HRSA Awards $15 Million in Telehealth Funding

HHS, through HRSA, awarded $15 million to 159 organizations to increase telehealth capabilities and activities that train health professions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The awards are funded through the (CARES) Act that was signed into law on March 27. HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) oversees the five workforce programs that received funding. These are the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, Area Health Education Centers Program, Centers of Excellence Program, Veteran Nurses in Primary Care Training Program, and the Registered Nurses in Primary Care Training Program.

The HHS press release may be accessed here. A complete list of the award recipients may be accessed here.

Social Distancing Measures And The COVID-19 Growth Rate

In order to minimize the spread of COVID-19 during March and April, U.S. state and local governments joined worldwide efforts to impose social distancing measures. A paper from the journal Health Affairs published today examined the impact of selected measures on the COVID-19 growth rate after different periods of days.

The paper can be obtained at https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/pdf/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00608.

Short-Term Insurance Plans And COVID-19 Coverage

What happens when individuals with short-term health insurance plans, which are known for restricted coverage and high out-of-pocket costs, need treatment for COVID-19? A report from the Commonwealth Fund sheds light on this question.

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/age-covid-19-short-term-plans-fall-short-consumers?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Health%20Coverage.

House Democrats Release Latest COVID-19 legislation

Today the House Democrats released their latest COVID-19 legislation, H.R. 6800, The Heroes Act, which proposes more than $3 trillion in funding. The bill contains over $100 billion in funding for the Department of Education, including $90 billion for a State Fiscal Stabilization fund and $10.15 billion to help alleviate burdens with the coronavirus for both colleges and students, of which $1.7 billion is for HBCUs and MSIs. The bill also includes up to $10,000 in debt relief per Federal Student loan borrower. Additional funding includes $7.6 billion for HRSA, $2.1 billion for the CDC, $4.7 billion for NIH, and $3 billion for SAMHSA. It contains nearly $916 billion for state and local governments as well as tax relief, direct cash payments, expanded Unemployment Insurance benefits, and funding for election security and the postal service. Republican leaders oppose the bill and have been advocating for a pause in legislation in order to assess the impact of the previous relief bills. The House aims to vote on the Heroes Act this Friday.

Heroes Act Draft legislation
Title-By-Title Summary  

NexusIPE Hosts COVID-19 Webinar on Geriatrics

In the Accelerating Initiative, the Rochester Nexus Team implemented a highly successful pilot in an academic-community partnership with Lifespan,to address the needs of homebound older adults .Lifespan began strategic planning to determine how their program could scale as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.  Planning has been put on pause as New York grapples with the COVID-19 crisis. The Rochester Nexus Team will present their pilot program, and then we will pivot to an interactive, consultive, solutions-oriented webinar to brainstorm how this team and others could adapt student-staff home visits in order to meet the needs of older adults in the community and advance student learning.  This will be an opportunity for creativity and innovation. The webinar is Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm CDT

More details are available here.

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 Call

Lessons from the Front Lines: COVID-19 (Friday May 15 at 12:30 – 2:00 PM Eastern)

Lessons from the Front Lines calls are a joint effort between CMS Administrator Seema Verma, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, MD, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Physicians and other clinicians are invited to share their experience, ideas, strategies, and insights with one another related to their COVID-19 response. There is an opportunity to ask questions of presenters. The call will take place on Friday, May 15, from 12:30 – 2:00pm Eastern.

Details:

Toll Free Attendee Dial-In: 877-251-0301; Access Code: 8983296

Web Link: https://protect2.fireeye.com/url?k=13db3037-4f8f191c-13db0108-0cc47a6d17cc-3e08fb388e16c445&u=https://engage.vevent.com/rt/cms2/index.jsp?seid=2045

Conference lines are limited. Interested parties are encouraged to join via audio webcast, either on thier computer or smartphone web browser. These calls are not intended for the press.

COVID-19 And Deaths Of Despair

Alongside the thousands of deaths from COVID-19, the growing epidemic of “deaths of despair” is increasing due to the pandemic. As many as 75,000 more victims will die from drug or alcohol misuse and suicide, according to a study released by Well Being Trust (WBT) and the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine and Primary Care. The study notes that if the country fails to invest in solutions that can help heal the nation’s isolation, pain, and suffering, the collective impact of COVID-19 will be even more devastating.

The study can be obtained at https://wellbeingtrust.org/news/new-wbt-robert-graham-center-analysis-the-covid-pandemic-could-lead-to-75000-additional-deaths-from-alcohol-and-drug-misuse-and-suicide/.

 

Reopening America: Economic And Health Effects

As many states begin to implement COVID-19 recovery plans, leaders need the best possible evidence to guide their decisions. RAND researchers created an interactive tool that provides estimates of both the public health and economic effects of rolling back or maintaining social distancing and other disease-fighting measures.

