When healthcare leaders ask about the pillars of the RHTP funding in the state of Vermont and the benefits of the Dr. Miltie N9+, they are usually asking a larger operational question: which investments actually improve access, support clinicians, and stand up in rural care delivery. In Vermont, that question matters because funding decisions are rarely about technology alone. They are about whether a model can strengthen community-based care, reduce avoidable strain on hospitals, and make it easier for patients to receive timely services closer to home.

For rural providers, federally qualified health centers, critical access hospitals, and pediatric programs, the strongest funding case is built around care transformation rather than gadget adoption. That is the right lens for understanding Vermont’s Rural Health Transformation Program, or RHTP. While individual grant structures, timelines, and state priorities can shift, the practical pillars tend to stay consistent: access, care coordination, population health, workforce efficiency, and measurable outcomes. Technologies that fit those pillars are more likely to be viewed as strategic infrastructure rather than one-off purchases.

Pillars of the RHTP Funding in the State of Vermont

The first pillar is access to care. Vermont’s rural geography, weather, transportation barriers, and provider shortages can all limit timely care. Funding programs designed for rural transformation typically favor solutions that extend services into homes, schools, community clinics, and satellite sites. That includes models that reduce unnecessary travel for families, support follow-up care outside the traditional exam room, and help organizations reach patients who might otherwise delay care.

The second pillar is care coordination across settings. Rural transformation is not only about seeing more patients. It is about connecting care teams, caregivers, and service sites in ways that reduce fragmentation. For pediatric and medically complex populations, this is especially important. A disconnected workflow can create missed follow-ups, incomplete clinical information, and poor handoffs between primary care, specialty care, school-based support, and home-based monitoring.

The third pillar is population health and chronic disease management. Vermont, like many states, has strong incentives to support preventive care, chronic care management, and earlier intervention. Funding often aligns with programs that can identify changes in patient status sooner, improve patient engagement, and support ongoing monitoring for higher-risk populations. This is where remote patient monitoring and structured virtual care pathways can move from optional add-ons to core infrastructure.

The fourth pillar is workforce efficiency. Rural systems are expected to do more with limited staff, and that pressure affects physicians, nurses, care coordinators, and administrative leaders alike. A strong transformation investment should help scarce clinical resources cover more ground without lowering care quality. That can mean enabling virtual exams, capturing clinically relevant patient data remotely, or supporting triage models that reserve in-person visits for patients who truly need them.

The fifth pillar is accountability. Funding is easier to justify when organizations can connect technology use to operational and clinical outcomes. That may include reduced no-shows, better continuity of care, fewer avoidable transfers, improved chronic disease follow-up, stronger caregiver participation, or expanded service reach in underserved areas. In practice, the technology has to support both care delivery and reporting discipline.

Why These Vermont RHTP Funding Pillars Matter in Real Care Settings

These pillars are not abstract policy language. They shape what gets approved, what gets sustained, and what care teams can realistically scale. A virtual care tool might look impressive in a pilot, but if it does not fit clinical workflow, support reimbursement strategy, or address a real access barrier, its long-term value weakens quickly.

That trade-off becomes clear in pediatric care. A family may live far from specialty services, have limited transportation, or struggle to bring an autistic child into a high-stimulus clinical setting for frequent follow-up. In that case, a solution that supports clinician-directed virtual examination in a familiar environment does more than add convenience. It can improve caregiver participation, reduce stress on the child, and increase the likelihood that follow-up actually happens.

The same logic applies to rural adult populations with chronic disease. If patients need routine monitoring but face weather, distance, or mobility barriers, a connected-care model can help close gaps that would otherwise become costly complications. The right technology can support earlier intervention, but only if clinicians can trust the data and use it within everyday workflows.

The Benefits of the Dr. Miltie N9+

The benefits of the Dr. Miltie N9+ are most compelling when evaluated against those transformation pillars. It is not just a telehealth endpoint. It is a mobile wireless virtual examination and patient monitoring system designed to help clinicians assess patients remotely, capture clinically relevant information, and support care beyond the four walls of a traditional practice.

