Climate Change And Mental Health

The physical health impacts of climate change are everywhere, but climate change also affects mental health, causing everything from anxiety and feelings of helplessness to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts. A new report from The Commonwealth Fund examines the direct and indirect effects of extreme weather events, worsening air pollution, and rising temperatures on mental health.  

The report can be obtained at How Climate Change Affects Mental Health, What We Can Do About It | Commonwealth Fund.

ASAHP Letter to Congressional Leadership Urging DACA Legislation

ASAHP was one of 77 signatories which sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging legislation that provides permanent protections for “Dreamers” who came to the U.S. as children. Currently, 34,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients provide health care to patients in communities across the nation.

The letter may be accessed here.

Department of Education Announces Public Hearings on Higher Education Rulemaking

The U.S. Department of Education announced that it will hold virtual public hearings on April 11, 12, and 13 to receive stakeholder feedback on potential issues for future rulemaking sessions. The announcement is the first step in the process of issuing new regulations. Following the public hearings, the Department will finalize the issues to be addressed through rulemaking and solicit nominations for non-federal negotiators who can serve on the negotiated rulemaking committee(s), which will convene in fall 2023. The Department suggests the following topics for regulation in the hearing notice but invites comment on any regulatory issue that can improve outcomes for students. Potential topics may include:

• The Secretary’s recognition of accrediting agencies and related issues

• Institutional eligibility, including State authorization

• Third-party servicers and related issues

• The definition of distance education as it pertains to clock hour programs and reporting students who enroll primarily online

• Return of Title IV funds

• Cash management to address disbursement of student funds

• Federal TRIO programs

More details may be accessed here.

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Data Released

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) released 2017-2022 data on the number of organ donors, organ transplant recipients and waitlist candidates, which it plans to update regularly. These data are part of an initiative to strengthen accountability, equity, and performance in the organ donation and transplantation system, which includes issuing contract solicitations for multiple awards to manage and improve the Network. 

More information is available at https://data.hrsa.gov/topics/health-systems/organ-donation.

Affordable Care Act Health Coverage

A newly released Issue Brief presents current estimates of enrollment in health insurance coverage obtained through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces, Medicaid expansion, Children's Health Insurance Program, Basic Health Program and the subsequent reductions in state-level uninsured rates since the ACA was implemented in 2014. As of early 2023, the report finds that more than 40 million Americans have coverage under the ACA, the highest total on record. 

The Brief can be obtained at Microsoft Word - Health Coverage Under ACA 03-22-2023 Final version_ (hhs.gov).

House Subcommittee to Hold Education Hearings

On Thursday, March 23, at 10:15 am Eastern, the the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development will hold a hearing titled, "Breaking the System: Examining the Implications of Biden's Student Loan Policies for Students and Taxpayers." On Wednesday, March 29, at 10:15 am Eastern, the same Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, “Diversity of Thought: Protecting Free Speech on College Campuses.”

Also, on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 2:00pm Eastern, the House Ways & Means Committee’s Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, “Why Health Care is Unaffordable: The Fallout of Democrats’ Inflation on Patients and Small Businesses.”

On Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 1:00pm Eastern, the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled, “Lowering Unaffordable Costs: Examining Transparency and Competition in Health Care>.”

The education Subcommittee hearings may be accessed here, the Ways & Means Health Subcommittee hearing may be accessed here, and the Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee may be accessed here.

Department of Education Guidance on Third Party Servicers, Comments Due March 30

On February 15 the Department of Education provided guidance via a Dear Colleague letter which expands its interpretation of the definition of “third-party servicers”. Institutions will have until September 1, 2023 to provide the requested details on their relationships with third-party servicers. The deadline to provide comments to the Department is March 30, 2023. According to ACE: “Based on our review of the DCL, it appears that the following entities may be considered TPSs: an institution that provides courses and instruction to another institution as part of an inter-college consortia; an online extension campus providing services to another campus of the same university; an institution in a state system providing services to other institutions in the system; a hospital providing clinical experiences and the related educational programing for nurses and other medical professionals; a local police department helping to compile and analyze campus crime statistics; a non-profit organization providing student engagement and 1 This letter does not attempt to detail our substantive input on the Department’s proposal, which we are in the process of developing and will provide to the Department in a separate submission. 2 retention services or tools to improve student outcomes for at-risk students; publishers providing online materials and study guides, or technology providers developing adaptive courseware solutions.”

Details and the opportunity to comment may be accessed here. A letter from ACE to the Department of Education is available here.

Senate Hearings on the President's FY 24 HHS Budget Proposal

On Wednesday, March 22, the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the President’s FY 24 budget request with testimony from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. Later that day, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Labor-H Subcommittee will hold their hearing on the President’s FY 24 budget request with testimony from Secretary Becerra.

On Tuesday, March 28, at 2pm Eastern, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold their hearing on the President’s FY 24 budget request with testimony from Secretary Becerra.

On Wednesday, March 29, at 10am Eastern the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health will hold their hearing on the President’s FY 24 budget request with testimony from Secretary Becerra.

The Senate Finance Committee hearing may be accessed here, the Labor-H Subcommittee hearing may be accessed here.

