HHS Funding Targets the Most Vulnerable, Debate to Extend Provider Relief Fund Ensues
HHS continues to distribute funds from the American Rescue Plan to target vulnerable populations while lawmakers urge the organization to extend key deadlines of the Provider Relief Fund.
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By - As HHS continues to make American Rescue Plan funding available, their efforts signal an emphasis on vulnerable populations and communities. Meanwhile, lawmakers urge HHS to extend Provider Relief Fund deadlines to ease provider burden. And ONC calls for commentary on interoperability outcomes for 2030 goals.
CMS Issues Guidelines to Medicaid Services for American Rescue Plan Funding
Section 9817 of the American Rescue Plan provided an additional ten percent increase in federal medical assistance percentage for Medicaid expenditures for home and community-based services (HCBS). The guidelines recommend states use the funding to increase access to HCBS for Medicaid beneficiaries, strengthen the HCBS workforce, safeguard financial stability of HCBS providers, and accelerate long-term services and supports. The assistance for eligible states is available through March 2022. READ MORE
American Rescue Plan Funds Addiction, Mental Health Services, Emergency Home Visits
The Substance Abuse and Mental health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an operating division of HHS, will distribute $3 billion in funds from the American Rescue Plan to tackle mental health and substance use needs. Under the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant Program and Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program, the administration will dispense the funds to communities hit the hardest by mental health challenges and substance use needs throughout the coronavirus pandemic. READ MORE
HHS also announced the $40 million in pandemic relief funding to support emergency home visits for vulnerable populations. In partnership with the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, the funding will support coordinated and comprehensive home visiting services to children and families in communities at risk for poor maternal and child health outcomes. Most of the services will be delivered in person, but the program has begun expanding to include telehealth services. Specific funding is set aside to facilitate connected health visits with families and train home health aids to conduct screenings via telehealth. READ MORE
Lawmakers Urge HHS to Extend Provider Relief Fund Benefits
In a bipartisan letter to HHS, 77 members of Congress asked the agency to reconsider the June 30 deadline for spending unused grants from the Provider Relief Fund. A part of the CARES Act, the Provider Relief Fund gave providers the ability to apply for funding to cover pandemic-related expenses and losses. The original terms and conditions state that providers have a deadline of June 30 to attest to the funds and justify what the funds were used for. Lawmakers argue that meeting this deadline will be a challenge for providers who used the funds to make structural changes to their practice such as altering patient rooms or practice sites to accommodate for testing and vaccination spaces. These lawmakers follow suite with the American Hospital Association that released a letter earlier last week to call for the same deadline extension. HHS has yet to respond. READ MORE
ONC Calls on Health IT Leaders for Interoperability Outcome Measures
As a part of ONC’s Health Interoperability Outcomes 2030 project, the organization is calling on health IT leaders to help develop a set of interoperability outcomes. The public feedback will be published in the fall to give insight into how leaders are prioritizing interoperability and outline goals for 2030. READ MORE
