Eli's Hospice Insider

In addition to the funding coming from the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act is a serious chunk of change aimed at providing “hard to reach Medicare patients” with “COVID-19 vaccination information,” according to a Medicare MLN Connects newsletter.

The HHS Office of Minority Health will offer a quarter-billion dollars in funding “as health literacy grants to localities, who will partner with community-based organizations, to reach racial and ethnic minority, rural and other vulnerable populations,” the Department of Health and Human Services says in a release.

The Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 grants are “expected to fund approximately 30 projects in urban communities and 43 projects in rural communities for two years,” HHS says. “Cities, counties, parishes or other similar subdivisions may apply for the funding.”

Racial and ethnic minority populations experience higher rates of cases, hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19, HHS continues. “Social determinants of health, such as housing, education and work conditions, contribute to these disparities. Underlying chronic conditions, such as kidney disease, diabetes and obesity, are more prevalent among minority populations and increase the risk of severe COVID-19 illness.”

Deadline: The due date for an application to OMH for a grant is April 20. The agency will hold a webinar for potential applicants on March 17. More information is at www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/Content.aspx?ID=21530.