Increasing Access to Routine Child Immunizations: State Approaches for Increasing Pharmacy Enrollment in the VFC Program
Discusses how increasing pharmacy participation in the Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) can promote access to childhood vaccinations and reduce disparities. Outlines steps states can take to identify and address barriers to enrollment, including examining reimbursement policies, aligning program requirements with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requirements, addressing common provider misconceptions about the VFC program, and addressing pediatrician concerns.
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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MedPAC Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2022
Provides an overview of Medicare spending and highlights data on Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care provided through the Medicare program, and other payer liability. Examines settings of care, including rural specific provider sites, as they relate to spending, access to care, and profit margins. Compares rural and urban beneficiaries and providers throughout. Chart 6-2 addresses rural hospital closures.
Date: 07/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MiCare Champion Cast: How 340B Benefits Rural Michigan
Podcast that explains the 340B drug pricing program and its impact on rural Michigan. Presents a discussion with stakeholders from the Mackinac Straits Health System which includes a Critical Access Hospital, Rural Health Clinic, and other healthcare facilities.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Michigan Health & Hospital Association
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BuchananCares Program: A Team-based Care Pilot Led by a Rural Community Hospital and Local Pharmacist
Describes BuchananCares, a collaboration among health professionals from the Appalachian College of Pharmacy, Buchanan General Hospital in rural Virginia, and the Virginia Department of Health. Designed to reduce patient readmissions and improve medication use for patients with COPD, diabetes, heart failure, and pneumonia.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Community Preventive Services Task Force
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Prescribing Alzheimer's Disease Treatments by Provider Type and Geographic Region: A Comparison among Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants
Study examining prescriptions for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) medications by provider type and geographic regions, including non-metro and a range of metro settings. Analysis is based on commercial and Medicare supplemental claims data.
Author(s): Jenny Y. Park, David L. Veenstra, Christopher J. Wallick, Zachary A. Marcum
Citation: BMC Geriatrics, 22, 522
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2022
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Chapter 2 presents a report on access to care for beneficiaries in Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs), who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, or have multiple chronic conditions. Also includes chapters on alternative payment models, safety net providers, the cost of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, the accuracy of Medicare Advantage payments, the alignment of fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings, and segmentation in the stand-alone Part D plan market.
Date: 06/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Changes in Transmucosal Buprenorphine Utilization for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Kentucky
Explores changes in prescription rates of transmuscosal buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky. Compares prescribing rates in rural versus urban areas and examines rates on a week by week basis.
Author(s): Feitong Lei, Michelle R. Lofwall, Patricia R. Freeman, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
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Expanded Naloxone Distribution to Reduce Rural Opioid Overdose Mortality
Discusses a study on the effect community-based and pharmacy-initiated naloxone distribution has had on rates of rural opioid overdose mortality. Highlights an intervention that expands naloxone access points in rural communities and pharmacies in addition to traditional provider-based treatment.
Date: 05/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Vermont Center on Rural Addiction
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April 2022 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2022 meeting. Covers high prices of drugs covered under Medicare Part B, initial findings from MedPAC's analysis of Part D data on drug rebates and discounts, segmentation in the stand-alone Part D prescription drug plan market, leveraging Medicare policies to address social determinants of health, an approach to streamline and harmonize Medicare's portfolio of alternative payment models, and aligning fee-for-service payment rates across ambulatory settings. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 04/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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What Happens When COVID-19 Emergency Declarations End? Implications for Coverage, Costs, and Access
Identifies federal health-related COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) declarations, the flexibilities each provides, and implications for ending them. Topics covered include COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccination; telehealth; Medicaid coverage; Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance flexibilities; and more.
Author(s): Juliette Cubanski, Jennifer Kates, Madeline Guth, et al.
Date: 04/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kaiser Family Foundation
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