ARN Health Policy Digest – April 2022

We are pleased to present the April issue of the ARN Health Policy Digest. This member benefit provides updates on health policy and legislative and regulatory developments that may be of interest to rehabilitation nurses.

 CMS Issues IRF Proposed Rule

On March 31^st, CMS released the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Prospective Payment System (IRF PPS) proposed rule for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 (CMS-1767-P). The proposed rule would update Medicare's payment policies and rates under IRFs PPS and the IRF Quality Reporting Program. A fact sheet detailing major provisions of the rule can be found here and a link to the rule in the Federal Register can be found here.

CMS Issues SNF Proposed Rule 

On April 11^th, CMS released the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) for FY 2023 (CMS-1765-P). The proposed rule would update Medicare payment policies for SNFs and would include proposals for the SNF Quality Reporting Program and the SNF Value-Based Program for FY 2023 and Future years. A fact sheet detailing major provisions of the rule can be found here and a link to the rule in the Federal Register can be found here.

May is National Nurses Month 

In honor of National Nurses Month, ANA will be hosting a month-long celebration of the nursing profession. A list of the activities can be found here.

White House Plans Interagency Plan for Long COVID 

The White House announced HHS will put together an interagency plan to address long COVID-19. The plan, which will be dependent upon new funding from Congress, will be aimed at increasing research, detection, and treatment of the persistent symptoms of COVID-19 experienced by many.

Senators Send Letter to NIH Regarding Long COVID 

Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ed Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Acting Director Lawrence Tabak requesting information on the agency's research efforts on Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) or "long COVID," including identifying treatments and therapies. The Senators asked four specific questions about the agency's PASC initiative and requested a response by May 15.

HRSA Highlights 

HHS, through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced nearly $90 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to support new data-driven efforts for HRSA health centers to identify and reduce health disparities. HRSA's data collection and reporting initiative, known as the Uniform Data System Patient-Level Submission (UDS+), is designed to collect better data on social determinants of health and will assist health centers in their efforts to improve health outcomes and advance health equity.

HRSA also announced more than $1.75 billion in Provider Relief Fund payments to 3,680 providers across the country. With this disbursement, HRSA has distributed approximately $13.5 billion from the Provider Relief Fund to nearly 86,000 and nearly $7.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments to more than 44,000 providers since November 2021.

HHS Extends PHE 

HHS Secretary Becerra extended the public health emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 for another 90 days. The renewal means that expanded telehealth services, state support, Medicaid coverage protections and emergency use authorizations (EUAs) will continue through at least July.

Did you see something recently that would impact rehab nurses and/or patient? Share your health policy/advocacy news by emailing it to Jeremy Scott at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..