CDC’s Updated COVID-19 Infection Control Guidance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommended practices to prevent and control infection in health care settings during the COVID-19 pandemic, by including different options for screening health care personnel, patients and visitors entering a health care facility; factors that can affect thermometer readings; resources for evaluating and managing ventilation systems; and a FAQ on personal protective equipment.

The updated information can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/infection-control-recommendations.html.

Webinar on Bringing Together the Remote University

The Chronicle of Higher Education will be hosting a webinar on Thursday, November 5 at 2:00pm Eastern to examine the effects of the remote shift in higher education and to discuss how universities can keep their operations running smoothly. The Chronicle will bring together an expert panel of senior administrators in an hour-long virtual forum.

Goldie Blumenstyk will lead a discussion with a panel of campus leaders:
- Melody Dee Childs, CIO, Texas A&M University
- Elizabeth Bejar, Senior Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs, Florida International U.
- Jean Morrison, Provost, Boston University

More details and a registration form may be accessed here.

Updated Medicaid/CHIP Scorecard

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) developed its Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Scorecard to increase public transparency about the programs’ administration and outcomes. The Scorecard includes measures voluntarily reported by states, as well as federally reported measures in three pillars (State Health System Performance, State Administrative Accountability, and Federal Administrative Accountability). States and CMS can use the Scorecard to drive improvements in areas such as state and federal alignment, beneficiary health outcomes, and program administration. 

The Scorecard can be obtained at https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/scorecard/index.html.

Toolkit To Accelerate State Efforts To Rebalance Long-Term Care Systems

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched a new toolkit today designed for state Medicaid agencies to strengthen their infrastructure and develop robust home and community-based services (HCBS) for eligible beneficiaries. 

The toolkit can be obtained at https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/long-term-services-supports/downloads/ltss-rebalancing-toolkit.pdf.

Affordable Care Act And Pre-Existing Conditions Protection

A report from the Commonwealth Fund discusses that if the ACA is overturned, it would be hard to sustain state-passed preexisting condition protections, given the ensuing loss of federal funding and likely dysfunction in the individual markets.  

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2020/state-efforts-preexisting-conditions?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Health%20Coverage.

CMS Price Transparency Initiative Rule Issued

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) along with the Departments of Labor and the Department of the Treasury on October 29, 2020 issued a final rule on price transparency to enable patients to know how much their healthcare will cost in advance and allow them to make fully informed and value-conscious decisions. 

A Fact Sheet can be obtained at https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/transparency-coverage-final-rule-fact-sheet-cms-9915-f.

VOTE: Truth, Facts, Science And Democracy To Combat COVID-19

ASAHP Fellow Halcyon St. Hill, Professor Emeritus At Florida Gulf Coast University, attended A Workshop About Op-Ed Offered Through The National Science Political Network (NSPN). A statement developed at that event can be obtained at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qaNiWTffsM3bjSKbQcgXNSOqerQ652FA/view.

Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

The U.S. Census Bureau updated the Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) statistics with the release of earnings tabulations for four more higher education systems: the City University of New York (CUNY), the State University of New York (SUNY), Pennsylvania State University, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The addition of these new systems increases the number to 243.

A visualization tool can be obtained at https://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/pseo_explorer.html?type=earnings&compare=postgrad&specificity=2&state=08&institution=00137000&degreelevel=05&gradcohort=0000-3&filter=50&program=52,45.

Department Of Homeland Security Requested To Withdraw Flawed Duration Of Status Proposed Rule

The American Council on Education in conjunction with more than 80 other organizations submitted comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expressing strong opposition to a proposed rule, which creates a fixed duration of admission of either two years or four years for international students, scholars, and researchers on F or J visas.  Presently, international students and scholars are allowed to remain as long as they are enrolled full time in a program of study.

The comments can be obtained at https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Comments-DHS-Duration-of-Status-102620.pdf.

Enhancement Of Apprenticeship Pathways to Employment

The American Council on Education announced it will add apprenticeships to its already significant learning evaluations portfolio and will work to improve postsecondary and workforce connections for these programs. Higher education partners will receive support to articulate apprenticeship credits into degree programs.

