Fernley, Nev. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) applauded the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for awarding Health Insight of Nevada $3,726,982 to help improve the quality of care and reduce avoidable hospitalizations for those enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid programs. She also thanked the United States Department of Agriculture for awarding over $603,449 to support telehealth services in rural Nevada through the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant program.
“I applaud the Department of Health and Human Services for awarding this grant to HealthInsight of Nevada. These funds will help prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, cut Medicare expenditures, and improve residents’ wellbeing. I’m also grateful to the United States Department of Agriculture for making this investment in Nevada’s rural communities. These grants will help expand the availability of telehealth services in underserved areas and give more Nevadans access to the healthcare they need.”
BACKGROUND:
The Department of Health and Human Services’ CMS Innovation Center and the CMS Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office started an initiative in 2012 to reduce avoidable hospitalizations for people residing in long-term care facilities. $3,762,982 awarded through this program will reduce the number of avoidable hospitalizations that occur in Nevada nursing homes. This initiative aims to provide on-site staff for training and preventive services, as well as improve the assessment and management of patients’ medical conditions.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine program helps rural communities use the unique capabilities of telecommunications to connect to each other and to the world, overcoming the challenges of remoteness and low population density. $164,137 awarded through this program will be used to provide telemedicine to patients located in seven rural communities in Clark, Elko, Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine counties. $439,312 awarded through this program will be used to help Renown Health deliver the Telehealth and Healthcare Education expansion program, via two hub-only sites, and 11 medically underserved end-user sites in Nevada. The primary beneficiaries of this grant will be rural, underserved residents in White Pine, Pershing, Nye, Douglas, Lyon, Washoe, Lander, and Churchill counties.