The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government as of 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, November 10. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents.
The White House
- The White House announced that it will spend $785 million in American Rescue Plan funding to support community-based organizations building vaccine confidence across communities of color, rural areas, and low-income populations; bolster the efforts of Tribal communities leading the way in mitigating the spread of the virus; expand public health systems’ ability to respond to the needs of people with disabilities and older adults who have been among the highest risk for infection or death from COVID-19; and continue its mission to build a more diverse and sustainable public health workforce, including a new apprenticeship program that will train thousands of our COVID-19 community health workers and prepare them for long-term careers in public health. Learn more from a White House fact sheet about the initiative.
- The president has issued a memo to the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) directing them to continue reimbursing states for 100 percent of the cost of using their national guard units in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic through April 1, 2022. See that memo here.
- The White House has posted a transcript of the November 10 press briefing given by its COVID-19 response team and public officials. Go here for the slides presented during that briefing.
Provider Relief Fund: Phase 3 Payment Reconsideration
- The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is accepting requests for reconsideration from providers that believe their Provider Relief Fund Phase 3 payments were incorrectly calculated. Providers may not revise or correct their submitted application and the reconsideration will address only the calculation itself and not objections to the calculation methodology. Go here for further information. The deadline for submitting requests for reconsideration of Phase 3 payments is this Friday, November 12.
Department of Health and Human Services
COVID-19
- HHS will invest $650 million from the American Rescue Plan to strengthen manufacturing capacity for quick, high-quality diagnostic testing through rapid point-of-care molecular tests and improve Americans’ access to them. HHS will use these funds to ramp up U.S. domestic manufacturing capacity. Learn more from this HHS announcement.
- HHS will spend $143.5 million in American Rescue Plan money to expand community-based efforts to conduct tailored local outreach about vaccines, build vaccine confidence, and address barriers to vaccination in their communities. The funding will support two programs in which award recipients will develop regional and local partnerships to reach unvaccinated individuals, including pregnant women and people from underserved and high-risk communities, to help bolster COVID-19 vaccination efforts. Learn more from this HHS news release. Much of the funding has already been awarded but $10 million is still available, to be awarded on a competitive basis. Learn more from this HHS funding notice. Applications are due December 10.
Health Policy News
- HHS’s Office on Women’s Health has announced that more than 200 hospitals are participating in the HHS Perinatal Improvement Collaborative, which will focus on improving maternal and infant health outcomes by reducing disparities. Including hospitals from all 50 states, the collaborative will be the first to evaluate how pregnancy affects overall population health by linking inpatient data of newborns to their mothers. Learn more about the program and find a list of the participating hospitals in this HHS announcement.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
COVID-19
- Last week CMS held a webinar to explain the new federal regulation that mandates COVID-19 vaccines for all health care workers and others employed by provider organizations regulated under Medicare’s conditions of participation. Learn more about the regulation from this video of the webinar and the slides presented during the event. CMS also has posted an infographic about the requirement.
- The Surgeon General has released a new community toolkit to help individuals, health care professionals and administrators, teachers, school administrators, librarians, and faith leaders to understand, identify, and stop the spread health misinformation in their communities. Learn more from this HHS announcement and go here to see the toolkit.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- The CDC has updated its information on how people can obtain documentation of their COVID-19 vaccination status.
- The CDC has posted a report detailing the rationale behind its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ interim recommendation for use of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages five through 11. Find that report here.
- The CDC has updated its information on its various systems for helping to protect pregnant women from COVID-19. Another CDC update addresses pregnancy and breastfeeding during the pandemic and a third addresses those interested in becoming pregnant.
- The CDC has posted information about how it monitors the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.
- The CDC has updated its information about what people should know about the possibility of getting sick after getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
- The CDC has updated its reporting on adverse events people have experienced after receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
- The CDC has updated its guidance for preparing for the initial assessment and management of anaphylaxis following COVID-19 vaccination.
- The CDC has updated its information about COVID-19 booster vaccines.
Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC)
- To understand better how state financing methods may affect the federal share of Medicaid spending, MACPAC has reviewed state policies in 10 states to develop a range of assumptions that could be applied to national Medicaid spending and financing data. It presents its findings in the new issue brief “The Effect of State Approaches to Medicaid Financing on Federal Medicaid Spending.”
Stakeholder Events
HHS – Monoclonals and More: Issues and Opportunities with Early COVID-19 Treatment Options – November 12
HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response will hold a webinar on COVID-19 treatment with monoclonal antibodies on Friday, November 12 at 12:30 p.m. during which it will address some of the most current recommendations for use of monoclonal antibodies, upcoming therapies, and the challenges and opportunities that new therapies may pose in conjunction with monoclonal antibodies and other treatments (e.g., prioritization and distribution). Speakers also will highlight operational principles for a scaled strategy for use of these therapeutics in a scarce resource situation. For more information about the webinar and to register, go here.
CMS – COVID-19 Vaccines and Rural Communities – November 15
CMS will hold a webinar on COVID-19 vaccines and rural communities for its community providers and partners working in rural areas. Go here for further information about the webinar and to register to participate.
HHS/Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation – November 18
On Thursday, November 18 the CMS Innovation Center (CMMI) will host a webinar listening session at 1:00 p.m. (eastern) as a follow-up to the release of its recently published “Driving Health System Transformation – A Strategy for the CMS Innovation Center’s Second Decade.” The listening session will be an opportunity for stakeholders to share with CMS leaders their perspectives on how to execute the agency’s strategic vision. Register for the event and find more information here.
CDC – Antibiotic Prescribing and COVID-19 – November 18
The CDC will hold a webinar titled “What Clinicians, Pharmacists, and Public Health Partners Need to Know About Antibiotic Prescribing and COVID-19” on Wednesday, November 18 at 2:00 p.m. (eastern). Go here for information about the webinar, the presenters, and how to participate.