Weekly E-Blast:
Voicing the latest news on Communities in Need
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COUNTDOWN TO ENROLLMENT
74 Days
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Have news to share with us? Want to be featured on our next E-Digest? Want to read about something in particular? Please email us at aneeqa@machc.com.
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Community Health Center Spotlight
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NATIONAL HEALTH CENTER WEEK is Approaching!!!!
NHCW is just 30 days away - August 11-17! Click hereto access media templates in both English and Spanish. All health centers are encouraged to post Health Center Week celebration and event details on the website here - the password to post events is: healthy. While NHCW 2013 is August 11-17, events occurring anytime during the entire month of August are welcome to be posted on the website.
Invite Your Legislators during NHCW!
NACHC strongly encourages Community Health Centers nationwide to celebrate National Health Center Week (NHCW) in August by holding events, inviting Members of Congress to visit health centers in the districts, and hosting events, such as health fairs, community celebrations, or media events to educate the public about the mission and value of health centers. The theme for this year's NHCW is: Celebrating America's Health Centers: Transforming Health Care in Our Local Communities.
You could be next! Please contact Aneeqa Chowdhury at aneeqa@machc.com to be placed on the SPOTLIGHT!
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36 training activities for safety net healthcare professionals in medically under-served communities. Sponsored by AHRQ.
Has your Health Center been attending the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) monthly calls and Regional Meetings?! Attending HPP Meetings will not only keep you and your health center on top of the latest Emergency Preparedness requirements and news, but there are other great incentives for those health centers who attend! For a list of other EP events, please visit this url.
Negotiate Managed Care Contracts
Did you know that many managed care contracts:
- Contain provisions which permit managed care organizations (MCOs) to pass any fines imposed on them by state and federal agencies to providers?
- Recoup payments through off-set so that they are rarely noticed?
- Bar health centers from waiving patient cost-sharing amounts?
For more on these and other managed care contract issues, register for one or more of NACHC's Managed Care Contracting series webinars. Click here.
Health Care Price Transparency: Lessons from Three High Performing States
July 22, 2:30-4:00 PM (EDT)
Join this webinar to learn about price transparency in three high-performing states, barriers faced on the way to improved transparency, and lessons for states interested in pursuing this work. Moderators from Catalyst for Payment Reform and the Health Care Incentives Improvement Institute will facilitate a conversation with leaders from Virginia, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.
Affordable Care Act Enrollment Information for Small Businesses - Hosted by Congressman Cummings
July 22, 2013 8:45 am - July 22, 2013 10:00 am
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia , MD,21044, United States
7th Annual 5K Walk Run For Our Kids Health
When: Saturday, July 27, 2013
Where: Dravo Plaza located at the Riverfront in Wilmington, DE
Henrietta Johnson Medical Center in conjunction with the City of Wilmington's Healthy 2020 and a kickoff to National Health Center's Week invites you to: Get in Shape with a Cause!!!
Registration begins at 7:30 am Walk/Run starts at 8:30 am
Registration: $20
Day of Events: $25
To Register, visit wwww.races2run.com
* Please stay tuned for a series of Webinars around Affordable Care Act (including Exchange Info). Check this section of your E-Blast for details in the coming weeks for details. *
Building Capacity for Research and Quality Improvement Training
Save the Date for August 22, 2013
This day-long training immediately before NACHC's Community Health Institute & Expo at the Hyatt Regency Chicago will help you build the skills and infrastructure necessary to collect and use data in Electronic Health Records to improve care, test interventions, and engage in research. Registration link to come soon!
SAVE THE DATE: MACHC's 31st Annual Conference "Strategic Perspectives on Reform, Innovation and Accountability"
When: September 19-20, 2013
Where: Turf Valley Conference Center in Ellicott City, MD
Join us at MACHC's Annual Conference where you will receive the latest information on all areas relevant to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
From CEO, CFO, COO, Site Administrator there will be something for everyone to learn!
Some of the session topics to be included:
- Workforce development strategies to meet the challenges of the ACA
- Preparing your frontline staff for the new healthcare era
- Patient Centered Medical Home Readiness
- Getting to the ask: How to engage your board members with legislators and other important topics relevant to Federally Qualified Health Centers and Look-A-Likes.
*Registration details to come in the coming weeks!*
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Policy, Advocacy and Legislation
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ver since Kentucky rapidly shifted patients from traditional Medicaid to private health plans that manage their care for a set price, problems have been widespread. Patients complain of being denied treatment or forced to travel long distances to find a doctor or hospital in their plan's network. Advocates for the mentally ill argue the care system for them has deteriorated. And hospitals and doctors say health plans have denied or delayed payments. Experts warn that what happened in Kentucky should be a cautionary tale for other states that rush to switch large numbers of people in Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor and disabled, to managed care in hopes of cutting costs and improving quality.
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Star wars may be coming to a hospital near you.
