ASAHP Comments on Department of Education Negotiated Rulemaking

This week is the third and final session of the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking for higher education, as the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility Committee meets March 14-18. ASAHP submitted comments to the committee to express concern that should the proposed language move forward, the impact and efficacy of the gains from state authorization reciprocity under State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements will be nullified, and that postsecondary institutions and their out-of-state distance education students will be negatively impacted as a result. ASAHP joins NC-SARA in recommending language to preserve the value and benefits of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.

ASAHP’s letter to the negotiated rulemaking committee may be accessed here. More details on the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking may be accessed here.

Senate to Hold PREVENT Pandemics Act Markup

On Tuesday, March 15, at 10am Eastern, the Senate HELP Committee will hold a markup of S. 3799, the PREVENT Pandemics Act. Earlier this year the Committee released a discussion draft and section-by-section of the bill. The legislation aims to strengthen the nation’s public health and medical preparedness and response systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More details may be accessed here.

Adoption Of Health Literacy Best Practices To Enhance Clinical Research

Clinical research is critical to developing new treatments and therapies for patients. To maximize societal benefit and health equity, it is important that clinical research information be accessible and inclusive, and participants should be representative of the patient population. To explore the role that patient comprehension of clinical research can have in delivering high-quality clinical care and in increasing the diversity of the populations enrolled in clinical research, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Health Literacy held a virtual public workshop on October 28, 2021.   

Workshop proceedings can be obtained at Adoption of Health Literacy Best Practices to Enhance Clinical Research and Community Participation: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief | The National Academies Press (nap.edu).

How Medicare Can Expand Access To High-Quality Primary Care While Controlling Costs

A new Commonwealth Fund brief discusses 10 key lessons from recent federal attempts to increase payment for primary care providers and improve Medicare beneficiaries’ access to their services. 

The brief can be obtained at Increasing Medicare’s Investment in Primary Care | Commonwealth Fund.

White House National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan

Today the White House released its National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan. This plan lays out a roadmap to help fight COVID-19 in the future as we begin to get back to our more normal routines. The President’s National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan focuses on four key goals: protect against and treat COVID-19, prepare for new variants, prevent economic and educational shutdowns, and continue to vaccinate the world.

The plan may be accessed here and here.

COVID-19: The Way Forward

A new IN FOCUS report from the Congressional Research Service accompanies the CRS Issues and Policy Seminar “COVID-19: The Way Forward,” in which CRS analysts and attorneys present on various aspects of U.S. government domestic and global pandemic responses and congressional actions and options.  

The report can be obtained at https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/IF12051.pdf.

ASAHP Featured for Addressing Healthcare Disparities

The Association for Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) is actively working to ensure a diverse pipeline of future health professionals beginning at the undergraduate level.

In addition to institutions recruiting students from underrepresented backgrounds, ASAHP president, Deb Larsen PhD, FAPTA, FASAHP, explained the importance of making sure those students are supported once they're enrolled. Understanding a patient's background and experiences can affect the conversations and relationships they have with healthcare workers, says Cynthia Hughes Harris, PhD, dean of Florida A&M's School of Allied Health Sciences.

Full article from HealthLeaders Media available at here.

Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States

A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) updates a previous one that showed maternal mortality rates for 2018 and 2019. In 2020, 861 women were identified as having died of maternal causes in the United States, compared with 754 in 2019. The maternal mortality rate for 2020 was 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births compared with a rate of 20.1 in 2019. In 2020, the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic Black women was 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic White women (19.1).  

Additional information can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2020/maternal-mortality-rates-2020.htm.

Congress Passes Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act

On Thursday evening the Senate passed by voice vote the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. The bill passed the House in December 2021. The bill authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants or contract to health care entities, including entities that provide health care services, such as hospitals, community health centers, and rural health clinics, or to medical professional associations, to establish or enhance evidence-based or evidence-informed programs dedicated to improving mental health and resiliency for health care professionals. In addition, HHS may award grants to health professions schools, academic health centers, State or local governments, Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations, or other appropriate public or private nonprofit entities (or consortia of entities, including entities promoting multidisciplinary approaches) to support the training of health care students, residents, or health care professionals in evidence-based or evidence-informed strategies to address mental and substance use disorders and improve mental health and resiliency among health care professionals.
More details may be accessed here.

