Staff Contact: Daniel Landon or Rob Monsees

The Missouri Secretary of State published an emergency rule to implement a Medicaid outpatient fee schedule. The effective date of the emergency rule is Tuesday, July 20. It expires Feb. 24, 2022. The MO HealthNet Division also published the same proposed regulatory change to be reviewed under the normal regulatory review process, which involves public comment and takes six to eight months to complete.

Previously, the Secretary of State denied MHD’s effort to implement the payment methodology change through an emergency rule. The rationale for its April 21 denial was that the reasons offered for a July 1, 2021, effective date “did not meet the requirements for an emergency” under the pertinent state law.

Staff Contact: Daniel Landon or Rob Monsees

Gov. Parson signed into law House Bill 604 from the 2021 legislative session. Among other changes, it establishes a state requirement that health insurers providing coverage for mental health conditions must comply with the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act of 2008. This authorizes state enforcement of the federal standards. The change takes effect in 2022. The legislation also clarifies the long-term care insurance policies eligible for a state income tax credit.

Staff Contact: Jane Drummond or Daniel Landon

The Cole County Circuit Court continued to enjoin the MO HealthNet Division from implementing changes to its payment methodology for hospital services. MHD is attempting to transition to directed payments by amending its managed care contracts. MHA’s suit argues the changes must be made through formal rulemaking. The court extended its previous restraining order until the case can be heard on the merits. Trial is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 29.

Staff Contact: Daniel Landon or Meghan Henderson

The White House issued an executive order and fact sheet on administration initiatives to promote competition in the U.S. economy. Several address health care. The executive order encourages the Federal Trade Commission to ban or limit noncompete agreements, which are cited as being in place in half of private businesses. It calls for focused federal antitrust enforcement on “key markets,” including hospital consolidation, prescription drugs and health insurance. It also calls for simplifying and standardizing the plan options of the federal Health Insurance Marketplace program, expanding competition in the pharmaceutical market, and limiting the sharing of wage and benefit data between employers to reduce wages or benefits.

Staff Contact: Sarah Willson

MHA recently gathered information from member hospitals on the Occupational Services and Health Administration’s emergency standards for COVID-19 and submitted comments. MHA will continue to monitor the actions of OSHA and report to members.

Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued updates to MLN Connects Provider eNews. eNews includes information about national provider calls, meetings, events, announcements and other MLN educational product updates. The latest issue provides updates and summaries of the following.

• • COVID-19 Accelerated and Advance Payments: updated FAQs

  • COVID-19 snapshot: impact on the Medicare population

Staff Contact: Jackie Gatz or Kara Amann-Kale

To assist members with time-sensitive resource requests, MHA updated the COVID-19 Resource Request Process document. As a reminder, hospitals can request personal protective equipment, testing supplies, vaccines and supplies, staffing assistance, and ventilators through the state of Missouri. The request process for each resource is listed in the document.

Staff Contact: Alison William

To mark National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shared new resources as part of its Hear Her campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of potentially life-threatening warning signs during and after pregnancy, and improve communication between patients and their health care providers. The resources include posters and palm cards in multiple languages, PSAs and website content.

Staff Contact: Shawn Billings

The Foundation for Opioid Response Effort is hosting a webinar, “Understanding and Bolstering the Recovery Workforce: Findings from In-Depth Discussions with Peer Recovery Coaches,” at 2 p.m. CDT Wednesday, July 14, to present findings from its qualitative study of PRC. As people with lived experience of addiction and recovery, PRCs often are the lynchpin to engaging people in opioid use disorder treatment and helping them rebuild their lives. Many states, as well as health care and recovery organizations, have significantly increased the use of this workforce throughout the past decade. FORE is engaged in efforts to explore the unique challenges and experiences of PRCs across the U.S. so that a strong, effective workforce is developed.

Staff Contact: Jill Williams

The American Society for Health Care Human Resources Administration is hosting a webinar, “Staffing Levels – Getting it Right for Patients and Staff,” at 1 p.m. CDT Tuesday, July 27. Evaluating and meeting staffing needs is one of the most important and complex challenges facing hospitals, long-term care facilities and other health care settings today. Providing appropriate staffing levels requires both a rigorous patient volume and acuity measurement system, as well as a sufficient and flexible staffing plan. This webinar is complimentary for ASHHRA members and $25 for nonmembers.

Staff Contact: Dana Dahl

With the support of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the National Rural Health Resource Center is offering the Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project. Applications now are being accepted through Friday, Sept. 10. The project provides support to small rural hospitals and certified rural health clinics in key elements of value-based care, such as efficiency, quality, patient experience and safety of care.

Staff Contact: Becky Boyce

Lisle Wescott, St. Charles Market President of SSM Health St. Joseph Hospital, resigned effective July 1. She served as president since January 2012. Until a permanent replacement is named, Kyle Grate will serve as the interim president at St. Joseph Hospital – Lake Saint Louis, and Dr. Douglas Barton will serve as interim president at St. Joseph Hospital – St. Charles and Wentzville.