Effective July 20, 2021, the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration has been renewed for 90 more days.
Additional information can be obtained at https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/COVID-19July2021.aspx.
Surveying Consumer Experiences with Telehealth Services
On Wednesday, August 4, 2021, from 12-1pm Eastern, the Bipartisan Policy Coalition will host a webinar entitled, “Not Your Mother’s Health Care: Surveying Consumer Experiences with Telehealth Services”. The Bipartisan Policy Coalition will release the findings from a national survey assessing the uses of telehealth during the pandemic, along with its effectiveness and challenges. Social Sciences Research Solutions (SSRS) conducted the survey and will provide important information on the barriers patients face in using telehealth services, the types of virtual services they use, and consumers’ perceptions on the quality and effectiveness of this technology. A panel of experts will discuss the highlights of the survey findings and the implications for policymaking going forward.
More information may be accessed here.
ASAHP Helps Launch National Campaign to #DoublePell
ASAHP is proud to be part of a national campaign to double the maximum Pell Grant to $13,000 and help more students earn a degree, get a good-paying job, and achieve a brighter future.
The campaign features a new website, doublepell.org, that provides students and families with the tools to communicate with Congress, engage on social media, and share personal stories about how the Pell Grant has helped them—and express their support for doubling Pell.
#DoublePell is a national campaign led by the Double Pell Alliance, a coalition of higher education associations, organizations, and advocacy groups committed to doubling the maximum Pell Grant by the 50th anniversary of the creation of the program in June 2022. The Pell Grant is a proven program and the foundation of federal student aid for decades. It helps nearly 7 million low- and moderate-income students attend and complete college annually.
The heart of #Doublepell is the Take Action page, which includes a customizable letter that students, families, alumni, and other stakeholders can send to their members of Congress, and shareable social media graphics to amplify the #DoublePell campaign messages.
For millions of students, Pell Grants make the difference between being able to attend college or not. Pell Grants are well-targeted to students with clear financial need: Nearly 90 percent of all Pell dollars go to students with a family income below $50,000, and are especially critical for students of color. Congress is currently considering proposals to increase the maximum Pell Grant by a total of $1,875. While that represents an improvement, it does not go nearly far enough.
Double Pell already has the support of the Biden administration and widespread, bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. The #DoublePell website will be an important and accessible way for students and families to tell lawmakers why it’s important to double the maximum Pell Grant now. ASAHP and other members of the Double Pell Alliance hope that colleges and universities and an array of organizations will share the #DoublePell website widely with students, families and other stakeholders. Visit doublepell.org for more information.
Legislation Introduced to Modernize the Health Profession Opportunity Grant Program
Today, Ways and Means Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Representative Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) led a bipartisan group of Representatives in reintroducing legislation to modernize the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) program to better support low-income workers as they seek training and education for in-demand health care careers. The Pathways to Health Careers Act fully incorporates a host individual bills designed to improve the HPOG program, many of them bipartisan.
The press release may be accessed here. A fact sheet on the HPOG program is available here and a section-by-section of the Pathways to Health Careers Act is available here.
Healthy People 2020 Progress Table
The Healthy People (HP) 2020 Progress Table now has interactive pie charts highlighting the final progress of HP 2020 objectives and targets. These charts provide a summary by objective type and final progress status of the 1,111 measurable and 985 trackable objectives (objectives with a baseline value, at least one follow-up data point, and a target). The final progress was generally measured using the latest data available as of January 2020.
Data can be explored at Healthy People 2020 Progress Table (cdc.gov).
House Appropriations Committee Approves LHHSED Funding Bill
This afternoon, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY 22 LHHSED funding bill on a 33-25 vote. The bill provides $253.8 billion, an increase of $55.2 billion (28%) above FY 21. A Manager’s Amendment (here) was adopted by voice vote which makes technical and noncontroversial changes to the bill and report. The only other amendment adopted was from Rep. Harris (R, MD-1), which strikes sections 116, 117, and 118 of the underlying bill.
