Rural COVID-19 Update
May 14, 2020
The Center for Rural Health (CRH) has created this weekly e-newsletter as well as a COVID-19 webpage to keep people informed about what the CRH is doing to help during the pandemic.
News & Resources
Mitigating COVID-19's Rural Impact on Families
At-Risk for Violence and Child Maltreatment and
Neglect
An article in the Rural Monitor discusses
COVID-19's impacts on rural families at-risk for violence
and maltreatment. Experts describe ways they are
adjusting to ensure all families have necessary
resources, especially when social distancing.
Mental Health in a Pandemic: Q&A with
Thomasine Heitkamp and Dennis Mohatt
The Rural Health Information Hub's most recent Rural
Monitor article features an interview with the
co-directors of the Mountain Plains Mental Health
Technology Transfer Center, Thomasine Heitkamp and Dennis
Mohatt. They discuss the coronavirus' effects on rural
mental health.
Phone Only Telehealth Services for Medicare
During COVID-19
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
expanded Medicare coverage for audio-only phone services
during the pandemic. Services include psychotherapy,
behavioral health assessment and intervention services,
and other behavioral health services. For more
information, contact Laurel Stine, JD, at lstine@apa.org.
Coronavirus Waivers &
Flexibilities
CMS has updated multiple fact sheets that summarize
changes made through regulatory actions in response to
COVID-19.
Hospital COVID-19 Funding
Template
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) has
released a tracking tool for use in identifying how much
money each hospital is receiving from various COVID-19
relief allocations and awards. NASHP created this tool as
a template to be used by states when conducting hospital
surveys to identify the types and totals of support
received. It can also serve as a template for hospitals'
chief financial officers to track incoming federal and
state funds.
Medicare Coverage and Payment of Virtual
Services
CMS has updated a video that answers common questions
about the expanded Medicare telehealth services benefit
during COVID-19. New information includes how CMS adds
services to the list of telehealth services, additional
practitioners who can provide telehealth services, and
the distant site services that Rural Health Clinics and
Federally Qualified Health Centers can provide. In
addition, the video includes information about audio-only
telehealth services, telehealth services that hospitals,
nursing homes, and home health agencies can provide, and
how to correctly bill for telehealth services.
Events
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May 19, 2020
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Navigating COVID-19 Response and Recovery
Funding The Bipartisan Policy Center is hosting a webinar with its new disaster reform task force. The discussion will include ways for public officials to use COVID-19-related federal aid effectively. |