Executive Order Issued to Address Medication Shortages

The Obama Administration today issued an executive order to address the increasing rate of drug shortages across the country. The order instructs the F.D.A. to broaden reporting of potential shortages of certain prescription drugs; accelerate reviews of applications to initiate or change production of these drugs; and provide more information to the Justice Department about possible instances of collusion or price gouging for drugs in short supply. Click here for a fact sheet about today’s order and recent medication shortages.  

Strengthening the Direct Service Workforce in Rural Areas

A recent publication from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services summarizes the challenges of the direct service workforce in rural areas and outlines strategies that communities can use to provide high-quality long term care services and supports. Read more.  

Update on Federal Deficit Negotiations

With a deadline of November 23, the Super Committee continues its work to find at least $1.2 trillion in budget savings over ten years. Proposals have been offered but the group has yet to issue official recommendations. Some issues under consideration that impact rural communities include eliminating the Critical Access Hospital designation, reducing reimbursement to CAHs, and scaling back the Medicaid Provider Fee. If you have not yet contacted your member of Congress, please take a few minutes today to reach out and share your concerns with their healthcare staff. Visit our website for tools and resources to assist your advocacy efforts. 

Are You a Healthcare Innovator?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is seeking applicants for the Innovations Advisor Program. The Program will help individuals refine, apply, and sustain managerial and technical skills necessary to drive delivery system reform. Innovation advisors will work with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test new models of care delivery in their own organizations and create partnerships to find new ideas that work and share them regionally and across the United States. The application deadline is November 15, 2011. Click here for more information and to download an application. 

Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural Areas: New Report

Children in rural areas are more likely to face different challenges to their health and have less access to care when compared with children in urban areas, according to a new report from the Health Resources and Services Administration. The National Survey of Children’s Health:  The Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural Areas: A Portrait of the Nation in 2007, which is published every four years, examined the overall health of rural children in the United States from birth to 17 years. The report finds greater prevalence of certain physical, emotional, behavioral, and developmental conditions in rural areas. Children living in rural areas are more likely to have public insurance, such as Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, while urban children are more likely to be privately insured. In addition, the percentage of children with chronic conditions such as obesity, asthma and diabetes is highest amongst teenagers living in small rural areas. Read more. 

CRHC’s 2012 Membership Drive Now Underway!

Over the past 20 years, CRHC has become our state’s most trusted resource for rural healthcare. In the current economic landscape, it is more important than ever that we continue to support and advocate on behalf of rural healthcare and the safety net community. We remain loyally committed to ensuring our members have the resources and support they need to keep their communities healthy and vibrant. CRHC is well positioned to provide 20+ more years of support to ensure access to healthcare for all Coloradans, and we recognize that our work would be impossible without the dedication of our loyal members.

 

CRHC has three levels of membership to suit your organizational/individual needs:

• Investing Member

• Classic Sponsor

• Partner

Joining is easy. Click here to join today!

At the Classic Sponsor and Partner level memberships, your organization is given additional opportunities to support and reach out to rural healthcare providers. Please visit our website for more information on the benefits of each level. Feel free to contact Cari Fouts, Director of Communication & Development (cf@coruralhealth.org, or 303-565-5847) if you have questions about your membership or visit our website for more information.

 

With your support, we can continue to ensure all Coloradans have access to high quality healthcare services in 2012 and beyond.

Senator Bennet Releases ACA Grant Guide

Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet has released a comprehensive collection of information on the pilot projects, grants, and workforce development initiatives available to Coloradans through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Check out the Guide to Grants resource.

HHS Releases Final Regulations for ACOs, Announces Advance Payment Model

The Department of Health and Human Services released final rules for the voluntary Medicare Shared Savings Program aka Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and also announced an Advance Payment model available to physician-owned and rural ACOs. The final rule has several changes from the original proposed rule, including that Rural Health Clinics are now eligible entities to form and participate in ACOs. CRHC will closely review the final rule and Advance Payment model and communicate with our members in coming weeks about the potential impacts and opportunities for rural communities. Please contact Sara if you have questions or comments. Click here to read more. 

Revisions to Medicare Conditions of Participation Proposed

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released proposed revisions to the Medicare Conditions of Participation for hospitals including Critical Access Hospitals (CAH). Some of the proposed revisions include privileging for non-physician staff, incorporating a nursing care plan into an interdisciplinary care plan, and changes to nursing services to allow for the preparation and administration of drugs. Under these revisions, the “direct services” requirement for CAHs would be removed and gives CAHs flexibility in determining whether to provide these services directly, under contract, or through another arrangement. Read the proposed rules here. Please send any comments or questions to Sara Schmitt. 

