The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing the availability of $150 million in grant funding to community-based health care providers to support approximately 100 Health Center Program look-alikes (LALs) to respond to and mitigate the spread of COVID-19; strengthen vaccination efforts; and enhance health care services and infrastructure. LALs are community health providers that furnish essential... Read More
HHS: For Continued COVID Response, Department Announces Latinx-Focused Exchange Enrollment Efforts
The U.S. Department of Health and Human (HHS) announced a series of commitments from national organizations to support outreach and support for Latinx communities to encourage greater enrollment during the COVID-19 special enrollment period (SEP). Specifically, HHS says these organizations will share information with Latinx consumers and use social media to encourage greater enrollment in HealthCare.gov insurance plans. In addition,... Read More
FCC: Applications for Round 2 of COVID-19 Telehealth Program to Open 4/29
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced it will begin accepting applications for Round 2 of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program beginning April 29, 2021 at noon ET. The application window will be open for seven calendar days and close on May 6, 2021 at noon ET. The FCC received an additional $249.95 million for the program through the recent Consolidated Appropriation... Read More
WH: Administration Announces $1.7b in New Funding for Addressing COVID-19 Variants
The White House announced it is distributing $1.7 billion in funding authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state governments as they respond to the emergence of COVID-19 variants. The funding spans three primary categories which are detailed below. Genomic sequencing: The Administration says it will distribute... Read More
House Appropriations: Members Express Support for HHS FY 2022 Budget Priorities at Subcommittee Hearing, Disagree on Hyde
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies convened a hearing to examine the Biden Administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget request (WHG client summary) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Recently confirmed HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra testified. Members of the Subcommittee warmly welcomed Secretary Becerra and generally voiced bipartisan support for... Read More
House: Biden Administration Officials Testify on Ending the Pandemic; Vaccine Hesitancy, Equity, and Boosters Discussed
The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis convened a hearing to examine ways to safely end the COVID-19 pandemic. Witnesses from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) testified about efforts to increase vaccinations, while maintaining public health measures such as masks, social... Read More
FDA: Agency Releases Materials to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new FDA Voices entitled “Vaccine Ready: Addressing COVID-19 Health Disparities among Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities.” The resource is intended to provide details on how the FDA has addressed concerns about vaccines among diverse communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency acknowledges that despite COVID-19 continuing to disproportionately impact Black and Hispanic... Read More
OMB: Administration Releases FY 2022 Budget Toplines Totaling $1.52T with Increases for CDC, NIH, Mental Health, Equity Programs
The Office of Management and Budget released toplines of President Biden’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 discretionary budget request (press release) outlining proposed spending levels across federal agencies. The budget requests approximately $1.52 trillion in discretionary spending for FY 2022. That includes $769 billion in non-defense discretionary funding, a 16 percent increase from the FY 2021 enacted level, and $753 billion... Read More
MACPAC: MACPAC Commissioners Hear From States About Use of Telehealth During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) convened a panel to discuss the expansion and uptake of telehealth services in Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as considerations related to potential post-pandemic telehealth policies. Panelists were government officials from Virginia, Colorado, and Arizona, who described how their states have used telehealth during the pandemic and discussed ongoing... Read More
CMS: More than Half a Million Enroll in Marketplace Coverage During First 45 Days of COVID-19 SEP
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced (press release; fact sheet) more than 528,000 new enrollees have signed up for health insurance plans since the Coronavirus-related Special Enrollment Period (SEP) opened on February 15. The number of new enrollees is substantially higher than during the same period (Feb. 15 – Mar. 31) in 2020 (209,000 enrollees) and 2019 (171,000... Read More
WHG - Weekly, April 5-9
Infrastructure Democrats continue to be focused on advancing their American Rescue Plan, specifically gearing up to advance President Joe Biden’s roughly $2 trillion American Jobs Plan. This effort proceeds on the heels of the latest jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy added 916,000 jobs in March and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.0 percent (compared to the pre-pandemic level... Read More
CMS: COVID-19 Accelerated and Advance Payment Recoupment Begins
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it began recouping payments for COVID-19 Accelerated and Advance Payments (CAAPs) on March 30, 2021. The specific start date for recoupment will begin no sooner than one year from the date that CMS issued the CAAP. CMS will recoup payment at a rate of 25 percent for 11 months, followed... Read More
HHS: Department Announces New Set of Vaccine Confidence Initiatives; Availability of Increased Tax Credits on HealthCare.Gov