One major benefit is expanded access with clinical depth. Standard video visits can be useful, but they often fall short when providers need more than conversation and observation. The Dr. Miltie N9+ supports clinician-directed virtual exams in distributed settings, which can make remote encounters more actionable. For organizations trying to extend services into schools, homes, community clinics, or rural access points, that added clinical capability matters.

Another benefit is stronger support for pediatric care, including children with special healthcare needs. Familiar environments can reduce anxiety and sensory stress for some pediatric patients, especially autistic children who may struggle with travel, waiting rooms, or unfamiliar exam settings. When care can be delivered in a lower-stress setting with caregiver involvement, both the experience and the likelihood of continuity can improve. For pediatric practices and health systems, this is not a soft benefit. It has operational value because it can improve follow-up adherence and help clinicians gather useful information without requiring every interaction to happen in person.

A third benefit is alignment with rural and safety-net delivery models. Rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and critical access hospitals need solutions that help them extend limited staff capacity while preserving clinical credibility. The Dr. Miltie N9+ fits that need by supporting remote assessment and patient monitoring in settings where a full in-person specialty footprint may not be realistic. That can help organizations build hub-and-spoke care models, strengthen outreach programs, and support underserved populations with more consistency.

There is also a meaningful workforce and workflow benefit. When technology is reimbursement-aware and deployment is customized, it is easier for organizations to integrate virtual care into existing operations rather than creating parallel processes that burden staff. That point is often overlooked. A device may be clinically impressive, but if implementation creates friction for care teams or billing teams, adoption can stall. A connected-care approach with training, workflow customization, and program design support is often more valuable than hardware alone.

For organizations focused on chronic care management and remote patient monitoring, the platform can also support more proactive care. Instead of waiting for deterioration to become obvious during a missed visit or emergency event, teams can monitor patients more consistently and intervene earlier when needed. That does not eliminate the need for in-person care. It helps reserve in-person resources for the moments where they add the most value.

Where the Dr. Miltie N9+ Fits Best

The strongest fit is usually in environments where access barriers and care complexity overlap. That includes pediatric networks, rural health systems, school-based care partnerships, community health centers, and programs serving medically underserved populations. It is particularly useful when an organization wants to extend clinician-directed care into distributed settings without sacrificing the quality of the patient assessment.

Still, fit depends on program goals. If a provider only needs basic video communication for low-acuity follow-up, a simpler setup may be enough. If the goal is to support virtual physical exams, remote monitoring, chronic care management, and community-based care coordination, the case for a more capable connected-care platform becomes much stronger.

That distinction is exactly where healthcare leaders should focus their planning. Funding-aligned transformation is less about buying a device and more about building a service model. The organizations that do this well define the target population, map workflows, identify reimbursement pathways, and decide how outcomes will be measured before rollout begins.

In that context, the Circle of Care model is relevant because it reflects how rural and pediatric care actually works. Patients do not move through healthcare in a straight line. They are supported by clinicians, caregivers, school personnel, community sites, and care coordinators. Technology that acknowledges that reality is better positioned to support durable change than technology built around isolated encounters.

For Vermont organizations thinking seriously about rural transformation, the real question is not whether virtual care belongs in the model. It is whether the chosen platform can support clinically meaningful care in the places patients already are. When funding priorities center on access, coordination, workforce efficiency, and measurable outcomes, that is where a connected-care strategy can start to earn its place.

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WASHINGTON — Leaders in Congress have reached a sweeping deal to ease Medicare pay cuts to doctors, make major changes to post-pandemic Medicaid policy, and to help prepare for future pandemics.

Lawmakers are aiming to pass a health care policy package along with legislation to fund the federal government by Friday. The details of the omnibus spending package were confirmed by two lobbyists and two congressional aides.

The bill’s text is not yet finalized, and the deal is still subject to changes.

Medicare policy

Doctors were facing down 4.5% Medicare pay cuts at the end of the year and had pleaded with Congress to cancel the cuts altogether. Lawmakers met them halfway: In 2023, physicians will face a 2% cut, and in 2024, the amount will increase to 3.5%, two lobbyists said.