Child Poverty More Common in Rural Areas

Child poverty is disproportionately more likely to occur in rural areas of the U.S. according to researchers at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire. In their study, researchers found that 81 percent of counties experiencing persistent child poverty are non-metropolitan. The researchers point to high unemployment, low educational attainment, and physical and social isolation as contributing to high rates of rural poverty, and suggest these factors create problems much different than those faced in densely populated urban areas. They also suggest that urban focus of welfare programs shifts policy makers' attention away from needy families in rural areas. Click here to read the brief.

Medicare Changes Ahead for Hospice

This article from Politico outlines some of the proposed changes in how Medicare pays for hospice services and the potential impacts of these changes, including in rural communities. 

Register for NRHA's 2012 Policy Institute

Make your voice heard in Washington DC! Join rural healthcare providers and advocates at NRHA’s 2012 Rural Health Policy Institute, January 30-February 1. Meet Colorado’s members of Congress and learn about important issues impacting rural health. Early registration ends on December 30. Click here for more information.  

2011 Medicare Payment Basics Series

If you want to learn more about Medicare payment, check out MedPACs 2011Medicare Payment Basics series. The series includes 18 brief summary documents that provide an overview of how different entities are paid under Medicare (including Critical Access Hospitals). Click here for more information. 

CO-OP Health Plans: Can They Help Fix Rural America's Health Insurance Markets? Webinar on October 19, 2011

Curious about insurance CO-OPs aka consumer-operated and oriented plans? Join a webinar on October 19 at 10:00am MT, hosted by the Rural Assistance Center and the State Health Access Reform Evaluation on "CO-OP Health Plans: Can They Help Fix Rural America’s Health Insurance Markets?". Click here for more information and to register. 

2011 Rural America at a Glance

A recent report by the USDA’s Economic Research Service highlights the most recent indicators of social and economic conditions in rural areas. The 2011 edition focuses on the U.S. rural economy, including employment trends, poverty, education, and population trends. Read the report. 

Data Initiative for Critical Access Hospitals

Critical Access Hospitals--please consider participating in MBQIP! The Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) is a three-year, voluntary initiative for Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) intended to create a national database of rural appropriate and relevant quality data to demonstrate to policymakers the work CAHs are doing. CAHs that participate in MBQIP will be able to share best practices among one another and be benchmarked against other CAHs across the nation. As Medicare moves toward payment tied to quality and public reporting, MBQIP provides an opportunity for CAHs to prepare for future changes. We all know that rural health is not ‘a smaller version’ of urban healthcare systems and current national measurement and benchmarking systems may not accurately capture and reflect the quality work of rural health providers.

MBQIP’s first of three phases is beginning now. To learn more, watch the short MBQIP video on YouTube and contact Jen Dunn or Michelle Mills for additional information. 

Federal Advocacy Webinar Now Online

If you missed the advocacy webinar earlier this week, a recording is now available on CRHC’s website along with the slides from the presentation and several tools you can use for your personal outreach to members of Congress. Click here for more information and useful resources to get involved in these efforts. Please contact Sara if you have any questions. 

Will Payment Bundling Work in Rural? A New Report

A new report by the Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center assesses the financial and quality challenges – and potential unintended consequences for rural providers and patients – of implementing bundled payments for acute and post-acute care episodes; explores the possible impact on quality of care delivered under a facility-provider bundled payment system, and suggests measurement opportunities to assess the quality of care delivered under a facility-provider bundled payment system; and describes potential modifications to current bundling proposals (plus additional steps the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could take) that will help address rural-specific issues. Click to read the policy brief and the full report. 

Division of Insurance Holding Forums and Webinars on Insurance Changes

Colorado Commissioner of Insurance, Jim Riesberg, and other Division of Insurance staff will hold forums in Greeley and Grand Junction in October to help people learn about changes to their health insurance. The meetings are designed to address the causes of premium increases, benefits guaranteed in federal health reform, what Medicare participants can do when a claim is denied, and similar consumer issues. The Greeley meeting is on Thursday, October 20 at 6:30pm at the Greeley Ice Haus, 900 8^th Avenue, and the Grand Junction meeting is on Tuesday, October 25 at 6:30pm location TBD. The Division of Insurance is also hosting webinars on Oct. 11 at 6:30pm  and October 18 at 12:00pm to help small-business owners and human-resources professionals learn about changes in insurance. Additional information and links to register are available online.  

What Do Federal Deficit Proposals Mean for Rural?

Decisions are being made in Washington DC that will impact rural health care. If you would you like to learn more about the ongoing negotiations to reduce our nation’s deficit and understand how various proposals could impact rural providers and communities, please attend a Federal Advocacy webinar on Tuesday, October 4, from 2:00-3:00pm. The Colorado Rural Health Center, in partnership with the Area Health Education Centers, will be hosting the webinar to provide information on this important topic and share resources for communicating with your elected officials. Click here to register for the webinar. If you are unable to attend tomorrow, a recording of the webinar will be available on CRHC's webpage and The Rural Voice.