Newswire Archives
The Office of Postsecondary Education will host three distinct webinars providing an overview of the new accreditation rules that were published on November 1, 2019. The webinars will be held on January 22, 23, and 30.
More details including the webinar topics and links may be accessed here.
Recent regulatory changes by the Trump administration and uncertainty about the Affordable Care Act’s future have put the onus on states to explore policy options for safeguarding and improving their residents’ coverage. An issue brief from the Commonwealth Fund examines a variety of state policies designed to strengthen individual market coverage and improve affordability.
The issue brief can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/Giovannelli_states_indiv_market_coverage_affordable_ib.pdf.
A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) describes four measures of the price of undergraduate education in the 2015–16 academic year: total price of attendance (tuition and living expenses), net price of attendance after all grants, out-of-pocket net price after all financial aid, and out-of-pocket net price after all aid excluding student loans. Estimates are based on the 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, a nationally representative study of students enrolled in postsecondary institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The report can be obtained at https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020470.pdf.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employment at the nation's hospitals rose by 0.17% in December to a seasonally adjusted 5,297,100 workers, which is 8,800 more than in the previous month and 102,000 more than a year ago. The nation's overall unemployment rate remained unchanged in December at 3.5%.
BLS data can be obtained at https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm.
A report from The Commonwealth Fund compares provisions of current bills and initiatives involving an effort to reduce drug prices, an issue that will continue to be prominent in 2020.
The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/new-legislation-control-drug-prices-how-do-house-and-senate-bills-compare-update.
Approximately 8.3 million individuals selected or were automatically re-enrolled in plans using the HealthCare.gov platform during the 2020 open enrollment period. Snapshots provide point-in-time estimates of weekly plan selections, call center activity, and visits to HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov. The final snapshot reports new plan selections, active plan renewals, and automatic enrollments. It does not report the number of consumers who paid premiums to effectuate their enrollment.
A fact sheet can be obtained at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2020-federal-health-insurance-exchange-enrollment-period-final-weekly-enrollment-snapshot.
More than 1.5 million borrowers who first took out loans before 2000 still have debt. Borrowers with debt from the mid-1990s or earlier tend to have higher default rates, have lower credit scores, and live in lower-income neighborhoods than more recent student loan borrowers. A report from the Urban Institute discusses policy solutions that could provide relief for borrowers and decrease the chances of recent borrowers holding loans for decades.
The report can be obtained at https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/101492/when_student_loans_linger.pdf.
Altarum’s Healthcare Value Hub released a scorecard today rating 42 states and the District of Columbia on their adoption of evidence-based policy actions to improve affordability of health care for residents.
The scorecard can be obtained at https://www.healthcarevaluehub.org/application/files/3815/7836/5366/Healthcare_Affordability_Scorecard_-_Summary_Report.pdf.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia petitioned the Supreme Court on January 3, 2020 to review this term a recent federal appeals court decision that held the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate unconstitutional.
The petition can be obtained at https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/California%20v.%20Texas%20Petition%20for%20a%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari.pdf.
Combining low-tech and high-tech solutions has the greatest potential to help hospitals and health systems reduce cost, improve outcomes, and enhance the patient experience, according to a new issue brief from the American Hospital Association. The report has examples of how hospitals and health systems are using low-tech solutions to achieve value, from reducing energy use to addressing the social determinants of health and implementing team-based care.
The issue brief can be obtained at https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2019/12/value-initiative-issue-brief-8-low-tech-solutions-advance-value.pdf.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 18, 2019 struck down the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, affirming a lower court’s ruling in part. Unlike the lower court, the Fifth Circuit did not decide on the constitutionality of the rest of the health care law, leaving it to that same lower-court judge to determine whether there are parts of the ACA that might pass legal muster. A breakdown from the Commonwealth Fund describes what it means if the ACA disappears.
Additional information can be obtained at
The third annual review of top policy trends by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) identifies seven policy areas in 2020 where uncertainty could shift due to the groundswell among citizens, regulators, and businesses. Influencers to watch are highlighted, along with shifts that businesses should be prepared to get ahead of regulatory scrutiny and enforcement proactively. Health care is included in the analysis.
More information can be obtained at https://www.pwc.com/us/en/library/risk-regulatory/strategic-policy/top-policy-trends.html.
