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In Partnership With:
NOVEMBER 2023
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Introducing Grantmakers In Health’s Health Policy Update
The Health Policy Update is a new Grantmakers In Health (GIH) monthly newsletter produced in collaboration with Trust for America’s Health (TFAH). Drawing on GIH’s policy priorities outlined in our 2023 policy agenda and our strategic objective of increasing our policy and advocacy presence, the Health Policy Update provides GIH Funding Partners with a range of federal health policy news. New issues will be released on the first Wednesday of every month.
Each edition of the newsletter features the following sections:
- Spotlight—a look at a news item or opportunity that we believe is of special interest to Funding Partners;
- Congressional and Administration Updates—health policy news from the Hill and the Administration;
- Reports and Announcements—new reports and announcements related to health policy;
- Open Comment Opportunities and Requests for Information—opportunities to comment on Notices of Public Rulemaking (NPRM) and other requests for information;
- Open Sign-Ons and Endorsements—opportunities to join sign-on letters and statements and other policy endorsements; and
- Events—health policy public events and webinars of interest to Funding Partners.
Email us at info@gih.org to let us know what you think of the newsletter and how we might improve it to make it even more useful to you.
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- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on coverage of over-the-counter (OTC) preventive services, including the benefits of requiring most health insurance plans to cover these services at no cost and without a prescription by a health care provider. OTC items of interest to this RFI include items recommended by experts that can be purchased without a prescription, including but not limited to contraceptives, tobacco cessation products, folic acid, and breastfeeding supplies. While the Affordable Care Act requires most plans to cover certain recommended preventive items at no cost, some preventive items available to consumers OTC without a prescription are not required to be covered without cost-sharing unless prescribed by a health care provider. The RFI is available here in its entirety. The deadline to submit comments is December 4, 2023.
If your organization submits a response to this RFI, please share a copy with GIH (info@gih.org) so we can track and compile input from health funders.
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Congressional and Administration Updates
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- The outlook for federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funding remains unclear as of this publication. The Senate is working to advance an appropriations “minibus,” a combination of bills that include funding for housing, nutrition, and transportation programs. Meanwhile, the House may consider spending bills around transportation and housing; interior and environment; and labor, Health and Human Services; and agriculture among other departments before the current government funding agreement expires on November 17, 2023. It is likely another continuing resolution, which keeps funding at FY 2023 levels, will need to pass by the November 17 deadline. The White House is also requesting emergency funding for Ukraine and Israel, as well as childcare centers that face a funding cliff from expiring COVID-19 dollars.
- Representatives GT Thompson (R-PA) and Ann Kuster (D-NH) introduced the Helping Ensure Access to Local TeleHealth (HEALTH) Act. The bill would enable Medicare reimbursement for telehealth services provided by community health centers and rural health clinics, as well as allow providers to utilize audio-only telehealth visits for patients who do not have access to broadband services.
- Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) introduced the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2023. The bill would close tax code loopholes for tobacco products by increasing the federal tax rate on cigarettes, pegging it to inflation to ensure it remains an effective public health tool, and setting the federal tax rate for all other tobacco products at this same level.
- HHS, through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), sent a letter to state health officials reinforcing that states must provide 12 months of continuous coverage for children under the age of 19 on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) beginning January 1, 2024. The letter provides background on the importance of continuous coverage in preventing interruptions that impede access to health coverage to support better short- and long-term health outcomes, and describes policies related to implementing continuous coverage for children as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. For more information, the HHS press release is available here.
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent proposed rules banning menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review. In 2022, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra stated that the proposed rules represent an important step to advance health equity by significantly reducing tobacco-related health disparities.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its final rule, Community Eligibility Provision: Increasing Options for Schools, which provides 3,000 additional school districts the opportunity to offer nutritious meals to all students at no cost. Effective October 26, 2023, the rule lowers the eligibility threshold from 40 percent to 25 percent, thus increasing millions of students’ access to nutritious school meals. USDA’s summary of changes to the Community Eligibility Provision is available here.
- FDA is hosting Virtual Public Meeting and Listening Sessions on Strategies to Reduce Added Sugars Consumption in the United States on November 6-8, 2023. The National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health notes that the intake of added sugars for most Americans is higher than what is recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and calls for FDA to host, in collaboration with other federal partners, a public meeting on this issue.
