Senate Appropriations Committee Releases Funding Bills

Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee released their remaining nine Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies bill. The bill includes $98.4 billion in base discretionary funding for the Department of Education, an increase of $24.9 billion over the FY 2021 level and $4.4 billion less than the budget request. The bill increases the discretionary portion of the maximum Pell grant award by $400 and includes $1.1 billion for HBCUs and MSIs. The bill includes $117.6 billion in base discretionary funding for the Department of Health and Human Services, an increase of $20.9 billion over the FY 2021 level and $1.8 billion less than the budget request. The bill includes $9.2 billion for HRSA, an increase of $1.7 billion above fiscal year 2021 and $1 billion above the President’s budget request. The bill includes a 53% increase for the Behavioral Health Workforce Education & Training (BHWET) program, a 16% increase for Mental and Behavioral Health, and a 9% increase for geriatric programs compared to the FY 21 enacted levels.

A bill summary may be accessed here, along with the bill text and an explanatory statement. A HRSA Title VII and VIII Health Workforce Programs funding chart may be accessed here.

Medicare Advantage Vs. Traditional Medicare

Medicare Advantage and traditional Medicare are serving similar populations, with beneficiaries having comparable health care experiences. According to an issue brief from the Commonwealth Fund, the care management services provided by Medicare Advantage plans appear to neither impede access to care nor reduce concerns about costs. Overall, the analysis highlights substantial barriers to care that all beneficiaries seem to be experiencing. 

The issue brief can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2021/oct/medicare-advantage-vs-traditional-medicare-beneficiaries-differ.

Decline In Hospital And Health System Employment In September 2021

Employment at hospitals and health systems fell by more than 8,000 jobs in September 2021. Overall, employment in the United States increased by 194,000, according to preliminary data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Health care jobs overall fell by 17,500 and remain under 16 million, seasonally adjusted. Although outpatient care centers, physicians, and dentists continued to add jobs, nursing and residential care facility employment fell by 37,600. Since the beginning of the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, jobs in hospitals and health systems have stayed below their peak in February 2020.  

Bureau of Labor Statistics data can be obtained at Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail (bls.gov).

COVID Snapshot

The American Hospital Association released the latest edition of the COVID-19 Snapshot, underscoring the persisting challenges facing hospitals and health systems during the ongoing public health emergency. The Snapshot combines important data points with news articles and testimonials from the field to illustrate the importance of providing hospitals and health systems with additional resources and support so that they can continue to deliver care to patients and families. 

The Snapshot can be obtained at https://www.aha.org/system/files/media/file/2021/10/snapshot-10-7-21.pdf.

Clinical Labor Costs Increase Amid The Pandemic

As the delta variant pushes COVID-19 caseloads to all-time highs, hospitals and health systems across the country are paying $24B more per year for qualified clinical labor than they did pre-pandemic, according to a new PINC AI analysis. The analysis found that clinical labor costs are up by an average of 8% per patient day when compared to a pre-pandemic baseline period in 2019. For the average 500 bed facility, it translates to $17M in additional annual labor expenses since the pandemic began. 

Additional information can be obtained at PINC AI Data Shows Hospitals Paying $24B More for Labor Amid COVID-19… | Premier (premierinc.com).

U.S. Department of Education Action on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Today, the U.S. Department Education announced several actions they are taking over the next year to make changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

The U.S. Department of Education press release may be accessed here and their fact sheet may be accessed here. Reporting from Inside Higher Ed may be accessed here.

COVID Snapshot

The American Hospital Association released the latest edition of the COVID-19 Snapshot today, underscoring the persisting challenges facing hospitals and health systems during the ongoing public health emergency. The Snapshot combines important data points with news articles and testimonials from the field to illustrate the importance of providing hospitals and health systems with additional resources and support so that they can continue to deliver care to patients and families. 

The Snapshot can be obtained at https://www.aha.org/the-snapshot.

 

Portal For Additional COVID-19 Relief Funding Opens

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) opened the portal for health care providers to apply through October 26, 2021 for a portion of $25.5 billion in COVID-19 relief funds. Providers can submit a single application to request payments from both the $17 billion “Phase 4” Provider Relief Fund distribution and $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds for rural providers. HRSA will host the first of four webinar sessions on September 30 at 3:00 P.M. ET about funding and how to navigate the application portal.  

More information about funding and how to participate in the webinar sessions can be obtained at https://www.hrsa.gov/provider-relief/future-payments.

Assessing America’s Hospitals’ Capacity To Provide Care During COVID-19

A Snapshot from the American Hospital Association provides a look at America’s hospitals’ capacity to provide care during COVID-19. America’s hospitals and health systems continue to face historic challenges, including unprecedented financial pressures.  

The Snapshot can be obtained at https://www.aha.org/the-snapshot.

mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Among U.S. Health Care Personnel

According to an article published on September 23, 2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine, the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines were highly effective under real-world conditions in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 in health care personnel, including those at risk for severe Covid-19 and those in racial and ethnic groups that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.  

The article can be obtained at https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2106599?query=featured_coronavirus.