Medicare is considering assigning stars or some other easily understoodsymbol to hospitals so patients can more easily compare the quality of care at various institutions. The ratings would appear on Medicare's Hospital Compare website and be based on many of the 100 quality measures the agency already publishes. 
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When a sovereign supervision recently gave Florida a immature light to vastly enhance a examination with privatizing Medicaid, studious advocates fast lifted an alarm.
They cited vicious problems with a state's five-county commander managed caring module and urged tighten monitoring of a companies that run private Medicaid skeleton to safeguard that they don't scrimp on care.
Advocates and experts contend that a need for slip is flourishing nationally as states have increasingly engaged out a outrageous state-federal module for a bad to word companies, aiming to control costs and urge peculiarity by tighten supervision of studious care. About 30 million people are in these skeleton now. Under a sovereign health law that launches Jan. 1, eligibility will be stretched and about 7 million some-more will be lonesome by Medicaid. Many will be placed in managed care.
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Although, the use of electronic health records (EHRs) by ambulatory care practices in three Massachusetts communities resulted in a significant reduction in costs compared to control practices, according to a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine; the study also found that the total cost of care continued to rise in both groups of practices. Read more here.
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| 7 States, Governors Team To Tackle Hospital Frequent Flyers Problem
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Factors include perceived ability to pay for care, location of facilities and availability of treatment based on schedules.
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Seven states and the National Governors Association are teaming up to find ways to save money and better coordinate the care of Medicaid and uninsured patients who frequently use hospital emergency rooms and other costly health services.
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Telemedicine is a broad term used to describe health care with an electronic twist, and most of us - whether we realize it or not - are familiar with the concept. Any time a radiologist sends an electronic version of a scan or a doctor pulls lab results off of a computer, they are engaging in telemedicine.
The American Telemedicine Association estimates more than 10 million Americans are taking advantage of telemedicine each year and Delawareans are increasingly adding to that number.
Parkinson's patient Betty Leebel was the first Delawarean to use a new telelink service at La Red Health Center in Georgetown for an online appointment with her specialist in Baltimore.
Betty, who has had Parkinson's for 10 years, moved to Lewes in 2008 and has been traveling twice a year to Baltimore to meet with Dr. Ray Dorsey, head of the Johns Hopkins Parkinson's Disease and Movements Disorder Center.
Dennis Leebel, Betty's husband and an advocate for Parkinson's patients, said there are no neurologists in Delaware who specialize in movement disorders and Parkinson's. But Dorsey, a neurologist, is a leading supporter of telemedicine, which allows him to see patients over the internet.
Dorsey worked with Dennis for more than two years to bring the technology to Sussex County.
Dorsey had to become licensed in Delaware in order to serve patients here, Dennis said. Then La Red needed to get its new building up and running and work out an agreement with Johns Hopkins.
The technology at La Red uses a software program called Vydyo, which is similar to Skype, but provides added security protection for personal medical information discussed during the doctor's appointment.
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The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) has released a new report, "Hispanics in Maryland: Health Data and Resources," the second in a series to raise awareness of health conditions and provide educational resources for minority populations in the state.
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Few Medicaid doctors have received their promised 2013 pay raise, which was slated to begin in January under the Affordable Care Act, even though the government has given its approval to 48 states to start paying higher rates.
Kaiser Health News reports that the increase for primary care services will be a nationwide average of 73 percent, according to a 2012 Kaiser Family Foundation (KFN) study. A spokeswoman from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services told KFN that every state but California and Alaska is expected to implement the pay raise this summer.
The YouToons Get Ready for Obamacare: Health Insurance Changes Coming Your Way Under the Affordable Care Act
 | | The YouToons Get Ready for Obamacare |
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What's the LATEST
on the ACA this week?
Those Left Out Of Medicaid Expansion Won't Have To Buy Insurance
The final rule outlining who may qualify for an exemption from the Affordable Care Act's requirement that everyone have health insurance was published today by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The 2010 health reform law generally referred to as Obamacare requires that everyone who can afford health insurance have it starting Jan. 1, 2014. But the law also exempts various classes of people from the so-called "individual mandate," the broadest class being those who simply cannot afford the coverage.
Also exempt from the mandate are:
- Members of federally recognized Indian tribes;
- Individuals who experience a hardship, which under the rule would include those who would have been eligible for Medicaid but happen to live in a state, such as Kansas, where officials have chosen against expanding the program;
- People experiencing a short gap in coverage. A short gap is less than three consecutive months without insurance.
- Members of certain religious sects;
- Members of a health care sharing ministry;
- People in jail or prison
- People in the country unlawfully and U.S. citizens living abroad.
Subsidies available
For people who buy through the new Marketplace, the law provides federal subsidies that may include those earning up to 400 percent of federal poverty guidelines, or about $89,000 a year for a family of four, if their annual premium costs exceed certain limits. The limits vary according to income level but range from 9.5 percent of income to 2 percent.
Given the various exemptions and provisions in the law, less than 2 percent of people are expected to pay a tax penalty because they don't have coverage, according to projections by the Congressional Budget Office.