National Academies Public Workshop on Artificial Intelligence in Health Professions Education

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will hold the closing session of its “Artificial Intelligence in Health Professions Education” public workshop on April 26 from 12:30-2pm Eastern. The event will explore opportunities, issues, and concerns with preparing health professionals to maximize the potential of artificial intelligence to improve the process of health professions education.

Registration for the closing session may be accessed here. More details on the previous three sessions of the public workshop are available here.

Decline In Transfers From Community Colleges

According to a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, transfers between community colleges and four-year institutions continued to drop last fall. The report also indicates that six-year college completion rates among transfer students improved, despite the disruptive nature of the pandemic. 

The report can be obtained at Transfer and Progress | National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (nscresearchcenter.org).

Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued initial guidance detailing the requirements and parameters, including requests for public comment, on key elements of the new Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program for 2026, the first year negotiated prices will apply. This guidance is one step in a timeline for the first year of negotiation. 

The timeline can be obtained at Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program Timeline (cms.gov).

Resource: Evidence-based benefits of clinical education

ASAHP’s Clinical Education Task Force conducted a literature review to find published articles about the impact of clinical education on clinical sites across a broad scope of health professions. Key findings from the review were summarized and categorized into four major themes about the benefits of site participation in clinical education: Students Add Value, Productivity, Preceptor Perception, and Patient Perception.  These themes were compiled on a one-page infographic that summarizes the each theme in a single sentence and gives a “key” to achieving the listed benefit.   A QR code embedded in the infographic takes readers to a bibliography of published literature supporting the listed themes. The one-page resource created by the CETF can be used by both academic programs and healthcare facilities as a tool to frame conversations about the benefits of clinical education. The information presented dispels common misunderstandings and perceived obstacles that serve as barriers to clinical education participation and highlights the benefits to students, faculty, clinicians, and patients. 

Learn more here.

Research Needed To Address Post COVID And Medicaid

AcademyHealth’s Evidence Informed State Health Policy Institute (ESHPI) has developed a Post-COVID-related research agenda, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Engagement Award Program, to explore how Medicaid can examine the long-term impact on beneficiaries and the program. 

More information can be obtained at https://academyhealth.org/blog/2023-03/new-research-agenda-looks-foundational-research-needed-address-post-covid-and-medicaid.

Family Caregivers: Valuing The Invaluable

According to a new report from AARP, family caregivers fill an essential role in the long-term services and supports (LTSS) system. In 2021, the estimated economic value of family caregivers’ unpaid contributions was approximately $600 billion, based on about 38 million caregivers providing an average of 18 hours of care per week for a total of 36 billion hours of care, at an average value of $16.59 per hour.  

The report can be obtained at https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/ppi/2023/3/valuing-the-invaluable-2023-update.doi.10.26419-2Fppi.00082.006.pdf.

President's FY 24 Budget Request

This afternoon, the President’s FY 24 budget request was released. The request for $1.73 trillion in discretionary funds is a nearly $90 billion (5.5 percent) increase over the current fiscal year. The request calls for a 7 percent increase in nondefense discretionary spending and a 3 percent increase in defense funding. House Republicans are seeking roughly 9 percent cuts from FY 23. The Administration’s FY 24 request for the Department of Education is $90 billion, a 10.8 billion (13.6 percent) increase. The maximum Pell of $8,215 for the next school year, a $820 overall boost from $7,395 which takes effect July 1. The Administration’s overall goal is to double the overall Pell maximum grant by 2029. The Administration is requesting a $15 billion (11+ percent) increase for the for the Department of Health and Human Services. In the President’s budget request, HRSA would receive a discretionary funding level of $9.205 billion, around $285 million less than what was enacted in FY 23.

The President’s budget request may be accessed here. The HHS budget in brief may be accessed here. A statement by Secretary of Education Cardona may be accessed here. The Department of Education budget summary and background may be accessed here. A funding chart of the HRSA Title VII and VIII Health Workforce Programs is available here.

Resource Guide: Making the Case for Academic Freedom and Institutional Autonomy in a Challenging Political Environment

PEN American and the American Council on Education (ACE) have released a resource guide, “Making the Case for Academic Freedom and Institutional Autonomy in a Challenging Political Environment.” The document provides an overview of divisive concepts laws that restrict higher education, and communication tools for tackling proposed restrictions on academic freedom.

The document may be accessed here.

Stemming The Loss Of Medicaid Coverage

Now that the COVID-19 public health emergency is ending, states have begun the process of reassessing eligibility for their Medicaid-covered residents. Some individuals are at risk of becoming uninsured. A blog from The Commonwealth Fund discusses options to prevent this outcome from occurring. 

The blog can be obtained at End Continuous Coverage Requirement Losses Nonexpansion States | Commonwealth Fund.

Combating Health And Science Misinformation And Disinformation

The Coalition for Trust in Health & Science announced the formation and public launch of an effort to curb an infodemic of health and science misinformation and disinformation. It entails creating an alliance to unite leading organizations from across the entire health ecosystem to advance trust and factual science-based decision-making.   

More information can be obtained at https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/980879.