The markup lasted around four and a half hours, with remarks from Chair DeLauro, Ranking Member Granger, Subcommittee Ranking Member Cole, and former Chairman Rogers being generally cordial despite disagreements over the bill’s funding level as well as the fact that it excludes two previously included abortion riders: the Hyde amendment which generally prohibits federal funding of abortion and the Weldon amendment which covers refusal of care and prohibits the government from discriminating against entities that don’t cover, provide, or pay for abortions. Remarks from some Committee members became impassioned during lengthy debate over an amendment from Subcommittee Ranking Member Cole (R, OK-4) that would restore the Hyde and Weldon language. Ranking Member’s Cole amendment was rejected on a vote of 27 to 32.
House Majority Leader Hoyer wrote in a Dear Colleague letter that the House will take up seven bills (LHHSED, Agriculture, Energy-Water, Financial Services, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD) in one bundle the week of July 26.
The House Committee on Appropriations press release is here. Chair DeLauro’s statement is here. Ranking Member Granger’s statement is here.
Record Number Of Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020
According to preliminary data released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drug overdose deaths in the United States rose 29.4% in 2020 to an estimated 93,331, including 69,710 involving opioids. Deaths increased by more than 21,000 from 2019, which means that an average of 256 Americans died from overdosing every day, up from 198 the year before. The data show changes in overdose deaths by drug category and state.
More information can be obtained at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm.
House Appropriations Full Committee Markup On Thursday
On Thursday, the House Appropriations Full Committee will consider the FY 22 Labor-HHS-Education funding bill. In advance of the bill’s consideration, the Committee released the Committee report. The HRSA Title VII Health Professions and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs would receive $979.88 million, a $227.87 million increase (30%) from FY 21 enacted levels.
The markup may be viewed here. The Committee report is available here. A funding chart put together by the Health Professions and Nursing Education Coalition (HPNEC) is available here.
House Advances LHHSED Appropriations Subcommittee Funding Bill
Today, the House Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved its FY 2022 spending bill by voice vote. The bill would provide $253.8 billion, an increase of $55.2 billion, 28 percent above FY 2021. The bill provides a total of $102.8 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Education, an increase of $29.3 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level and the same as the President’s budget request. This includes $3.43 billion for higher education programs, an increase of $889 million above the FY 2021 enacted level and $122 million above the President’s budget request. The bill provides a total of $119.8 billion for HHS, an increase of $22.9 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level and $129 million below the President’s budget request. This includes $8.72 billion for HRSA, a $1.6 billion increase over the FY21 enacted level. It also includes $1.6 billion, an increase of $341 million above the FY 2021 enacted level, for HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions programs to support health workforce development. The House Appropriations Full Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Thursday, July 15.
A press release is available here. Chair Rosa DeLauro’s remarks may be accessed here. Ranking Member Kay Granger’s remarks may be accessed here. The draft bill text is available here and a summary is available here, and a list of Community Project Funding (earmarks) is available here.
HHS Updates Interoperability Standards
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) released the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability version 2 (USCDI v2), a standardized set of health data classes and constituent data elements for nationwide, interoperable health information exchange. The health IT community now will have clearer direction toward the standardized, electronic exchange of social determinants of health (SDOH), sexual orientation, and gender identity (SO/GI) among several other updated data elements.
The core data can be obtained at https://www.healthit.gov/isa/united-states-core-data-interoperability-uscdi.
Vaccination Rollout Averts Deaths And Hospitalizations
A report from The Commonwealth Fund indicates that that approximately 279,000 lives have been saved through vaccination efforts in the U.S. with 1.25 million avoiding hospitalization. Since December 2020 when a rapid vaccine rollout plan was launched, 67% of adults have received at least one dose.
The report can be obtained at https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2021/jul/deaths-and-hospitalizations-averted-rapid-us-vaccination-rollout.
Congressional Hearing on Expanding Access to Higher Education and the Promise it Holds
On Tuesday, June 29, the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled, “Expanding Access to Higher Education and the Promise it Holds”. Witnesses include Dr. Marshall Anthony Jr., Senior Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress, Dr. Susan Whealler Johnston, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Association of College and University Business Officers, Dr. Steven M. Rose, President, Passaic County Community College, Dr. Susan M. Dynarski, Professor of Public Policy, Education, and Economics, University of Michigan, and Mr. Scott Pulsipher, President, Western Governors University.