Lawmakers are also expected to waive a rule that would have resulted in further cuts to Medicare. The Medicare hospital at home program is also supposed to be extended for two years.

Some of the package will be paid for by extending future Medicare pay cuts until 2032. Leftover Medicare funds from the gun safety bill that Congress passed earlier this year were also used to pay for some of the policy.

Some behavioral health policy could also be included, as well as two-year extensions of programs that support safety-net and rural hospitals.

Medicaid policy

Lawmakers also agreed to allow states to begin kicking ineligible people off their Medicaid rolls in April, regardless of when the Covid-19 public health emergency ends. Previously, states had to agree to hold off on re-evaluating people’s eligibility in exchange for more federal Medicaid money, and the end date was contingent on the end of the public health emergency.

In addition, lawmakers are expected to extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program until 2029. Children on Medicaid are expected to get one year of continuous eligibility, which means they won’t lose insurance even if their circumstances change. But while Democrats fought to require every state Medicaid program cover postpartum care for a year, the final legislation has fallen short and instead would only make permanent 33 states’ extended coverage.

Advocates have long argued that expanded coverage could help reverse staggering maternal and infant mortality rates, among the worst for high-income countries. Thirty-three states had already extended care for a year after Congress passed the option in last year’s American Rescue Plan, but among the 17 holdouts are some of the states with the highest maternal mortality rates in the country — figures that have only surged during the pandemic.

More robust federal Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico and other territories will be extended for five years, which offers some certainty for territorial governments and providers, according to one congressional aide and one lobbyist.

Telehealth

Pandemic-era telehealth flexibilities are expected to be extended for two years, which was a major ask from the health care industry.

Pandemic preparedness

The pandemic preparedness package negotiated by Senate health committee leaders Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) also made it in the deal, though it was narrowed somewhat, according to one lobbyist and one congressional aide. It is unclear precisely which policies made the final cut.

The package included a policy that would require Senate confirmation for the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No diagnostics reform

A provision that would have given the Food and Drug Administration more authority to regulate in-house tests developed in clinical labs like academic medical centers and hospitals was squeezed out of the agreement. While the device industry and federal regulators backed the measure, arguing it would close an oversight gap that helped Theranos thrive with unproven tests, labs argued it would hobble their ability to quickly diagnose patients.

Ultimately, those labs found sympathy with some Republicans, namely Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), who stands to lead the powerful House Energy and Commerce committee next year, two sources familiar with the deliberation said. Besides being hesitant to give the FDA more authority, Rodgers argued that the bill, called the VALID Act, had not gone through any House hearings or markup, those two people said. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf has said that if the legislation fails to make it into the omnibus, the agency will begin rulemaking itself to bring these labs under its regulatory umbrella.

VALID’s omission from the bill is “disappointing” because many lawmakers in both parties supported the measure, Scott Whitaker, CEO of device lobby AdvaMed, said. “The last thing we need is more Theranos-type tests in the health care system.”

The package is also expected to include some FDA reforms connected to extending several regulatory flexibilities that Congress punted to this month to bring negotiators back to the table after they failed to reach a deal in September. At least reforms to the FDA’s accelerated approval process, FDA’s authority to regulate cosmetics, and policy on encouraging diversity in clinical trials are expected to make the cut, two lobbyists said.

Nursing school repayments

Nursing schools are also expected to get some relief from fees they were supposed to have to pay back to the government following a mistake by the government.

The federal government miscalculated funding for hospital-based nursing schools for nearly two decades, and now the Biden administration was forcing them to pay up during the worst health care workforce crisis in decades.

Coverage of emergency use authorization products

The government has been buying Covid-19 vaccines and providing them for free to everyone, but that arrangement will likely end once the stockpile of government-bought vaccines runs out. When it became clear that the Biden administration was going to have a difficult time getting Republicans to agree to more pandemic preparedness funding, White House officials began preparing the public for commercial coverage.

To help with that transition, the bill would allow Medicare Part D plans to cover coronavirus products through 2024 that have been authorized for emergency use but not approved.