Now Accepting Applications for the 2022 ASAHP Scholarship of Excellence

Each year, ASAHP along with CastleBranch sponsors a scholarship program for allied health students enrolled in its member institutions. The purpose is to recognize outstanding students in the allied health professions who excel in their academic programs and have significant potential to assume future leadership roles in the allied health professions. Each student chosen for an award will receive a $1,000 scholarship. The most exemplary Scholarship of Excellence recipient will also receive the “Elwood Scholar” award, qualifying an additional $1,000 in scholarship funds. We are now accepting applications for this year’s awards. The deadline is Friday, June 3, 2022.

More information may be accessed here.

IPEC Semiannual Membership Meeting Report

The 2022 Semiannual Membership Meeting of the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) took place virtually on Wednesday, February 9, 2022. The theme of this year’s meeting was “Identifying Opportunities to Improve IPE for Collaborative Practice” and ASAHP was represented at the meeting by ASAHP President Dr. Deborah Larsen, Partnerships, Alliances and Advocacy Committee and Interprofessional Task Force Chair Dr. Anthony Breitbach as well as ASAHP Executive Director John Colbert and Director of Public Affairs Kristen Truong.

View the meeting report by Dr. Anthony Breitbach here.

Provision Of Vaccines To Racial And Ethnic Groups

This month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its final report, which describes programmatic actions taken by the federal agencies Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide COVID-19 vaccines to underserved and historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups.  

The report can be obtained at GAO-22-105079, COVID-19: Federal Efforts to Provide Vaccines to Racial and Ethnic Groups.

Social Security & Medicare Lifetime Benefits And Taxes: 2021

A new report from the Urban Institute presents updated figures in 2021 dollars for the lifetime benefits earned and the lifetime taxes paid by hypothetical workers participating in Social Security and Medicare. Both programs continue to fall well short of the benefits that current and future cohorts will receive. Given likely unsustainability of this system, looking at lifetime, not just annual, benefits and taxes allows policymakers to ascertain better how benefits and taxes might most fairly and efficiently be adjusted to achieve sustainability. 

The report can be obtained at https://www.urban.org/research/publication/social-security-medicare-lifetime-benefits-and-taxes-2021/view/full_report.

HHS Office Seeks Public Comment on National Health Security Strategy

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is soliciting public comment regarding national health security threats, challenges, and promising practices to help inform the development of the 2023-2026 National Health Security Strategy (NHSS). Comments must be received by March 11, 2022.

More information may be accessed here.

House to Hold Hearing on Mental Health

On Thursday the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations will hold a hearing entitled "Americans in Need: Responding to the National Mental Health Crisis". Earlier this month, as reported in the newswire, other committees in the House and Senate held hearings on mental health.

The hearing may be accessed here. A memorandum from Chairman Pallone may be accessed here.

Administration’s Efforts To Reduce Poverty

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a new report that highlights the economic impact of the American Rescue Plan (ARP), specifically the role ARP played in reducing poverty.  

The report can be obtained at Microsoft Word - ASPE Brief - Poverty Projections for 2021 - 2-2-22 (hhs.gov)

Jobs Added By Hospitals And Health Systems

According to data released by the Bureau Of Health Statistics recently, hospitals and health systems added 3,400 jobs in January and U.S. jobs overall increased by 467,000. Hospital employment remains approximately 100,000 below its March 2020 peak, but has grown in 14 of the past 22 months for a slow but steady job recovery. Total health care jobs grew by 18,000 in January to a seasonally adjusted 16.1 million, with physicians, dentists and other office-based providers adding jobs and nursing and residential care facilities losing about 100.

The report can be obtained at Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail - 2022 M01 Results (bls.gov).