- The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA is hosting a virtual public meeting, Front-of-Package Nutrition Labeling, on November 16, 2023. Registration is required to join. The deadline to submit written comments is November 22, 2023.
- The latest Climate and Health Outlook from the HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE) explores the climate-related health hazards of heat, wildfire, drought, and hurricanes and provides information on how to reduce health risks associated with each. It also features findings from new research on heat-related illness increasing among veterans and peat bog wildfire smoke’s association with cardiopulmonary emergency department visits. OCCHE also has a portal with interactive maps of county-level data on these climate hazards and individual-level risk factors for health impacts.
- The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) announced it has awarded two organizations – Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences and the University of Hawai'i – $4 million total to support its Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity (CIIHE). The awards will support a five-year initiative to advance sustainable solutions that address Indigenous health disparities and advance health equity in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities.
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Reports and Announcements
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- TFAH recently hosted an event recognizing the 20th anniversary of its State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The event featured White House and federal officials discussing the Biden Administration’s priorities for improving nutrition and health, a panel featuring community leaders and nutrition and medical experts discussing effective community-level obesity prevention programs, and four-time track and field Olympian and record holder Chaunte Lowe closed the program discussing the role sport can play in promoting health and well-being. A recording of the event is available here.
- The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have published A Population Health Workforce to Meet 21st Century Challenges and Opportunities: Proceedings of a Workshop. The resource summarizes a February 2022 workshop entitled A Population Health Workforce to Meet 21st Century Challenges and Opportunities. The event, building upon the proceedings from their March 2019 workshop, Dialogue about the Workforce for Population Health Improvement, was further informed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of climate change, and recent attention to underfunding of the public health workforce.
- TFAH, in partnership with the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), announced the selection of 10 public health institutes that will participate in Phase III of the Age-Friendly Public Health Systems (AFPHS) movement. TFAH and NNPHI will guide the public health institutes in building their knowledge and expertise in healthy aging, with the goal of developing state department of health action plans to support older adult health in the 10 states. This project is funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation.
- The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) has launched a six-state learning lab to support participating teams in developing and implementing state-specific, data-driven policymaking approaches to address health disparities. In the learning lab, participating states will exchange best practices, opportunities, and challenges, and receive expert support in developing and implementing action plans to meet their own data goals. Participating states are Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington.
- A new research brief, Survey: Public Health Employees Eager to Address Racism as a Public Health Crisis, provides the first analysis of governmental public health workers’ views on addressing the public health impacts of racism. The brief, released by the de Beaumont Foundation, analyzes data from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) to examine the resources and supports public health workers feel they need to take on racial justice work within public health agency contexts.
- With new guidance and encouragement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ policy, states can allow school districts to bill Medicaid for all health services provided to all Medicaid-enrolled students. A new report from Healthy Schools Campaign identifies the 25 states that so far have taken action to increase student access to — and funding for — school health services. Learn more here.
- The Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) released a report regarding nonprofit hospital systems’ provision of charity care. The report examined the adequacy of care provided by nonprofit hospitals and if it meets the standards to maintain their nonprofit status.
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Open Comment Opportunities and Requests for Information
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- The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would modify regulations of the Older Americans Act (OAA) to add a new subpart related to Adult Protective Services (APS). Currently, there are no federal standards for APS systems, leading to wide variation in policies and procedures. APS programs often link adults subject to maltreatment to community social, physical health, behavioral health, and legal services, which help them maintain independence in the settings in which they prefer to live. The deadline to submit comments is November 13, 2023.
- The HHS Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has issued an NPRM to update the 2005 Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct. The goal of the NPRM is promoting integrity in research, establishing the definitions and processes to assess and investigate allegations of research misconduct, ensuring the appropriate handling of research misconduct by PHS-funded institutions, and authorizing administrative actions when necessary. The deadline to submit comments is December 5, 2023.
If your organization submits comments to these NPRMs, please share a copy with GIH (info@gih.org) so we can track and compile input from health funders.
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Open Sign-ons and Endorsements
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- TFAH recently sent a letter to the Senate Health, HELP Committee opposing a proposal to cut $980 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund (“the Prevention Fund”) to pay for other health legislation. Signatories will be added on a rolling basis in case there is a need to resend the letter to congressional leadership in the coming weeks. This letter is open only to organizations. For more information, here is a backgrounder on the Prevention Fund and state-by-state fact sheets. Click here to sign onto the letter.
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