The tool can be obtained at https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TLA173-1/tool.html?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=RAND%20Policy%20Currents+AEM:%20%20Email%20Address%20NOT%20LIKE%20DOTMIL&utm_campaign=AEM:631600804.

The President’s Budget Priorities And The Covid-19 Pandemic

The annual analysis by the Urban Institute of the Trump Administration’s federal budget for FY 2021 has focuses on the total changes in real spending, taxes, and deficits that would occur should that budget be adopted. It also needs to be analyzed for what it contains and omits and how it relates to ongoing efforts to deal with the pandemic and recession.

The analysis can be obtained at https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/102187/the_presidents_budget_priorities_and_the_covid-19_pandemic_1.pdf.

ASAHP Joins Letter on Retaining DACA During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ASAHP was one of seventy-seven organization that urged the Administration and Congressional leadership to take regulatory or legislative action to maintain work authorization for individuals currently in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status during the COVID-19 national emergency. Nearly 30,000 DACA recipients work as health care professionals across the United States. Rescinding DACA and the corresponding work authorizations for these providers would reduce our nation’s health care capacity at a time we can ill-afford to lose valuable personnel. The COVID-19 pandemic also illuminates longstanding social, economic, and health inequities in the United States that DACA can help address.

The letter may be accessed here.

U.S. Department of Education Issues Title IX Rule

Today the U.S. Department of Education issued its Final Rule on Title IX. The regulations go into effect on August 14, 2020. The new regulations allow for using a higher burden of proof in determining guilt in sexual misconduct complaints, and requires universities to provide a live hearing that allows for cross-examination of the parties and witnesses involved.

U.S. Department of Education Press Release
U.S. Department of Education’s Summary of Major Provisions
Statement by Senate HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander
Statement by Education & Labor Chairman Bobby Scott and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler
Statement by Education & Labor Ranking Member Virginia Foxx
Inside Higher Ed Article

Universities Face Severe State Budget Cuts

Inside Higher Ed provides an overview of the next financial blow facing public universities, severe state budget cuts due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on state revenues. The article examines the reason why higher education in particular is susceptible to seeing their state funding cut in times of crisis, and reviews preparedness levels across states.  

The article may be accessed here.

Contact Tracing Capability Of The States

When states decide to reopen businesses and attempt to resume normalcy, locating individuals who have been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient is paramount to slowing the spread of this disease. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, however, many states are not fully prepared to conduct a contact tracing program.

More information can be obtained at https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/04/29/reopening-means-contact-tracing-many-states-arent-ready?utm_campaign=2020-05-06+Rundown+(regular+edition)&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Pew.

New Informed Consent Resources For Telehealth

As the COVID-19 pandemic has forced healthcare providers to limit in-person visits, telehealth has expanded rapidly. In response to the need to obtain informed consent from patients for virtual visits, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has created guidance for clinicians on how to obtain informed consent for telehealth.

Additional information can be obtained at https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/obtain-consent-telehealth.html.

Lawmakers Release Cures 2.0 Concept Paper

Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Fred Upton (R-MI.) have released a concept paper outlining their priorities for Cures 2.0, the follow-up legislation to the 21st Century Cures Act, the landmark biomedical innovation legislation signed into law in 2016. The concept paper includes six major themes for Cures 2.0.

The paper can be obtained at https://upton.house.gov/uploadedfiles/cures_2.0_concept_paper_final.pdf.

Addressing Loneliness And Social Isolation During COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated social isolation and loneliness around the world, and the consequences for health are serious. A report from the Commonwealth Fund discusses efforts in other nations to alleviate social isolation and loneliness. 

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/solutions-around-world-tackling-loneliness-and-social-isolation-during-covid-19?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=International%20Health.

Mental Health Impact Of COVID-19 Pandemic On Health Care Workers

Health care workers are invited to participate in a study to learn about how stressors related to the COVID-19 virus affect mental health over time. Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about COVID-19, mental health symptoms, and stress using the study website.

Generating a User Name and Password can be done at https://covidhcwstudy.ctss.nih.gov/join.html.

ASAHP Joins Letter to Congress on Health Professions Funding

The Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC), of which ASAHP is a member, sent a letter to Congressional leadership this week thanking them for their continued efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, restating HPNEC’s request of $790 million for HRSA Title VII and Title VIII workforce programs, and urging Congress to provide at least $367 million in supplemental emergency funding for those programs to support our current and future health workforce.

The letter may be accessed here.

Think Tanks Host Webinar on Telehealth Before and After COVID-19

On Wednesday, May 6, the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution and the John Locke Foundation will hold a webinar to discuss the findings of a forthcoming paper on telehealth before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists will explore obstacles in telehealth and discuss the state of regulations and how telehealth services can be supported in the future.

More information and a registration link may be accessed here.

COVID-19: U.S. Public Health Data And Reporting

An Insight report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides an overview of current public health data systems and policy considerations for Congress.

The report can be obtained at https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/IN11361.pdf.