Doctor training on opioid use

The end-of-year package is expected to include a bipartisan bill that would mandate doctors be trained on treating people with opioid use disorder, despite opposition by the American Medical Association.

A related piece of legislation, called the MAT Act, that would lower barriers to prescribing opioid use disorder medication like buprenorphine, is also in the final package.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Thursday that the COVID-19 public health emergency will continue through Jan. 11 as officials brace for a spike in cases this winter.

The decision comes as the pandemic has faded from the forefront of many people’s minds. Daily deaths and infections are dropping and people — many of them maskless — are returning to schools, work and grocery stores as normal.

The public health emergency, first declared in January 2020 and renewed every 90 days since, has dramatically changed how health services are delivered.

The declaration enabled the emergency authorization of COVID vaccines, testing and treatments for free. It expanded Medicaid coverage to millions of people, many of whom who will risk losing that coverage once the emergency ends. It temporarily opened up telehealth access for Medicare recipients, enabling doctors to collect the same rates for those visits and encouraging health networks to adopt telehealth technology.

WATCH: Health experts worry effort to vaccinate against COVID variants moving too slowly

Since the beginning of this year, Republicans have pressed the administration to end the public health emergency. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has urged Congress to provide billions more in aid to pay for COVID-19 vaccines and testing. The federal government ceased sending free COVID-19 tests in the mail last month, saying it had run out of money.

Public health officials are urging people age 5 and older to get an updated COVID-19 booster alongside a flu vaccine this fall before a predicted winter coronavirus surge and a nasty flu season. As of last weekend, about 13 million people had gotten the updated booster, which targets the omicron variant, according to White House COVID-19 coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha.

The administration has said it would provide 60 days notice before it ends the public health emergency.

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As the Center for Connected Health Policy has continued to update our Telehealth Policy Finder over the course of 2022, a few new elements are beginning to emerge in newly passed legislation and in adopted Medicaid policies.  While these may not yet be trends, they have potential to develop into trends, as it is common for states to research and copy telehealth policy language from other states. Policy elements CCHP has noted as potentially emerging trends are listed below:

In-Person Exam Requirement – Congress started this with the passage of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act which requires an in-person visit occur within 6 months prior to an initial telehealth mental health visit and every 12 months afterward in the Medicare program.  A few states have picked up on this policy, but not always as it relates to reimbursement.  For example, a new Alabama law now requires in its Code regulating health professionals that if a physician or group provides telehealth medical services more than four times in a 12-month period to the same patient for the same medical condition without resolution, the physician must see the patient in person or refer the patient to a physician who can provide the in-person care.  Tennessee’s private payer law specifies that evidence of an in-person encounter between the health care provider and the patient within sixteen months prior to the interactive event is required (although there is an exception during a state of emergency).

Allowance for Out-Of-State Providers:  Prior to COVID, it was rare to find an explicit allowance for a provider from another state to practice within their state, even if delivering services to a patient that they have a prior relationship with and is a permanent resident of the state they are licensed in (as is often the case for college students and out-of-town vacationers).  CCHP has noted a few states that have recently passed legislation to make this allowance for specific professions and in certain circumstances, including Alabama, Virginia, and Illinois.

Prescribing Requirements and Payer Restrictions in Private Payer Law:  While in the past prescribing requirements were confined to telehealth practice standards within professional codes and regulation (often for pharmacists, physicians and APRNs), two states are now also including mentions of them in their private payer law.  For example, Maine is requiring that a clinical evaluation be conducted either in person or via telehealth before a written prescription is ordered, and the law also prohibits insurers from placing any restrictions on prescriptions through telehealth that is within their scope of practice.  Oklahoma also now has a similar law which prohibits insurers from placing restrictions on prescribing medications through telemedicine that are more restrictive than what is typically required in federal or state law.

Professional Telehealth Practice Standards in Medicaid Policy:  Typically, standards related to forming a provider-patient relationship are contained within states’ Professions and Occupations Code. However, Arkansas recently updated their Medicaid provider manual regulations to incorporate such standards within its policy.  As many Arkansas boards also have their own telehealth practice standards (See: CCHP AR Professional Board Standards), this can create complexity for providers navigating both policies. To keep up to date on each states’ policies, search in CCHP’s Telehealth Policy Finder; and for recent legislation, visit CCHP’s Pending Legislation webpage.

