Week In Review

The third in a series of AGS webinars, this 90-minute session on Mon., Sept. 27 at 2:30 pm ET will discuss the impact of patients' biases on healthcare professionals. Using real-life testimony, our panel will discuss the harms this treatment by patients creates and thoughts on how the responses of supervisors and organizations can be improved. Register here.

• AGS Submits Comments in Response to the CY 2022 Medicare PFS Proposed Rule
  The AGS submitted comments this week in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Calendar Year (CY) 2022 proposed rule updating the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Quality Payment Program (QPP). The AGS commented extensively on a variety of topics. We urged CMS to finalize proposals that will improve beneficiary access to care (e.g., reduce beneficiary coinsurance for certain colorectal screening tests when performed with related services, improve payments to rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers). We supported the proposal to retain all telehealth services added to the Medicare Telehealth Services Category 3 List during the Public Health Emergency (PHE) through CY 2023 to allow for data collection that could support addition of these services on a permanent basis and urged CMS to allow audio-only telehealth services to continue after the PHE ends. The AGS also supported creating separate coding and payment for medically necessary activities involved with chronic pain management. We commented on refining the practice expense methodology as well as the proposal to modify CMS’ previously existing policy for split (or shared) E/M visits. We also commented on proposals related to the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and proposals to revise the QPP, including updates to the geriatrics specialty measurement set. Read the full letter here. A final rule will be issued in early November and take effect on January 1, 2022.
   
• $25.5 Billion in New Funding for Health Care Providers Affected by COVID-19 Pandemic
  Through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is making $25.5 billion in new funding available for health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding includes an additional $17 billion for Provider Relief Fund (PRF) Phase 4 and $8.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) resources for providers serving rural Medicaid or Medicare patients. PRF Phase 4 payments will be based on providers’ lost revenues and expenditures between July 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021. PRF Phase 4 will also reimburse smaller providers—who tend to operate on thin margins and often serve vulnerable or isolated communities—for their lost revenues and COVID-19 expenses at a higher rate compared to larger providers. PRF Phase 4 includes bonus payments for providers who serve Medicaid and/or Medicare patients, who tend to be lower income and have greater and more complex medical needs. HHS also announced a final 60-day grace period to help providers come into compliance with their PRF Reporting requirements if they fail to meet the deadline on September 30, 2021, for the first PRF Reporting Time Period. The deadlines to use funds and the Reporting Time Period will not change but HHS will not initiate collection activities or similar enforcement actions for noncompliant providers during the grace period. The application for PRF Phase 4 will open September 29, 2021. Read the News Release here. Visit here for more information on PRF Phase 4 and ARP Rural payments.

The AGS/ADGAP Leadership & Life Skills Curriculum (LLSC), available exclusively to AGS Fellows-in-Training and Early Career Professional members, is a self-guided curriculum focused on developing a broad range of practical leadership, life and career related knowledge and skills needed throughout your career.

This online curriculum, developed by Helen Fernandez, MD, MPH, Greg Pawlson, MD, Lynn Flint, MD and Mary Amory, MBA, consists of 10 self-guided educational modules including presentations in PowerPoint, audio companions, supplementary exercises and resources. AGS/ADGAP LLSC participants will be guided through the Online Educational Modules over the course of 7-8 months, through an exclusive online community launching in October 2021. Registration is free for AGS Fellows-in-Training and Early Career Professional Members. The deadline for registration is Fri., Oct. 8.

Click here for more information and to register for the LLSC.

AGS leadership starts with you! Serving on the AGS Board will give you the opportunity not only to set policy for the Society but also to ensure its proper implementation. What's more, joining the AGS Nominating Committee can advance your engagement through an important role considering board nominations. 

Applications for both opportunities are open through Fri., Oct. 1. Click here for more information on becoming a Board Member, and here for more information about joining the Nominating Committee.

Join AGS for its first-ever virtual career fair on Thurs., Oct. 28, 5:00-8:00pm ET. You can browse employer profiles, general geriatric healthcare and subspecialty positions. Participants can also privately interact with employers via live text or video chat on a mobile device or desktop. It’s free to attend! Register here.

Are you hiring? Recruiters/Employers: Connect with qualified professionals from the comfort of your desk. You’ll get a virtual booth which you can easily customize to showcase your brand and job opportunities long before the event even takes place. Attend during the hours of the fair and chat with candidates. Post-fair, follow-up with candidates who impressed you to fill your recruiting pipeline. Learn more and register here.

The Junior Reviewer Program at the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) is designed to bring new, fresh voices to the review process; to train high-quality reviewers; and to continue to build a community of scholars in aging. The application process is easy and is open to early-stage junior faculty. Applications are due Fri., Oct. 1. Learn more.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced the availability of $103 million over a three year period under the American Rescue Plan designated to help reduce burnout and promote mental health among the health and public safety workforce.

Health care and public safety providers have seen such challenges as high patient volume and long work hours amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funding will help organizations and providers respond to stressful situations, endure hardships, avoid burnout and foster healthy workplace environments that promote mental health and resiliency.

HRSA is accepting applications for three funding opportunities, due this Mon., Sept. 20:

• Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Training Program
• Promoting Resilience and Mental Health Among Health Professional Workforce
• Health and Public Safety Workforce Resiliency Technical Assistance Center

Want to read the about the funding opportunities?

• Select the grant on grants.gov.
• Click ‘Package’
• Click ‘Preview’
• Click ‘Download Instructions’

The AGING Initiative is seeking one-year pilot project proposals to support activities that will increase the likelihood of successful future research proposals focused on older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). Click here to see the full request for applications (RFA). Letters of intent are due Fri., Nov. 12. 

The AGING Initiative will be hosting an informational webinar on Thurs., Oct. 7 at 1:00pm ET to discuss the opportunity further and address any questions from potential applicants. Register here, and visit the AGING Initiative website for more information.

Enjoy this podcast with Patricia D’Antonio, Vice President of Policy and Professional Affairs at The Gerontological Society of America and Project Director of the Reframing Aging Initiative, when she was the guest on a special two-part episode of the podcast This Is Getting Old: Moving Towards an Age-Friendly World. 

In the first episode, D’Antonio talks with host Melissa Batchelor about what the Reframing Aging Initiative is and how it is helping us to reframe our language when talking about and thinking about aging. In part two, D’Antonio shares solutions to avoid ageist tropes and provides guidance on how we can tell the whole story of aging.

• By the Numbers: Financial Models, Value Propositions, and Projections for the Next Generation of Hospital at Home Programs. Hosted by the Hospital at Home Users Group in partnership with the American Hospital Association and Academy of Home Care Medicine, this workshop will feature Tom Kieseau, Director and Digital Health Leader of the Chartis Group, who will share perspectives on how a health system should approach developing the financial model around its hospital at home program. The session will be moderated by Linda DeCherrie, MD, Clinical Director of Mount Sinai at Home and Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine. Tues., Sept. 28, 4:00pm ET. Register here.
   
• Intensive Update with Board Review in Geriatric and Palliative Medicine. A four-day clinically-based intensive board review course in geriatrics and palliative medicine taught by leading experts in both fields providing updates on geriatric syndromes and palliative medicine and the latest research and treatments. Each day consists of live virtual plenary sessions and pre-recorded workshops designated to provide both practical experience with the plenary material, as well as to cover other content areas. All workshops are case-based and can be viewed in a 'study hall' format at the learner's time discretion. Tues., Sept. 28 - Fri., Oct. 1. Register here.