More information can be obtained at https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/New-ACE-Project-to-Enhance-Apprenticeship-Pathways-to-Employment.aspx.

U.S. Men Outpace Women In COVID-19 Mortality

Based on a Sex-Disaggregated Data Tracker, for every 10 deaths among confirmed COVID-19 cases in women, there are 13 in men even though females comprise a majority (51.7%) of confirmed cases in the U.S.

More data can be obtained at https://globalhealth5050.org/the-sex-gender-and-covid-19-project/the-data-tracker/?explore=country&country=USA#search.

Complimentary Registration Now Open for the 2020 ASAHP Connect & Engage Virtual Meeting

Complimentary registration is now open for the 2020 ASAHP Connect & Engage Virtual Meeting on Thursday, October 22, from 1:00 – 3:30pm. Please register here to join your peers for a fast paced discussion on the latest happenings at ASAHP, a preview of the upcoming November elections, committee meetings, and exclusive networking sessions with your colleagues. The 2020 ASAHP Connect & Engage Virtual Meeting is made possible by the generous support of our gold sponsors (the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions, the University of Kansas School of Health Professions, and the UT Health San Antonio School of Health Professions) as well as our silver sponsors (the Rush University College of Health Sciences and the Salus University Office of Graduate Programs in Biomedicine).

The event website may be accessed here. 

Medicare Data Hub Is Available

The Commonwealth Fund has developed the Medicare Data Hub, a resource for policymakers, researchers, health providers, advocates, and journalists to track the issues that affect health care for Medicare beneficiaries.

The Hub can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/2020/oct/medicare-data-hub?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Medicare.

Medicaid Enrollment And Spending Growth

A new brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation analyzes Medicaid enrollment and spending trends for FY 2020 and FY 2021 based on data provided by state Medicaid directors as part of the 20th annual survey of Medicaid directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Medicaid enrollment for fiscal year 2021 is expected to jump 8.2%, with state spending to accelerate by 8.4%.

The brief can be obtained at https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-enrollment-spending-growth-fy-2020-2021/.

CDC Updates COVID-19 Vaccine Information

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its webpage on COVID-19 vaccine to inform health care providers about U.S. vaccination plans, how the CDC makes vaccination recommendations, and how future vaccines will be monitored for safety.

The webpage can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html.

Willingness To Be Vaccinated For COVID-19 Declines

A recent Gallup poll indicates that a willingness to be vaccinated against the coronavirus has dropped 11 percentage points, falling to 50% in late September. This sharp decline comes after the percentage dwindled from 66% in July to 61% in August.

Additional information can be obtained at https://news.gallup.com/poll/321839/readiness-covid-vaccine-falls-past-month.aspx.

HRSA Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Notice of Funding Opportunity

HRSA has posted a notice of funding opportunity for the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program for Professionals. The purpose of the program is to increase the supply of behavioral health professionals while also improving distribution of a quality behavioral health workforce and thereby increasing access to behavioral health services. A special focus is placed on the knowledge and understanding of children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth at risk for behavioral health disorders. The estimated total program funding is $44,200,000 with 92 expected awards. The application deadline is January 21, 2021.

More details may be accessed here.

Institutional Models of IPE Report Released

Dr. Teri Stumbo, Chair of the ASAHP Education Committee, Dr. Anthony Breitbach, Chair of the ASAHP IPE Task Force, and Dr. Scott Bennie of Kettering College recently co-authored Organizational Models of Interprofessional Practice and Education in the United States: Results from a National Survey about the models institutions are using to embrace IPE. The report was in collaboration with the American Interprofessional Health Collaborative (AIHC) and the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education (NCIPE).

Learn more here.

COVID-19s Impact On Older Workers

A report from the Commonwealth Fund explores the impact the loss of income and employer health benefits is having on older adults, and how the movement of hundreds of thousands of Americans into Medicare will affect federal spending on the program.

The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/sites/default/files/2020-10/Jacobson_COVID_impact_older_workers_ib_v3.pdf.