The hearing will be available here.
Inside the FCC's New Program to Help Pell Grant Students Pay for Internet
On Tuesday, June 29, at noon Eastern, New America will hold a webinar entitled, “Are You #Pelligible for a Broadband Discount?: Inside the FCC's New Program to Help Pell Grant Students Pay for Internet”. The webinar will examine how college students receiving Pell Grants can enroll in the new, temporary Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program which provides up to $50 per month—or $75 in Tribal areas—to pay for internet service.
More details, including registration, are available here. More information on the EBB program may be accessed here.
Rural Health Care Program Funding By The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission announced that its Rural Health Care Program will carry forward up to $379.97 million in unused funds from prior years to increase available funding for funding year 2021 and beyond if needed. The commission in 2018 established a process to carry forward past unused funds to meet growing demand for access to health care broadband services, particularly in rural areas. It also increased the program’s annual funding cap and decided to adjust it annually for inflation. The funding cap for funding year 2021 is about $612 million, a 1.2% increase from 2020. The 2021 application filing window was extended from April 1 to June 1 to reduce the burden on providers addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional information can be obtained at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-21-742A1.pdf.
Caps On Medicare-Funded Graduate Medical Education At Teaching Hospitals
A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) discusses how Medicare sets caps on both of its types of physician graduate medical education (GME) payments (direct and indirect) to teaching hospitals. Caps on these payments determine the number of physician trainees known as residents that each payment type supports. Hospitals can use other sources of funds to train more residents than these caps. Medicare data show that in 2018, 70% of hospitals were over one or both caps on Medicare-funded residents, and 20% of these facilities were under one or both caps.
The report can be obtained at https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-391.pdf.
Senate Bill Would Permanently Allow Students to Vaccinate
On Thursday, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Student Assisted Vaccination Effort (SAVE) Act, which extends existing emergency provisions and makes permanent the ability of health professions students to vaccinate during federally declared public health emergencies. Specifically, the bill would allow medical, nursing, pharmacy, pharmacy intern, midwife, paramedic, advanced or intermediate emergency medical technician, physician assistant, respiratory therapy, dental, podiatry, optometry or veterinary students, with appropriate training and supervision, to administer vaccines. The SAVE Act is supported by Students Assist America (SAA), an interprofessional initiative of 12 associations, including ASAHP.
The Students Assist America press release may be accessed here and bill details may be accessed here.
MACPAC June 2021 Report Issued
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) released its June 2021 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, recommending that Congress take measures to address the effect of high-cost specialty drugs on state Medicaid programs and to take steps that would improve access to mental health services for adults, children, and adolescents enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The report can be obtained at https://www.macpac.gov/news/macpac-releases-june-2021-report-to-congress/.
Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Strengthening the U.S. Public Health System
On Tuesday, June 29, 2021, from 11am to 12:30pm Eastern, the Bipartisan Policy Center will hold a webinar on “Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Strengthening the U.S. Public Health System”. Participants include Judy Monroe, M.D., President and CEO of the CDC Foundation, Dan Crippen, Ph.D., former Director of the Congressional Budget Office, Margaret Hamburg, M.D., former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and others.
More information and registration may be accessed here.
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission June 2021 Report Issued
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission issued its June report to Congress. Ten chapters include topics, such as Medicare beneficiaries’ access to care in rural areas, Medicare’s indirect medical education payment policy, and coverage of and payment policies for preventive vaccines.
The report can be obtained at jun21_medpac_report_to_congress_sec.pdf.
Report On Physician Shortages
The Association of American Medical Colleges has released its annual report containing physician workforce shortage projections. The 2021 update of The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections from 2019 to 2034 projects a shortfall of 37,800 to 124,000 physicians by 2034. That shortage includes shortfalls of 17,800 to 48,000 primary care physicians and 21,000 to 77,100 specialists. The report’s data were gathered before the COVID-19 pandemic, which exacerbated challenges to the nation’s health care system.
The report can be obtained at The Complexities of Physician Supply and Demand: Projections From 2019 to 2034 (aamc.org).