Happy Wednesday! Enjoy your NCMS Morning Rounds!

October 20, 2021

DOCMS News

On October 13, the Durham-Orange County Medical Society (DOCMS) virtually hosted 50 attendees for a discussion on “Medicare for All,” led by DOCMS Past President Howard Eisenson, MD and Jonathan Kotch, MD. Dr. Eisenson and Dr. Kotch are passionate about access to care and presented data on the what’s working well in US healthcare, where the current system falls short, and what “Medicare for All” is, and is not. For more information, view the presentation slides posted here.

Like other county medical societies, DOCMS discussed issues relevant at this time of the year, including participation in the NCMS Annual Business Meeting and calling for volunteers to serve on their Board of Directors. Thank you to Lynn Bowlby, MD and Margaret Champion, MD for volunteering to serve. The DOCMS will hold its year-end holiday meeting on December 8, 2021. For more information, visit www.docmedsoc.org.

Do you have county medical society news to share? For inclusion in the Morning Rounds, please email [email protected].

Extension of Temporary Suspension of Prior Authorization for Post-Acute Placements

Due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) and to expedite a hospital’s ability to discharge patients to lower levels of care when medically appropriate, the prior authorization (PA) waiver for medically necessary new admissions who are being directly discharged from a hospital setting into a nursing home (NH) is extended to Oct. 31, 2021.

The PA waiver applies to members receiving services under both NC Medicaid Direct and the Standard Plans. Standard Plans are permitted to require notification within three calendar days of skilled nursing facility admissions to facilitate care management and transitions to other care settings as clinically appropriate.

Read the full SPECIAL BULLETIN COVID-19 #190 here.

HHS Announces Availability of $100 Million for State Loan Repayment Programs to Support Primary Health Care Workforce in Underserved Communities

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing the availability of $100 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding for state-run programs that support, recruit, and retain primary care clinicians who live and work in underserved communities. This funding represents a five-fold increase to the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP), and helps improve health equity by ensuring that clinicians working in high-need communities remain in them.

Read the full press release here.

In the News

Why COVID Boosters Weren’t Tweaked To Better Match Variants, AP News, 10-18-21

Learning Opportunity 

CMS Innovation Center Strategy Refresh Webinar, TODAY, Wednesday, October 20, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

CMS leadership will provide highlights from the CMS Innovation Center’s bold, new strategy, including lessons learned over the past decade that have shaped its vision for the next 10 years: a health system that achieves equitable outcomes through high-quality, affordable, person-centered care. Additionally, we will walk through the five strategic objectives that will support this transformation: Drive Accountable Care, Advance Health Equity, Support Innovation, Address Affordability, and Partner to Achieve System Transformation. A preview of this strategy was featured in a recent Health Affairs blog article.

Register here.

 

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