State to loosen visitation restrictions on nursing homes
A group of protesters gathered outside the State House on Friday to bring attention to the plight of the elderly living in nursing homes during the pandemic. Teddy Rosenbluth
Published: 5/5/2021 5:12:15 PM
New Hampshire’s phased reopening guidelines for nursing homes will soon be replaced with federal guidance, which relaxes restrictions on visitations, group activities and trips outside the facility.
For several months, nursing homes have looked to a state document, that categorizes homes based on COVID-19 risk, to determine how to reopen safely. Several family members protested that these guidelines were too restrictive when it came to visitations.
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Health insurer Humana will begin contracting with healthcare providers to offer coordinated care for patients who are beneficiaries of original Medicare.
Humana is known for offering Medicare Advantage plans.
The new program will be facilitated through a value-based model called the Direct Contracting Model, in which the Humana Direct Contracting Entity will operate as Humana Care Solutions. The goal of the model is to improve care quality, health outcomes and the patient experience, while lowering the cost of care for Medicare beneficiaries.
The DCM was established by the Innovation Center at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to encourage physician organizations, and other types of health organizations, to voluntarily transition from fee-for-service to value-based care and test whether the model will improve quality and reduce costs in original Medicare, while reducing organizational administrative burden.
People close to Evelyn Lutz wouldn t be surprised to learn she grew up in lean times.
There were subtle clues the large stash of disposable paper cups she kept in a kitchen cupboard, the friend s untouched pancakes she took home rather than let them go to waste that hinted at a life lived without frills.
Evelyn Evie Lutz was born in the height of the Great Depression, and though she went on to have a successful career as a nurse and educator, she always maintained the spartan lifestyle she learned as a child only buying what she needed, hunting for bargains, saving and reusing trivial items other people would throw away.
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As part of the American Rescue Plan, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will make $1 billion available to strengthen the COVID-19 response and vaccination efforts in rural communities.
The initiative means that the Health Resources and Services Administration, a part of the HHS, will increase the number of vaccines sent to rural communities, expand testing and other COVID-19 prevention services, and work to increase vaccine confidence by partnering with local voices and community organizations.
HRSA s Rural Health Clinic COVID-19 Testing and Mitigation Program will provide $460 million to more than 4,600 rural health clinics (RHCs) across the country. RHCs will use the funds to maintain and increase COVID-19 testing, expand access to testing for rural residents, and broaden efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus in community-specific ways.
Associated Press
Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra attends a Cabinet meeting with President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, April 1, 2021, in Washington.
Local officials hope the federal government will issue a partial extension.
Health care and political leaders are worried North Texas will miss out on vital federal dollars after the Biden Administration revoked an extension of a program negotiated under former President Trump.
Carol Lucky, CEO of the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority, said a “substantial loss of funds for mental health services [will] come as a result.”
Lucky spoke on Tuesday at a meeting of the Dallas County Commissioners Court.