754: Telehealth Funding Opportunities, Congress Ponders Appropriations

SUMMER JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, September 20, 2024. I'm Summer Johnson.

Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

HEATHER DIMERIS: 

We'll be announcing awards on integrating behavioral health into primary care through our telehealth network program.

JOHNSON: 

Celebrating Telehealth Awareness Week this week with news about investments in telehealth coming soon. Heather Dimeris is with HHS.

DIMERIS: 

This fiscal year, we'll have funding to release two new programs and awards for those programs, the behavioral health integration evidence-based Telehealth Network Grant Program. As well as a second one that is focusing on using technology to help with learning from provider to provider.

JOHNSON: 

Dimeris also wants agencies to know that there are plans next year to open competition for other telehealth programs.

DIMERIS: 

We will be recompeting some of the programs that we have around telehealth research, as well as our telehealth resource centers, which provide technical assistance in ways that we are so incredibly thankful for.

JOHNSON: 

Agencies can review a list of telehealth funding opportunities online, at telehealth.hhs.gov. There's a link in the show notes.

All eyes are on Congress as lawmakers focus on federal spending. ATHO is tracking the latest developments on Capitol Hill. Jeffrey Ekoma is here with more in today's View from Washington DC report. Jeffrey, it's good to see you. Happy Friday to you.

JEFFREY EKOMA: 

Yes, happy rural Friday. Here we are.

JOHNSON: 

The big topic in Washington this week, and of course, all month long, is what Congress will do with FY25 Appropriations. What can you tell us?

EKOMA: 

Yeah, there's been a lot of back and forth with where we hope things land for FY25. Carolyn noted last week, Speaker Johnson pulled a six-month continuing resolution from the House floor. However, things changed earlier this week, and he did agree to hold a vote for the legislation. Now, the legislation did not receive enough votes for passage, and really next steps from the speaker are sort of unclear at this moment. Now, we're still not expecting a government shutdown and we do expect Congress to negotiate the terms of CR in the coming days. Something that we're also tracking very closely related to FY25 negotiations is the potential of the inclusion of a couple of anomalies to the bill that will provide additional funding for things such as respiratory virus preparedness and response, wastewater surveillance, Medicaid funding to address shortfall in US territories, among a host of other things. So we'll be as always, tracking things very closely.

JOHNSON: 

What's the ASTHO Government Relations Team been up to this week?

EKOMA: 

Yeah, we were really pleased to submit a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee supporting language that would provide additional funding for the Medicaid program in the Commonwealth in the Northern Mariana Islands to address shortfalls that they have in their Medicaid program, and really the need for additional resources to expand access to care services for those residents. Our letter also reiterated our general request that Congress consider permanent, sustainable, and equitable Medicaid financing for all US territories. You know, we do remain hopeful that Congress will address the concerns of our territorial members and their Medicaid programs in a couple of weeks. So, we hopefully hope to share really good news about that shortly.

JOHNSON: 

It's always a pleasure, Jeffrey. You guys are so busy. We sure appreciate all the hard work you do.

EKOMA: 

We appreciate it as well, and thanks so much to everyone on the team for all their hard work.

JOHNSON: 

Get real time policy and legislative updates when you sign up for ASTHO legislative alert emails. Look for the link in the show notes.

Also today, ASTHO has a new guide to help you procure data visualization software. It's a companion to an e-Learning course about designing data dashboards using a health equity lens. You can download the guide using the link in the show notes.

Finally, on Monday's newscast.

KARL ENSIGN: 

The issues are especially acute in Guam where this sort of expertise and other island jurisdictions, this sort of expertise and infrastructure is more limited.

JOHNSON: 

Join us Monday to find out what ASTHO's Karl Ensign is talking about. Follow the show and you'll have it on your mobile device at 5am. Tap the plus sign in the upper right corner of the screen you're looking at right now.

That'll do it for today. We're back Monday with more ASTHO news and information.

I'm Summer Johnson, you're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition.

Have a great day.