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The declared Public Health Emergency (PHE) under the Public Health Service Act will apparently be renewed at least one further time beyond its current July 15, 2022 expiration, as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has repeatedly committed to provide a 60-day notice prior to the termination or expiration of the PHE, and mid-May has passed without any such notice. Assuming that HHS issues the maximum 90-day renewal in line with the length of past renewals, such a renewal would extend the PHE through October 13, 2022.

Baker Donelson has launched a series of articles examining transition matters as the emergency declarations are anticipated to expire, including that providers will need to brace for expanded uninsured populations as Medicaid rolls are trimmed by state Medicaid agencies upon the reinstatement of eligibility redeterminations. Notably, each extension raises the magnitude of the looming Medicaid enrollment drop-off due to natural shifts in income and the like that occur over time.

Certain telehealth waivers implemented in connection with the PHE have already been legislatively extended for 151 days following the end of the PHE, with permanent changes possible given a flurry of recent telehealth legislative activity. The apparent additional extension of the PHE would thus lengthen the waiver of certain telehealth coverage requirements, providing a temporary reprieve to the large constituencies of providers and patients who have been advocating for such temporary waivers to become permanent.

Additionally, Public Assistance funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has not yet shut down, but FEMA has issued a year-end deadline for public entities and eligible non-profits to submit funding requests for eligible pandemic response costs incurred through July 1, 2022.

On the other hand, other governmental flexibilities spurred by the pandemic are already winding down, as the Department of Homeland Security has ended the temporary policy allowing employers to accept expired List B documents for I-9 purposes.

We will continue to monitor developments related to the end of the PHE and other pandemic-related governmental programs and waivers.

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APRIL 13, 2022•STATEMENTS AND RELEASES

Vice President Harris to Host First-Ever Meeting with Cabinet Officials on Maternal Health

On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, during Black Maternal Health Week, Vice President Kamala Harris will convene a meeting with Cabinet Secretaries and agency leaders to discuss the Administration’s whole-of-government approach to addressing maternal mortality and morbidity. The Vice President will convene leaders across the federal government – including agencies that may not have historically taken a leading role addressing the maternal health crisis.
 
In December 2021, Vice President Harris convened the first-ever federal Maternal Health Day of Action, where she announced a historic Call to Action to improve health outcomes for parents and infants in the United States. This resulted in the Administration’s announcement of private sector and public sector investments. Ahead of the meeting with Cabinet officials, the Administration is following up with additional actions to address maternal health, and to combat the systemic inequities that lead to worse maternal outcomes for Black, Native American, and rural women.
 
New Announcements:

