Dollars to Digitize ARPA 6.06 Grant Program

Calling all Medicaid-enrolled HCBS and behavioral health providers: Apply today to innovate your organization with new or enhanced digital technology! Visit the ARPA 6.06 Grant portion of the ARPA webpage or see the Dollars to Digitize flyer for more information on the grant program.

Upcoming Webinar: Join us for the ARPA 6.06 Grant Program webinar on Oct. 13, 2022, from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. MT. Register here for the event.

NHPCO-Led Coalition Welcomes Introduction of GRIEF ACT in Congress 

(Alexandria, VA) The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and its affiliate group, the Hospice Action Network (HAN) applaud today’s introduction of the Grief Resilience Investment and Education Fund (GRIEF) Actin the House of Representatives by Congressman Joe Morelle (NY-25).  

If passed, the GRIEF Act would expand access to bereavement care by providing grant funding for health care providers, like hospices, to expand previously unfunded community grief support programs. 

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, grieving individuals, families, children, and communities need access to timely bereavement care that is provided by experts who are knowledgeable, experienced, and trained in helping others cope with grief. This legislation aims to ensure that Americans who have suffered from loss receive the care they need and deserve. 

“For too long, mental health needs have gone unaddressed, casting a shadow over families contending with significant loss—especially during the pandemic, said Congressman Joe Morelle. “Establishing a National Grief Strategy will help people move forward with the help of skilled professionals creating a culture of awareness and support. It is my hope that this legislation helps end the stigma around mental health and ensure families can access the essential support they deserve.” 

The bill provides funding for grief counseling for individuals and families, bereavement care for children, education and training for bereavement care providers and peer support, a national public information campaign, and research to examine the experience of complicated and prolonged grief and the efficiency of treatment approaches. 

As the leading voice of the hospice community, NHPCO worked in collaboration with supporting organizations to garner Congressional support for this bill. Support comes from the American Psychological Association (APA), the Hospice Foundation of America (HFA), and the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN). . .

Call on your Member of Congress to Cosponsor the GRIEF Act! 

1,091 MA Plans To Offer In-Home Support Services In 2023, A Significant Increase

Home Health Care News | By Andrew Donlan
 
Medicare Advantage (MA) plans are now allowed to tout the benefits they will be offering their members in 2023. Home-based care providers should be “delighted” at what the preliminary data shows.
 
That’s according to Tyler Cromer, a principal at the Washington, D.C.-based research and advocacy organization ATI Advisory.
 
Specifically, in-home support services (IHSS) will be available in 1,091 MA plans in 2023, which accounts for almost one in every five plans. That number is up 13% from 2022, according to ATI Advisory.
 
“The growth for in-home support services is really significant,” Cromer told Home Health Care News. “I don’t think it’s out of line with what we would expect. But if anything, it’s a little bit higher than we might have expected. This is really significant growth, both in real numbers and as a percentage of the overall number of plans. It’s really exciting.”
 
The 1,091 plans offering IHSS are the ones doing so through the primarily health-related benefits. IHSS are unique in that plans have the ability to offer them through the primarily health-related pathway or through the Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI) one.
 
Data on that latter won’t be available for a couple of months. But for context, 216 plans offered IHSS through the SSBCI pathway last year.
 
“It’s really good news for home-based care providers,” Cromer said.

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The Latest on Viruses

National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM)

As COVID-19 hospitalizations are declining, many hospitals are updating the traditional hospital design model to better accommodate the next pandemic. Some familiar viruses, such as influenza, have returned in unexpected ways while other viruses, including monkeypox and enterovirus, have become more prevalent. 

• Influenza: With COVID-19 precautions continuing to weaken and fewer individuals immunized against influenza, health officials are warning that this fall and winter may be an exceptionally severe flu season and that cases may begin to rise earlier than usual. The projected rise in flu and COVID-19 cases this winter could result in the long-feared "twindemic."

• Poliovirus: The US was recently designated as a country where circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus has been reported, joining a list with 30 other outbreak countries. 

• Monkeypox Cases: The US reported almost two-fifths of the world’s monkeypox cases. While new cases and serious complications are still occurring, transmission in the US appears to be slowing down. The CDC recommends that the monkeypox antiviral be reserved only for people at high risk for severe disease.

• Perception of Monkeypox: Awareness of monkeypox surged over the summer in the US and public health experts continue to warn about stigmatizing monkeypox messaging as was the case during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Increased awareness of monkeypox has also been accompanied by increased scrutiny for many individuals with skin conditions. For those that have contracted the lesion-causing virus, it continues to impact both physical and mental health.

• EV-D68 in Children: In September, the CDC issued a health advisory about the nationwide increase in pediatric hospitalizations with severe respiratory illness who also tested positive for rhinovirus or enterovirus EV-D68. In rare cases, this virus can cause polio-like symptoms in children.