The House today passed two appropriations packages that would provide funding for Fiscal Year 2020, after agreement on the spending deal was reached by congressional and Administration leaders on Monday. The Senate is expected to pass the bills (the Labor-HHS-Ed bill is one of eight large bills that make up one minibus package, while four national security bills make up another minibus package) prior to the December 20 midnight deadline when the current Continuing Resolution ends. Overall, the bill includes $184.9 billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $4.9 billion over the 2019 enacted level and $43 billion over the President’s 2020 budget request.
The bill includes a total of $94.9 billion for HHS, an increase of $4.4 billion above the 2019 enacted level and $16.8 billion above the President’s budget request -- with the largest increase ($2.6 billion) directed to the National Institutes of Health. The bill provides $7.04 billion for HRSA, a $193 million increase over the FY 2019 level. HRSA Title VII health professions programs will receive $424.5 million, a $32.3 million increase over the FY 2019 level. The Behavioral Health Workforce Education & Training program receives $102 million, geriatric programs receive $40.7 million, and the Health Careers Opportunity Program will be funded at $15 million.
The Department of Education receives a total of $72.8 billion in discretionary appropriations – $1.3 billion above the 2019 enacted level and $8.7 billion above the President’s budget request. For Higher Education programs, the bill provides $2.5 billion, an increase of $163 million above the 2019 enacted level and $941 million above the President’s budget request. For federal student aid programs, the bill provides $24.5 billion, which is $75 million above the 2019 enacted level and $1.5 billion above the President’s budget request. Within this amount, the bill provides $865 million for the SEOG program, $1.2 billion for Federal Work Study, and an increase to the maximum Pell grant to $6,345.
The legislative package which includes the Labor-HHS-ED bill may be accessed here and a division by division summary may be found here. A table included HRSA Title VII programs be accessed here.
High-school-aged teens in the U.S. are not flourishing. A rapid evidence review, funded by Well Being Trust and conducted in partnership with Adolescents and Children Together for Health, makes recommendations for intervention and research design as well as highlights opportunities to focus interventions more broadly on social determinants of health.
The report can be obtained at https://www.academyhealth.org/sites/default/files/rer_movingpolicyupstreamadolescentflourishingdec2019.pdf.
The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) is holding its 18th faculty development institute titled Building Effective IPE for Collaborative Practice on May 19-21, 2020 at the AAMC Learning Center in Washington, DC.
Faculty teams, healthcare partners, and single learners are invited to come together for dedicated time to emerge with a programmatic action plan for developing, expanding, and implementing interprofessional education curricula that will prepare students for collaborative practice.
Space is limited and will be granted on a first come, first served basis. Super early bird registration ends on Friday, January 3.
Visit www.ipecollaborative.org to register today.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) make risk-adjusted payments by using beneficiaries’ diagnoses to pay higher capitated rates to Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) for sicker beneficiaries with higher risk scores. It may create financial incentives for MAOs to make beneficiaries appear as sick as possible, however, to obtain higher payments. CMS estimates that from 2013 through 2016, Medicare paid $40 billion in overpayments that resulted from plan-submitted diagnoses that were not supported by beneficiaries’ medical records.
A report from the HHS Office of Inspector General can be obtained at https://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-03-17-00470.pdf.
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act of 2019 today on a party line vote. H.R. 3398, the Pathways to Health Careers Act of 2019, was incorporated into the legislative package. It 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. To date, there has not yet been a HPOG companion bill introduced in the Senate.
Today the Senate HELP Committee passed S. 2997, the Title VII Health Care Workforce Act of 2019, by voice vote, which reauthorizes Title VII HRSA health care workforce programs. The legislative package from Sen. Enzi (R-WY) and Sen. Reed (D-OR) includes S. 299, the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act, from Sen. Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Casey (D-PA), which authorizes the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the Geriatric Academic Career Awards (GACA) program. The House passed their Title VII reauthorization bill in October.
The Senate HELP Committee press release may be accessed here.
The bicameral chairs and ranking members of the Appropriations Committee reached a deal in principle today of the FY 20 spending bills.
A couple of “minibuses” will be needed to pass all 12 appropriations bills, with House votes likely to begin on Tuesday. All 12 bills need to be enacted by Friday, December 20th at midnight to avoid the need for another Continuing Resolution.
Confusion surrounds the definition and implementation of free-college programs. A new report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce discusses the basic terminology of free college, along with some common questions about education finance and student financial aid.
The report can be obtained at https://cew.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/cew-free_college_101.pdf.
