Lance's Corner

CDC Highlights Its Environmental Public Health Tracking Network

Nov 14, 2024

Per the notice below, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is highlighting its Environmental Public Health Tracking Network.

Celebrating 15 Years of CDC's Tracking Network

At a glance

CDC launched the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (Tracking Network) in July 2009.  Since then, it has expanded and evolved to include nearly 30 environmental health topics with multiple data access and display options.

Tracking Network logo with

Innovators in our field

The Tracking Program has developed tools, created resources, and shared expertise across a variety of data topics.  Our Data Explorer was one of the first online systems to allow users to view environment and health data side-by-side.  Since then, we have become leaders in data modernization and developed other data tools, including:

Data to action

The Tracking Network is more than just data.  It's also a network of people who use Tracking for public health change. 

Tracking data and activities

  • Informed over 500 public health actions in communities across the country [A]
    • Delivered over 17 million data query results on Tracking's Data Explorer
      • Enhanced CDC's COVID Data Tracker data display
        • Helped develop one of the first tools of its kind with data that can be used to identify, understand, and address environmental justice issues

          Tracking data are used in all sorts of ways from routine analyses to more involved epidemiological studies.  Tracking data are also being used to inform policy and target prevention to areas in most need.  Together, these types of analyses can be used to inform data-driven decisions that reduce the burden of health conditions nationwide.

          Future directions

          With a growing amount of data, tools, and resources, the Tracking Network's future is user-focused and action-driven.  Having established access to environmental and health data, our current and future aim is to develop new and creative ways to make that information useful.  We are developing more focused tools and dashboards like our HeatRisk Dashboard to address current and future public health needs.  While we celebrate the past and current successes of the Tracking Network, we look toward the future.  Along with our funded recipients and partners, we plan to continue and expand efforts to provide information that drives actions to improve health.

           

          Tracking Program

          Environmental Public Health Tracking provides information from a nationwide network of health and environmental data to drive actions to improve health.

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          USDOL Issues Comprehensive Employer Guidance on Long COVID

          The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) has issued a comprehensive set of resources that can be accessed below for employers on dealing with Long COVID.

          Supporting Employees with Long COVID: A Guide for Employers

          The “Supporting Employees with Long COVID” guide from the USDOL-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) and Job Accommodation Network (JAN) addresses the basics of Long COVID, including its intersection with mental health, and common workplace supports for different symptoms.  It also explores employers’ responsibilities to provide reasonable accommodations and answers frequently asked questions about Long COVID and employment, including inquiries related to telework and leave.

          Download the guide

          Accommodation and Compliance: Long COVID

          The Long COVID Accommodation and Compliance webpage from the USDOL-funded Job Accommodation Network (JAN) helps employers and employees understand strategies for supporting workers with Long COVID.  Topics include Long COVID in the context of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), specific accommodation ideas based on limitations or work-related functions, common situations and solutions, and questions to consider when identifying effective accommodations for employees with Long COVID.  Find this and other Long COVID resources from JAN, below:

          Long COVID, Disability and Underserved Communities: Recommendations for Employers

          The research-to-practice brief “Long COVID, Disability and Underserved Communities” synthesizes an extensive review of documents, literature and data sources, conducted by the USDOL-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) on the impact of Long COVID on employment, with a focus on demographic differences.  It also outlines recommended actions organizations can take to create a supportive and inclusive workplace culture for people with Long COVID, especially those with disabilities who belong to other historically underserved groups.

          Read the brief

          Long COVID and Disability Accommodations in the Workplace

          The policy brief “Long COVID and Disability Accommodations in the Workplace” explores Long COVID’s impact on the workforce and provides examples of policy actions different states are taking to help affected people remain at work or return when ready.  It was developed by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as part of its involvement in USDOL’s State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) initiative.

          Download the policy brief

          Understanding and Addressing the Workplace Challenges Related to Long COVID

          The report “Understanding and Addressing the Workplace Challenges Related to Long COVID” summarizes key themes and takeaways from an ePolicyWorks national online dialogue through which members of the public were invited to share their experiences and insights regarding workplace challenges posed by Long COVID.  The dialogue took place during summer 2022 and was hosted by USDOL and its agencies in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Surgeon General.

          Download the report

          Working with Long COVID

          The USDOL-published “Working with Long COVID” fact sheet shares strategies for supporting workers with Long COVID, including accommodations for common symptoms and resources for further guidance and assistance with specific situations.

          Download the fact sheet

          COVID-19: Long-Term Symptoms

          This USDOL motion graphic informs workers with Long COVID that they may be entitled to temporary or long-term supports to help them stay on the job or return to work when ready, and shares where they can find related assistance.

          Watch the motion graphic

          A Personal Story of Long COVID and Disability Disclosure

          In the podcast “A Personal Story of Long COVID and Disability Disclosure,” Pam Bingham, senior program manager for Intuit’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Tech team, shares her personal experience of navigating Long COVID symptoms at work.  The segment was produced by the USDOL-funded Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) as part of its ongoing “Future of Work” podcast series.

          Listen to the podcast

          HHS OIG Issues Annual Report on State MFCUs

          Per the notice below, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued its annual report on the performance of state Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs).

          Medicaid Fraud Control Units Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report (OEI-09-24-00200) 

          Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs) investigate and prosecute Medicaid provider fraud and patient abuse or neglect. OIG is the Federal agency that oversees and annually approves federal funding for MFCUs through a recertification process. This new report analyzed the statistical data on annual case outcomes—such as convictions, civil settlements and judgments, and recoveries—that the 53 MFCUs submitted for Fiscal Year 2023.  New York data is as follows:

          Outcomes

          • Investigations1 - 556
          • Indicted/Charged - 9
          • Convictions - 8
          • Civil Settlements/Judgments - 28
          • Recoveries2 - $73,204,518

          Resources

          • MFCU Expenditures3 - $55,964,293
          • Staff on Board4 - 257

          1Investigations are defined as the total number of open investigations at the end of the fiscal year.

          2Recoveries are defined as the amount of money that defendants are required to pay as a result of a settlement, judgment, or prefiling settlement in criminal and civil cases and may not reflect actual collections.  Recoveries may involve cases that include participation by other Federal and State agencies.

          3MFCU and Medicaid Expenditures include both State and Federal expenditures.

          4Staff on Board is defined as the total number of staff employed by the Unit at the end of the fiscal year.

          Read the Full Report

          View the Statistical Chart

          Engage with the Interactive Map

          GAO Issues Report on Medicaid Managed Care Service Denials and Appeal Outcomes

          The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes.  GAO found that federal oversight is limited because it doesn't require states to report on Medicaid managed care service denials or appeal outcomes and there has not been much progress on plans to analyze and make the data publicly available.  To read the GAO report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes, use the first link below.  To read GAO highlights of the report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes, use the second link below.
          https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106627.pdf  (GAO report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes)
          https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106627_high.pdf  (GAO highlights on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes)

          CMS Issues Latest Medicare Regulatory Activities Update

          The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its latest update on its regulatory activities in the Medicare program.  While dentistry is only minimally connected to the Medicare program, Medicare drives the majority of health care policies and insurance reimbursement policies throughout the country.  Therefore, it always pays to keep a close eye on what CMS is doing in Medicare.  To read the latest CMS update on its regulatory activities in Medicare, use the link below.
          https://www.cms.gov/training-education/medicare-learning-network/newsletter/2024-03-14-mlnc