Biden signs $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill

Last week, President Joe Biden signed into law the $1.7 trillion omnibus bill keeping the federal government funded through September.

H.R. 2617 includes $773 billion for nondefense discretionary spending including several health provisions:

• Acute Hospital Care at Home Initiative extension until Dec. 31, 2024.
• Behavioral health funding for programs addressing mental illness, substance use disorder and crisis response.
• Emergency preparedness improvements including cybersecurity of medical devices and unique patient identifiers.
• Medicare extensions for low-volume hospital programs and Medicare-dependent hospitals through Sept. 30, 2024.
• PAYGO sequester delay to the end of 2024.
• Provisions to workforce initiatives including graduate medical education, nursing and allied health education, and reauthorization of the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program.

Telehealth service extensions including expanding originating site and eligible practitioners and extending ability for rural health clinic to provide telehealth services.

Register for 2023 Nurse Manager Leadership Workshop

Building on the success of the 2021 and 2022 trainings, IHA and the Iowa Organization for Nursing Leadership are providing a nurse manager leadership workshop in 2023. New or aspiring nurse managers are encouraged to register now to build their knowledge of:

• Fiscal management.
• Human resources.
• Performance improvement.
• Personal and professional accountability.
• Planning.

Participants also will identify their roles in the future of nursing. The Nurse Manager Leadership Workshop is comprised of two sessions per in-person meeting scheduled:

• Wednesday, Feb. 15.
• Thursday, March 23.
• Tuesday, April 25.

Class size is limited. Email Tori Hanson at IHA with questions.

Webinar to provide overview of rural emergency hospital eligibility

The newly formed Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Center is hosting a 90-minute webinar about the new rural emergency hospital designation. The center is working with the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide participants an overview of:

• CMS’ conditions of participation for the designation's conversion and payment.
• Requirements for conversion to a rural emergency hospital.
• HRSA resources to help entities through the conversion process.

The Orientation to Rural Emergency Hospital Conversion and Technical Assistance webinar is scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18.