• 11 Additional States and D.C. Ask to Extend Medicaid and CHIP Coverage to a Full Year After Pregnancy under American Rescue Plan: The American Rescue Plan is working to make Medicaid and CHIP coverage for 12 months after pregnancy a reality for people across the country. The Vice President called on states to expand their postpartum coverage during her Call to Action in December.
  • The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Louisiana, Virginia, New Jersey, and Illinois’ extension of Medicaid and CHIP coverage for 12 months after pregnancy on or before April 1, 2022. CMS is also working with another eleven states and the District of Columbia to extend postpartum coverage for a full year after pregnancy, including: California, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.  In addition, a number of other states have announced that they are working to extend Medicaid and CHIP coverage to 12 months after pregnancy, and CMS looks forward to working with those states.
  • In order to receive federal funds and to ensure consistency with federal standards, including those set by the American Rescue Plan, states must go through a formal process run by CMS. Medicaid covers more than 40 percent of births in the United States, and extending this coverage will bring the peace of mind of health coverage to parents and children during the vulnerable post-partum period. 
  • Based on HHS estimates, approximately 720,000 people would benefit if all states were to adopt the American Rescue Plan’s new option to extend post-partum Medicaid and CHIP coverage for a full 12 months.
• “Birthing-Friendly” Hospital Designation: CMS is proposing the “Birthing-Friendly” hospital designation to drive improvements in maternal health outcomes and maternal health equity. The “Birthing-Friendly” hospital designation would assist consumers in choosing hospitals that have demonstrated a commitment to maternal health. The Administration announced this new designation during the White House Maternal Health Day of Action Summit.
  • Initially, the designation would be awarded to hospitals based on attestation that the hospital has participated in maternity care quality improvement collaboratives and implemented best practices that advance health care quality, safety, and equity for pregnant and post-partum patients.
  • Data will be submitted by hospitals for the first time in May 2022, and CMS will post data for October to December 2021 in fall 2022. Criteria for the designation may be expanded in the future.
• Engaging the Health Care Industry to Improve Health Outcomes: In Summer 2022, CMS will convene health care industry stakeholders – including health care facilities, insurance companies, state officials and providers – to focus on industry commitments to improve health outcomes experienced by pregnant and postpartum people. CMS and experts will share best practices and commitments and request that health care industry leaders make commitments to advance maternal health.
• Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Programs: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced approximately $16 million to strengthen Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Programs through seven awards supporting eight states.
  • These awards will advance data and technology innovations to support positive maternal and child health outcomes in states and communities, and focus on addressing health disparities.
• State Maternal Health Innovation and Implementation (State MHI) Program: State MHI supports state-level development and implementation of proven strategies to improve maternal health and address maternal health disparities. The new funding, $9 million, will continue to build state capacity to deliver high-quality maternity care services and provide training for maternal care clinicians. It also adds a component to enhance the quality of state-level maternal health data through better collection, reporting and analysis. The program will fund up to nine cooperative agreements, and each will receive up to $1 million over five years.
• Maternal Health Best Practices: HHS, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is also, on telehealth.hhs.gov, posting a new Maternal Health Best Practice Guide for providers to incorporate telehealth for prenatal and postpartum care, and monitoring within high-risk pregnancy. Through remote patient monitoring, screening and treatment for postpartum depression, and lactation consulting, maternal telehealth can help reduce barriers to access to critical care for mothers before, during and after a pregnancy.

Previous Actions Announced since the Vice President’s Call to Action in December

• Investing in Doulas: HHS announced the availability of $4.5 million for hiring, training, certifying, and compensating community-based doulas in areas with high rates of adverse maternal and infant health outcomes, doubling the number of Healthy Start doula programs nationwide.
• Title X: HHS restored access to Title X family planning services nationwide to fill service gaps caused by more than a quarter of Title X providers withdrawing from the program over the past two and a half years in response to the previous administration’s Title X rule. HHS awarded $256.6 million in grant funding to support 76 grantees to deliver equitable, affordable, client-centered, and high-quality family planning services.
• FY23 Budget Request: The President’s budget includes $470  million to: reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates; expand maternal health initiatives in rural communities; implement implicit bias training for healthcare providers; create pregnancy medical home demonstration projects; and address the highest rates of perinatal health disparities, including by supporting the perinatal health workforce.

Additional Background

• As Vice President, Kamala Harris has worked closely with President Biden and other leaders in the Administration to improve outcomes for Black women and their families.
  • The White House released a Presidential Proclamation to mark Black Maternal Health Week in 2021 and 2022.
  • In December 2021, the Vice President led a Maternal Health Day of Action Summit, noting the urgent need to address this crisis.
    • At the Summit, the Vice President announced guidance to help states provide 12 months of continuous postpartum coverage through their Medicaid programs, up from 60 days; a new HHS report showing the impact of state extensions of Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months; and CMS’s plan to propose the establishment of a “Birthing-Friendly” hospital designation. She also announced that more than 20 companies and nonprofits have pledged to invest over $150 million and take other critical actions to address the maternal health crisis.
  • In April 2021, the Vice President hosted a roundtable on Black Maternal Health with Domestic Policy Advisor Ambassador Susan Rice. She was joined by women who shared their experiences with complications from pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum as well as their work in advocacy and research, highlighting the disparities that Black women face in maternal health.

