing-setting-payment-standards-out-network-providers.
ASAHP joined over 100 organizations in sending a letter to key Congressional appropriations as part of the Friends of HRSA coalition. The coalition letter requests $8.8 billion for discretionary HRSA programs in the FY 2021 Labor-HHS-ED-Related agencies appropriations bill. The coalition urged the appropriators to reject the $742 million in cuts that were proposed to HRSA’s discretionary budget in the President’s FY 2021 budget proposal, which was released earlier this month.
The letter may be accessed here.
Data from the Population Reference Bureau indicate that the population identifying with two or more races is projected to be the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group between 2010 and 2020, with a 36% increase. The Asian American population is projected to increase by 32%, followed by the Latino population (23%). The non-Hispanic white population is projected to increase by just 1%, with a net gain of 1.3 million individuals.
More data can be obtained at https://www.prb.org/children-are-at-the-forefront-of-u-s-racial-and-ethnic-change/.
In the House hearing, Rep. Bustos described the physician to patient disparity between rural and urban areas in Illinois, yet the President’s budget cut health workforce programs by 50%. Secretary Azar highlighted the Department’s support for the National Health Service Corps. Other issues briefly discussed were the Department’s cuts to gun violence prevention research, cuts to Title X, and how the Department received consent from children to have their therapy sessions with ICE transmitted to DHS.
In the Senate hearing, Secretary Azar described the President’s healthcare agenda which includes the need for more physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other health professionals. Subcommittee Ranking Member Murray, in her opening statement, disagreed with the budget’s proposal to cut nearly $800 million from “tuition assistance, loan forgiveness and training for several hundred thousand health professionals annually” and eliminate of the Social Service Block Grant and the Preschool Development Grants. Other issues briefly discussed were the Department’s liver allocation policy, surprise medical billing, drug pricing transparency, and the treatment of children held at the border.
Summaries for the hearings can be found here: House and Senate
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) led the development of National Health IT Priorities for Research: A Policy and Development Agenda, which articulates a vision of a health IT infrastructure that supports alignment between the clinical and research ecosystems. The Agenda outlines nine priorities, including concrete steps to achieve that vision and enable research to happen more quickly and effectively.
The Agenda can be obtained at https://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/page/2020-01/PolicyandDevelopmentAgenda.pdf.
The Student Aid Alliance, of which ASAHP is a member, sent a letter to the Congressional leaders of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee which outlines the Alliance’s FY 2021 appropriations funding level requests for student aid programs. The letter covers Pell Grants, campus-based aid, TRIO, GEAR UP, GAANN, and LEAP Grants.
The letter may be accessed here.