Exploring the Role of Health Professional Students and Trainees as Members of the Health Professions Workforce: Part 1

Join the planning committee from the National Academies Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education through a series of workshops and events to explore the roles of health professions students and trainees in times of emergency. The first event will spark the discussion and inform future meetings.

Learn more and register here.

Call for Pilot Testers: IPEC Competency Framework

IPEC has partnered with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) to develop an IPEC Institutional Assessment Instrument.

This instrument will leverage the IPEC competency framework to identify institutional characteristics tied to successful implementation of programmatic interprofessional education (IPE), including the capacity for students to engage meaningfully on teams in interprofessional clinical learning environments.

As a next step, IPEC is seeking individuals who serve as the designated IPE leader at their respective institution to provide responses as part of an initial validation process.

For the full open call, click here.  

If you are passionate about advancing IPE and would like to participate, please RSVP by 6:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, October 1, 2021.

HRSA Releases New Health Workforce Projections and Dashboard

HRSA’s National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA) has released a new dashboard with new health workforce projections. For the first time, HRSA’s health workforce projections are now available on data.hrsa.gov as part of an interactive dashboard. The dashboard includes the just released Primary Care projections, as well as previously released health workforce projections for Allied Health, Behavioral Health, Long-Term Care, Oral Health, and Women’s Health. This interactive virtual dashboard displays U.S. healthcare workforce projections and shows the projection of the supply of, and demand for, healthcare workers across the United States.

HRSA will be hosting a webinar tomorrow, September 20 from 10-11am ET, to share more details about the dashboard. Zoom link is available here.

The interactive dashboard may be accessed here.

ASAHP and the University of Cincinnati Announce the Recipients of the Interprofessional Innovation Grant Program

The Interprofessional Task Force (IPTF) of the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) and the University of Cincinnati (UC) are pleased to announce the three recipients of its Interprofessional Innovation Grant Program. The IPTF and UC developed the Interprofessional Innovation Grant (IIG) Program to provide support for interprofessional collaboration research among the ASAHP membership. The intent is to provide recipients a competitive edge in securing additional funding by supporting pilot projects and further developing grantsmanship skill sets.

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Research Study: Liaison COVID-19 Fall 2021 Impact on Higher Education

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Conducted between August 4 and August 20, 2021, Liaison International fielded a research study using an online survey questionnaire sent to faculty, staff, and administrators at 3,106 higher education institutions across the United States. The respondents included both full- and part-time faculty and staff - asking questions on how the pandemic is affecting overall institutional operations and the moods and concerns around campuses. The report is entitled, “COVID-19 Fall 2021 Impact on Higher Education”.

The report may be accessed here.

State/Territory-Coordinated Distribution System For Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics

The increased incidence of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has caused a substantial surge in the utilization of monoclonal antibody (mAb) drugs, particularly in areas of the country with low vaccination rates. On September 13, HHS transitioned from a direct ordering process to a state/territory-coordinated distribution system similar to that used for the distribution of mAbs from November 2020 – February 2021. Weekly distribution amounts for each state/territory will be determined by HHS based on weekly reports of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in addition to data on inventories and use submitted to the federal government. State/Territorial Health Departments will determine where product goes in their jurisdictions. 

More information can be obtained at https://www.phe.gov/emergency/events/COVID19/investigation-MCM/Bamlanivimab-etesevimab/Pages/Update-13Sept21.aspx.

Additional Distributions Of COVID-19 Relief Funds

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that on September 29, 2021, it will distribute $25.5 billion in COVID-19 relief funds to health care providers. These providers then will be able to apply for $25.5 billion in relief funds, including $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources for providers who serve rural patients and $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 for a broad range of providers who can document revenue loss and expenses associated with the pandemic. 

More information can be obtained at Future Payments | Official web site of the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (hrsa.gov).

Senate Report: A Bold Vision for America's Mental Well-Being

On Thursday, Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Cornyn (R-TX) released “A Bold Vision for America’s Mental Well-being,” a white paper outlining a new framework for reimagining and redesigning how mental and behavioral health care is delivered in the United States. To help inform a forthcoming legislative package, Bennet and Cornyn are seeking input from experts, community leaders, and constituents on policies to help achieve intended outcomes laid out in their white paper. Anyone may provide feedback to mentalhealth@bennet.senate.gov by October 8, 2021.

More information including the full report is available here.

House Committees Consider the Build Back Better Act

On Thursday and Friday this week the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee are holding their respective markups of the Build Back Better Act, the FY 22 budget reconciliation bill. The Education and Labor Committee provisions would provide two years of tuition-free community college, increase the Pell Grant maximum award amount, invest in grant programs to help train new teachers, make investments in HBCUs, tribal colleges and universities, HSIs, and other MSIs, and create a new program for student retention and completion grants. The Ways and Means Committee provisions would provide up to 12 weeks of universal paid family and medical leave for workers, reauthorize the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program to strengthen it and make it available nationwide, deliver additional funding to the TAA for Community Colleges and Career Training program, and expand Medicare coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing benefits.

The House Education and Labor Committee bill may be accessed here. A fact sheet is available here. The House Ways and Means Committee bill text and section-by-section may be accessed here. Analysis from Inside Higher Ed may be accessed here. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold their markup on Monday, September 13 at 11am Eastern. More details are available here.