Newswire Archives
Although the U.S. has made significant progress at improving health over the past three decades, longstanding issues and emerging challenges threaten those gains, a new report from America’s Health Rankings finds. Produced by United Health Foundation, it highlights health trends over both the past three decades and past year.
The report can be obtained at https://assets.americashealthrankings.org/app/uploads/ahr_2019annualreport.pdf.
The Senate approved an amendment to the House-passed FUTURE Act that would permanently restore the annual appropriation of $255 million for minority serving institutions that expired September 30, as well as streamline both the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the process borrowers use to repay income-driven student loans. The amendment also provides for a small increase in the maximum Pell Grant award.
A description of the compromise solution can be obtained at https://www.help.senate.gov/ranking/newsroom/press/senate-education-leaders-propose-bipartisan-solution-to-permanently-fund-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-and-minority-serving-institutions.
In week five (November 24-30, 2019) of the 2020 Open Enrollment, 504,041 individuals selected plans using the HealthCare.gov platform. As in past years, enrollment weeks are measured Sunday through Saturday. Consequently, the cumulative totals reported in this snapshot reflect one fewer day than last year.
Additional information can be obtained at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/federal-health-insurance-exchange-weekly-enrollment-snapshot-week-5.
The Pathways to Health Careers Act of 2019 has been fully incroprated into a large legislative package, H.R. 3. The Pathways to Health Careers Act of 2019 passed the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year and reauthorizes the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program at significantly increased funding levels and greatly expands opportunities for individuals to develop the education and skills required to enter a host of allied health professions and nursing, particularly for low income individuals. ASAHP worked with House Committee staff in support of the HPOG legislation. The Committee on Rules will likely consider the bill early next week, and the legislative package may be voted on the House Floor as early as Wednesday, December 11.
An HPOG Fact Sheet may be accessed here.
Commonwealth Fund researchers discuss the findings of a survey that explored how Americans’ values align with their health care experiences and views on health reform.
Findings can be obtained at http://features.commonwealthfund.org/health-care-in-america-values-experiences.
If a pending court decision finds the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and its guarantee of coverage for preexisting conditions to be unconstitutional, or if the law’s opponents successfully repeal it, coverage of 54 million Americans with health problems would be at risk. An Op-Ed in The Hill discusses this matter.
The Op-Ed can be obtained at https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/472963-american-health-care-has-a-new-third-rail.
A provisional set of web tables from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) presents fully edited and imputed data findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) winter data collection, including data on graduation rates for selected cohorts, outcome measures, student financial aid, and admissions.
Data can be obtained at https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/use-the-data/survey-components.
ASAHP, a member of the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC), joined sixty members of the coalition in urging congressional appropriators to fund the HRSA Title VII health professions and Title VIII programs at $690 million for FY 2020. The Senate has proposed $633.5 million while the House proposed $680 million earlier this summer.
The letter may be accessed here.
In week four (November 17-23) of the 2020 Open Enrollment, 703,556 individuals selected plans using the HealthCare.gov platform. As in past years, enrollment weeks are measured Sunday through Saturday. Consequently, the cumulative totals reported in this snapshot reflect one fewer day than last year.
An article published today in the Harvard Business Review by Commonwealth Fund President David Blumenthal discusses how Google’s move into patient information as a result of a recent agreement with Ascension, a huge national health system, is yet another sign of how the digital revolution is transforming health care.
The article can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2019/why-googles-move-patient-information-big-deal.
Individuals in the United States contend with more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections a year. More than 35,000 die as a result, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency produced an update of its first analysis in 2013 of antibiotic resistance in the U.S. that outlines the top 18 resistant pathogens and evaluates progress in the fight against super bugs.
The report can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/threats-report/2019-ar-threats-report-508.pdf.
President Trump on November 21 signed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through December 20, 2019 and delay impending Medicaid cuts, among other provisions. Federal funding for fiscal year 2019 expired on September 30 of this year.
The CR can be obtained at https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3055.
In a report from the RAND Corporation, authors analyze how allowing adults ages 50 and older to buy into the Medicare program could affect health insurance coverage, individual market premiums, and federal health care spending.
The report can be obtained at https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR4246.html?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=RAND%20Policy%20Currents+AEM:%20%20Email%20Address%20NOT%20LIKE%20DOTMIL&utm_campaign=AEM:631600804.
Last week, a federal appeals court heard oral arguments in a case concerning the regulation of association health plans (AHPs), insurance that business or professional associations offer their members. The case hinges on whether AHPs, which the Trump administration is trying to make more widely available, are governed under the rules that apply to small-group or large-group plans, and whether AHPs can aggregate a group of small employers to create a large group.
Important questions are identified in a publication from the Commonwealth Fund that can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2019/dc-circuit-judges-hear-oral-arguments-association-health-plans-case.
The U.S. House of Representatives today voted 231-192 to approve a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through December 20. The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation before the current CR expires on November 21.
Today’s CR can be obtained at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-116hr3055eas/pdf/BILLS-116hr3055eas.pdf.
Preventing adverse experiences in childhood can lead to improved health outcomes in later stages of life, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Protecting children from exposure to violence, abuse, or growing up around individuals with mental health or substance use problems can help reduce chronic diseases, risky health behaviors, and socio-economic challenges later in life.
A CDC report can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/pdfs/mm6844e1-H.pdf.
“The Status Quo is Unacceptable” is the title of a presentation made by David J. Skorton, President and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, at Learn Serve Lead 2019, the association’s 130th annual meeting in Phoenix, AZ on November 10, 2019.
The presentation can be obtained at https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2019-11/2019%20LSL%20David%20Skorton%20Speech%20The%20Status%20Quo%20is%20Unacceptable.pdf.
New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that the gap between rural and urban Americans who die from preventable causes has widened across many conditions between 2010-2017.
The report can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/ss/pdfs/ss6810a1-H.pdf.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) within the U.S. Public Health Service has an updated version of its Strategic Plan. The agency is renewing its message of cooperation to its many partners to deliver health care to individuals most in need.
The Strategic Plan can be obtained at https://www.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/hrsa/about/strategic-plan/HRSA-strategic-plan-2019-2022.pdf.
More than 177,000 individuals selected a 2020 health plan through HealthCare.gov November 1-2, the first two days of open enrollment, according to an announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today. Nearly three-quarters of those selecting plans were renewing coverage and the rest were new consumers. Thirty-eight states are using HealthCare.gov for 2020 open enrollment, which runs through December 15.
More information can be obtained at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/federal-health-insurance-exchange-weekly-enrollment-snapshot-week-1.