• The Omnibus spending bill passed in March and signed by the President includes both the Maternal Health Quality Improvement Act and an expansion of the Rural Maternal and Obstetric Modernization of Services (Rural MOMS) program. 
  • These foundational bills authorize and improve programs to address the maternal mortality crisis in this country and build on current funding at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.
• Last fall, the Administration released the first-ever National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality, which includes its vision to strengthen health care and  women’ health, including through addressing the maternal mortality crisis in the United States and abroad.
• As a Senator, Vice President Harris was a champion on the issue of maternal health. She brought racial disparities in maternal mortality, particularly for Black women, to the forefront legislatively, increasing awareness among her colleagues and leading to a broader discussion of racial disparities across other health issues.
  • She convened roundtables, lifted up local organizations that are focused on the issue, and ensured that initiatives on maternal health included references to racial disparities and relevant solutions.

She introduced several bills in the Senate specifically targeted to addressing racial disparities in maternal mortality, including the Maternal CARE Act and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act.

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Three US senators have introduced legislation to increase access to virtual mental health services for children and underserved populations.

By Mark Melchionna

April 12, 2022 – To expand access to virtual mental health services, US Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), John Thune (R-SD), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have introduced the Medicaid Ensuring Necessary Telehealth is Available Long-term (MENTAL) Health for Kids and Underserved Act.

Historically, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people found it challenging to access necessary mental health services.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also showed that pediatric mental health services decreased by 43 percent in March 2020, due to the beginning of COVID-19 restrictions. This also led to a disruption in education for children.

Brown, Thune, and Cardin, members of the Senate Finance Committee, believe that the MENTAL Health for Kids and Underserved Act can help boost education and mental health services through telehealth.

The Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The new bill directs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to assist states in learning how to widen access to services while under the two programs that cover low-income populations and children.

The MENTAL Health for Kids and Underserved Act would also require CMS to provide guidance on how to integrate behavioral services best and how to implement them in school-based settings, including full-service community schools.

“As a result of the pandemic, kids across the country – especially those in underserved communities – have faced major disruptions to their educational and behavioral development, and schools have not had the resources they need,” said Brown in the press release. “We need to expand behavioral telehealth options for students, and this is one commonsense, bipartisan step to do that.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been various efforts to increase access to pediatric healthcare.

To assist schools in providing medical and mental health services, Sen. Brown introduced the bicameral Full-Service Community School Expansion Act in February 2021. This bill intends to help create youth development programs and maintain education courses serving various populations.

In November 2021, TD Bank awarded a grant to support Nemours Children Health initiative, hoping to enhance pediatric care. Researchers noted that the COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for pediatric mental health services but also limited access to them. Using the grant, Nemours plans to create an integrated model of care to meet the needs of children in Florida.

Another recent study provided data on how the integration of pediatric behavioral healthcare into primary care.s. Developed by researchers from Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Public Health, the program sought to assist marginalized children in receiving robust and more accessible behavioral healthcare.

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By Robert King Apr 13, 2022 03:11pm

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has extended the COVID-19 public health emergency for another 90 days and potentially for the final time. 

The PHE, which gives key flexibilities to providers and states, will not expire in July. The PHE was originally expected to expire April 16. 

It remains unclear whether HHS will extend the emergency for a second time this summer, but providers will likely know the answer in a month. HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra has promised a 60-day heads-up to providers and states that the PHE will end. 

The PHE went into effect in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic and granted major flexibilities to providers and states. It gave more flexibility to providers to waive key reporting requirements and removed barriers to telehealth reimbursement under Medicare. 

In addition, states may not drop anyone off Medicaid rolls for the duration of the PHE. States are readying to examine thousands of Medicaid enrollees to redetermine whether they are eligible.

Some members of Congress and provider groups have wanted HHS to give even greater lead time, but Becerra has indicated he will not go beyond the 60 days. He has also previously said any decision will be based on the science and the status of COVID-19 in the country. 

COVID-19 cases have spiked in recent weeks due to a new subtype of the omicron variant.

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