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Grants & Funding Opportunities
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Debunk the Myths: Grant Application Video Series
Federal grants can be excellent funding opportunities for your project, but not understanding the process can lead to a great deal of frustration. This video series will debunk common myths and assist you with your grant applications.
FY 2014 Service Area Competition (SAC) Technical Assistance
Service Area Competition - New, Competing Continuation, and Supplemental (HRSA-14-021, HRSA-14-022, HRSA14-023, HRSA-14-024, HRSA-14-025, HRSA-14-026, HRSA-14-027, HRSA-14-028)
Through the Service Area Competition (SAC), HRSA will award approximately $468 million in funding to an estimated 310 SAC applicants. A SAC application is a request for Federal financial assistance to support comprehensive primary health care services for a competitively announced underserved area or population. All available service areas (see below) are currently served by Health Center Program grantees whose project periods are ending in FY 2014.
Application Deadlines
| Project Period Start Date | HRSA Announcement Number | Grants.gov Deadline (11:59 PM ET) | HRSA EHB Deadline (5:00 PM ET) | | November 1, 2013 | HRSA-14-021 | July 24, 2013 | August 7, 2013 | | December 1, 2013 | HRSA-14-022 | July 31, 2013 | August 14, 2013 | | January 1, 2014 | HRSA-14-023 | August 14, 2013 | August 28, 2013 | | February 1, 2014 | HRSA-14-024 | September 11, 2013 | September 25, 2013 | | March 1, 2014 | HRSA-14-025 | October 9, 2013 | October 23, 2013 | | April 1, 2014 | HRSA-14-026 | October 30, 2013 | November 13, 2013 | | May 1, 2014 | HRSA-14-027 | December 4, 2013 | December 18, 2013 | | June 1, 2014 | HRSA-14-028 | January 8, 2014 | January 22, 2014
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*Please click on the title for more information regarding the various grants.
Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) Implementation Funds Program
Application Deadline: July 31, 2013
Awards for $5,000 - $12,000 to support pediatricians in the initial and/or pilot stage of implementing community-based child health projects related to medical home access, health services to uninsured/underinsured, secondhand smoke exposure, immunization programs, and Native American child health.
Application Deadline: July 31, 2013
Planning grants for pediatricians to develop innovative, community-based initiatives that increase children's access to medical homes or to specific health services not otherwise available.
Scholarships
As part of our commitment to build a stronger, more empowered workforce, the National Council has partnered with USC to offer a $2,500 scholarship ($1,250 for advanced standing) for your employees when they enroll in the MSW@USC program in 2013.
Program Start Date Application Deadline
August 7, 2013 June 25, 2013
September 3, 2013 July 22, 2013
September 3, 2013 - Advanced Standing July 1, 2013
Your employees can request more information by clicking here. They should mention their National Council membership to admissions counselors to qualify for the scholarship.
You can also sign up here to request a special onsite or virtual information session just for your staff.
AHRQ Disseminating Patient Centered Outcomes Research to Improve Health Care Delivery
Application Deadline: September 27, 2013
Grants to leverage the capacities of existing broad-based networks of providers and other key stakeholders to disseminate and implement existing evidence for improving the quality of care delivery. Spread of evidence to support change in care delivery requires coordination, buy-in and active participation by diverse providers across multiple settings of care, collaboration with other key stakeholders (including payers and consumers) who are instrumental in shaping care delivery, and adaptation of interventions to local conditions. In recognition of these well-documented challenges and needs, this funding opportunity requires that applicants represent existing networks of providers and other stakeholders that have the knowledge, on-going relationships, expertise, infrastructures, past experience and understanding of local needs and constraints to maximize buy-in, collaboration, and appropriate adaptation to local conditions.
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Has your FQHC joined the
National Branding Campaign?
With more than 43 billion people eligible to enroll in private insurance starting this October 1, FQHCs strive to create an identifiable unifying identity for themselves. This is where the National Branding Campaign for Our Health Centers comes into place.
The campaign is a national branding effort to strengthen recognition of our Health Centers as a unified and nationwide network of quality community-based primary care providers. Initially created at the state level by the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Centers (PACHC) and its membership, the National Association of Community Health Centers has expanded the campaign nationwide.
The FQHC Brand Components
MACHC recently hosted a Branding Webinar for MD and DE Health Centers with CEO of PACHC, Cheri Reinhart and Event and Communications Coordinator, Kirsten Keyes, as guest speakers. If you missed the webinar and would like access, please click here.
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Health Observances This Week
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Approximately 1 in 4 pregnant women carry GBS, the leading cause of sepsis and meningitis in newborns according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). GBS can also infect babies during pregnancy and the first few months of life.
Not all babies exposed to GBS become infected, but, for those who do, the results can be devastating. GBS can cause babies to be miscarried, stillborn, born prematurely, become very sick, have lifelong handicaps, or die.
Fortunately there are many ways to help protect babies from Group B Strep. This website contains resources for you to learn more about GBS and help prevent its devastating effects.
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