The Senate HELP Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement convened a hearing to discuss gaps and opportunities in communities to increase access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment services. The hearing provided an opportunity for members to discuss community-driven solutions and their highest priority legislative fixes to address the mental health crisis. The hearing featured testimony from Ms…. (Marceno, Testa, May 19, 2023) <span style="font-size:90%;

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced that it has partnered with the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) through a cooperative agreement to award $16 million in subgrants to improve outreach in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan. The funding will go… (McClurg, May 19, 2023) #Nutrition, #Pediatrics, #Women’s Health

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on access to healthcare in rural areas in the United States. The report identified provider availability, insurance coverage, travel and transportation, and internet access as challenges facing those attempting to access healthcare in rural areas. GAO also found that veterans, pregnant people, and American Indian/Alaska Natives are among the individuals most impacted… (McClurg, May 19, 2023) #Health Equity, #Rural Health

The House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Health convened a hearing to examine how anticompetitive practices and consolidation negatively impact patient cost and access to health care. This hearing builds on the Committee’s bipartisan work on health care competition and price transparency, mirroring some of the discussions advancing on the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The hearing featured witness testimony… (Colocho, May 18, 2023) #Costs, #Drug Pricing, #Hospitals, #Pharmacies, #Pharmacy Benefit Managers, #Physicians, #Prevention, #Public Health, #Transparency

The Biden-Harris Administration announced the launch of the new ALL INside initiative to address unsheltered homelessness. Through this initiative, the US Interagency Council on Homelessness and its member agencies will partner with state and local governments to get unsheltered people into homes in six areas: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Phoenix Metro, Seattle, and the State of California. The Administration will… (McClurg, May 18, 2023) #Housing

A recent study funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) estimates the total cost of racial and ethnic health inequities to the US Economy in 2018 was $451 billion. Further, the study estimates the total cost of education-related health disparities for individuals with less than a college degree in 2018 was $978 billion, roughly twice… (Marceno, Slifer, May 16, 2023) #Health Equity, #National Institutes of Health, #Social Determinants of Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a study that finds that among US adults, the incidence of chronic pain is higher than that of diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, and other common chronic conditions. Chronic pain was defined as pain felt every or most days during the past three-month period. Through analysis of 2019 and 2020 National Health Interview… (Marceno, Slifer, May 16, 2023) #Chronic Diseases, #Mental and Behavioral Health, #Opioids

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently issued a request for state and stakeholder comments on updates proposed to the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Prospective Payment System (PPS) Technical Guidance initially published under the 2015 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMSHA) CCBHC Notice of Funding Opportunity. CCBHCs provide community-based substance use disorder treatment and mental health… (Marceno, Llamas, May 15, 2023) #Demonstration Programs, #Mental and Behavioral Health

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health convened a hearing to discuss how current legislation, regulations and other agency actions are shaping pharmaceutical and medical device innovation, prices and patient access. Topics discussed include praise for lower out-of-pocket costs as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) yet concerns about the unintended impact of IRA… (Joyce, May 15, 2023) #340B, #Affordable Care Act, #Biosimilars, #Costs, #COVID-19, #Demonstration Programs, #Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH), #Drug Pricing, #Food and Drug Administration, #Generic Drugs, #Insurance Coverage, #Medical Devices, #Pharmacy Benefit Managers, #Rural Health

The Department of Health and Human Services provided additional details on the Biden-Harris Administration initiative called Project NextGen, which involves an initial investment of $5 billion to accelerate the development of the next generation of vaccines and treatments through public-private collaborations. The project aims to stay ahead of COVID-19 and ensure that the United States is prepared for future pandemics…. (Colocho, May 15, 2023) #COVID-19, #Prevention, #Public Health