A letter from Diana Espinosa, HRSA Acting Administrator

December 1 - Today, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) commemorates World AIDS Day. It is a day when we honor those who have died from HIV/AIDS as well as the millions of people with HIV in the United States and across the globe. This year’s theme is, Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone’s Voice.

Read Diana Espinosa's letter.

New Actions Aim to Get Americans Boosted for Even Greater Protection Against the Delta and Omicron Variants, Keep Schools and Businesses Open, and Help Quickly Respond to Surges if Needed During the Colder Months

Today, President Biden will announce new actions to combat COVID-19 as the United States heads into the winter months and with the emergence of a new variant, Omicron.

Read the White House fact sheet.

November 23 – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), began distributing $7.5 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments to providers and suppliers who serve rural Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Medicare beneficiaries. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to providing much-needed relief to rural providers who historically operate on thin margins and have had their financial challenges further exacerbated during the pandemic. The average payment being announced today is approximately $170,700, with payments ranging from $500 to approximately $43 million. More than 40,000 providers in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and six territories will receive ARP Rural payments.

Read the release.

November 22 – Vice President Harris announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded the largest field strength in history for its health workforce loan repayment and scholarship programs thanks to a new $1.5 billion investment, including $1 billion in supplemental American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding and other mandatory and annual appropriations. More than 22,700 primary care clinicians now serve in the nation’s underserved tribal, rural and urban communities, including nearly 20,000 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) members, more than 2,500 Nurse Corps nurses, and approximately 250 awardees under a new program, the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) oversees these critical programs.

Read the press release and the White House fact sheet.

HHS expanded its toolkit for community messaging to include new materials you can use to educate your community about who is eligible for a booster (all adults!) and when they are eligible. Share these print and digital outreach resources for COVID-19 vaccine boosters.

HHS expects to soon make these materials available in Spanish.

Register for the Health Workforce Technical Assistance Center webinar on Thursday, December 16, 1-2 p.m. ET.

This webinar, COVID-19’s Effect on Access to Care for Underserved Populations: An Examination of Telehealth and Provider Attrition, explores the use of telehealth and general access to care for underserved populations both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) seeks to achieve health equity. We recognize that some researchers face challenges in submitting competitive applications.

To overcome these challenges and attract robust applications from diverse and under-represented researchers at institutions of higher learning, our next Engaging Research Innovations & Challenges (EnRICH) webinar focuses on "Grant Writing Basics 2: Aligning with MCHB's Strategic Plan, Preparing a Budget, and Understanding the HRSA grant review process".

Webinar Date: Wednesday, December 8, 3:30-4:30 p.m. ET. Register.

We continue to accept applications for payment from Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) employing buprenorphine-waivered providers under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) Waiver Training Payment Program. The program gives RHCs the opportunity to apply for a $3,000 payment for each eligible employed provider who attained a DATA 2000 waiver on or after January 1, 2019.

About $1.4 million in program funding remains available and will be paid on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are exhausted. We strongly encourage applicants to apply before Friday, December 31, 2021 to get ahead of the transition from DUNS to UEI numbers.

For more information, view the video and FAQs.