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a series of new measures to further its COVID-19 response activities, focusing today on improving vaccine uptake and increasing affordable options for insurance coverage in the individual market. These latest actions mark another component of the growing constellation for the Department’s COVID-19 response plan, following a series of other related... Read More
WH: Biden's $2 Trillion Infrastructure Proposal, American Jobs Plan
The White House released President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan – a roughly $2 trillion package intended to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, create millions of jobs, and revitalize the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic (fac sheet). Biden is expected to unveil the second part of his “Build Back Better” economic recovery plan in mid-April, which will focus on social welfare... Read More
WHG - March 2021 Edition: Catalogue of Health Agency Guidance and Government Response to COVID-19
In response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. government agencies have continued the frequent release of fact sheets and guidance documents for health care and public stakeholders. To help navigate the outpouring of information, the Wynne Health Group has maintained the attached and newly updated catalogue, intended to capture and organize the full array of relevant guidance for health... Read More
WH: New Actions to Increase COVID-19 Vaccinations: Federal Retail Pharmacy Program; $100 Million in ACL Grants; More Mass Vaccination Centers
The White House announced new actions to increase COVID-19 vaccinations. The Administration anticipates that by April 19, 90 percent of adults in the U.S. will be eligible for vaccination and 90 percent will be within five miles of a vaccination site. The Administration notes that 31 states have announced that they will expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults by... Read More
HHS: ASPE Discusses Equity, Geographic and Demographic Considerations for COVID-19 Risk and Health Coverage in Recent Issue Briefs
The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released several issue briefs that discuss health disparities, including: Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Current Evidence and Policy Approaches This issue brief presents data by race/ethnic group and describes equity considerations related to COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and... Read More
WH: Administration Investing $10 Billion To Expand Access to COVID-19 Vaccines Focused on Vulnerable Populations
The White House announced it is distributing $10 billion to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines, with a focus on improving vaccine confidence in high-risk communities. In addition, the Administration announced it is making essential workers eligible for vaccinations at Community Health Centers (CHCs) in the Federal CHC Program. It also announced a new program to vaccinate dialysis patients. Details follow... Read More
CMS: Monthly Update to COVID-19 Medicare Snapshot Includes New Data on Race/Ethnicity and Age
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an updated data snapshot detailing the impact of COVID-19 on Medicare beneficiaries. The report draws from COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations of Medicare beneficiaries from Jan. 1 through Dec. 26, 2020, and is based on Medicare claims and encounter data reported to CMS. Notably, the data includes a new breakdown of COVID-19... Read More
CMS: Agency Extends COVID-19 SEP until Aug. 15, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is extending the ongoing special enrollment period (SEP) for an additional three months (i.e., until August 15, 2021). This SEP allows individuals to purchase health care insurance through the Marketplace outside the standard open enrollment period. President Biden originally announced the current SEP earlier this year as a means for... Read More
CMS: Educational Telehealth Resources Available for Patients and Providers via Coverage to Care Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) From Coverage to Care (C2C) program released a set of resources to aid providers and patients as telehealth systems continue to be implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, CMS published: Telehealth for Providers: What You Need to Know (here): CMS designed a toolkit to better familiarize providers with telehealth and... Read More
E&C: Biden Administration Officials Testify on COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts; Vaccine Equity, Vaccine Hesitancy, Reopening Schools, and Public Health Infrastructure Addressed
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations convened a hearing to examine the Biden Administration’s efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates. Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) spoke about Administration efforts to increase vaccination rates through improved vaccine confidence and... Read More
WHG - Weekly, March 15-19
This week, the House is preparing to consider H.R. 1868, a legislative fix introduced by House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth (D-KY) to stop automatic cuts to Medicare and other programs subject to PAYGO sequestration. The increase in deficit spending from the recently enacted $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) will trigger Pay-As-You-Go cuts, including roughly... Read More
CMS: Medicare Payment Rate for COVID-19 Vaccine Administration; Releases Toolkit on Medicaid and COVID-19 Vaccines
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an increase to the Medicare payment rates for COVID-19 vaccine administration. Effective today (March 15), the Medicare payment rate is approximately $40 to administer each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (and roughly $80 for the administration of a two-dose vaccine). CMS notes that the exact payment rate will depend on the... Read More
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