Staff Contact: Andrew Wheeler

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issues 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.

• • Submit Medicare GME affiliation agreements during COVID-19 PHE by Jan. 1
  • Home Health LUPA threshold: bill correctly
  • Critical care evaluation & management services: comparative billing report in May
  • Hospice Quality Reporting Program: composite quality measure webinar – June 2

Staff Contact: Jessica Stultz

The Health Resources and Services Administration, Office of Regional Operations Region 7 will host Part 2 of the COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence webinar series at 2:30 p.m. CDT Thursday, June 3. Discussion will include COVID-19 variants and the potential impact they may have on vaccine response, as well as the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in adults and children. Approaches to address vaccine hesitancy also will be discussed, including best practices for reaching vulnerable and medically underserved communities.

Staff Contact: Shawn Billings or Kelsey Hussey

AHA yesterday voiced support for bipartisan legislation that would add 1,000 Medicare-funded hospital residency positions in addiction medicine, addiction psychiatry or pain medicine, with 500 slots reserved for hospitals with existing programs in these specialties and 500 for hospitals creating new programs.

In letters to the House and Senate sponsors of the legislation, AHA wrote, “As the nation continues to face a devastating public health crisis stemming from the opioid epidemic, we recognize that the shortage of SUD treatment providers results in lengthy waiting periods for treatment and increased mortality from opioid misuse and addiction…These new slots would constitute a major step toward increasing access to SUD treatment for communities in need.”

Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., David McKinley, R-W.Va., and Ann Kuster, D-N.H., introduced the House bill, and Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and Susan Collins, R-Maine are sponsors of the Senate bill (S. 1438).

Staff Contact: Shawn Billings

The National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation released an interactive graphic series that allows users to explore data trends related to the rapid rise in overdose deaths involving stimulants. The data provided in this series reveals that 63% of all stimulant deaths in 2019 also involved an opioid. The rising stimulant death rates and the growing involvement of synthetic opioids is leading to speculation that fentanyl is increasingly being mixed into cocaine and methamphetamine.

The infographic series presents data on overdose deaths involving cocaine, methamphetamine, synthetic opioids, common prescription opioids and heroin throughout a 19-year period.

Staff Contact: Dana Dahl

The Telehealth Technology-Enabled Learning Program provides HRSA funding to connect specialists at academic medical centers with primary care providers of rural and underserved populations, while providing evidence-based training and support to help them treat patients with complex conditions in their communities. The application process, full announcement, amount of funding and applicant webinar can be found on the Rural Health Information website.

Staff Contact: Becky Boyce

Tina Garrison has been named President of SSM Health DePaul Hospital, St. Louis, effective Tues., May 18.  Garrison most recently served as the President of SSM Health St. Clare Hospital, Fenton. She has more than 20 years of service with SSM Health primarily in quality improvement, clinical effectiveness and hospital operations.