December 22, 2015
Enroll in coverage by Jan 15 for coverage that begins on Feb 1! Contact your local FQHC for more information.
Announcements
Enjoy the Brad Paisley concert with special guest Eric Paslay and support UCFS!
The White House is seeking your help to identify people who have made an extraordinary difference by advancing prevention, treatment and recovery. Click here to learn more and submit your nomination.
The Connecticut Association of School Based Health Centers Call for Abstracts. This is a great opportunity to showcase your school-based health center, a community initiative, or a program from sponsoring health care agencies. To learn more about submitting an abstract, click here. Abstracts are due December 31, 2015.
FQHCs can bill Medicare for two new services starting January 1, 2016. The 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule, which was published on October 3, established two new types of services which FQHCs may bill for starting next January:
Chronic Care Management (CCM) – can be billed in addition to the regular visit rate. Note FQHCs must comply with numerous requirements to eligible to bill for CCM.
Advance Care Planning (ACP) – will qualify as a stand-alone billable visit.
For additional information on these services:
NACHC has prepared a brief CCM & ACP Fact Sheet, available at www.nachc.com/regulatory.
NACHC is developing trainings to address these and other Medicare issues (e.g., the new cost reporting format) – information coming soon.
CMS will be releasing sub-regulatory guidance on how to bill for these services. NACHC will send out alerts when this information is available.
CHCACT is Hiring. Check our job bank for opportunities to work at CHCACT or Federally Qualified Health Centers in Connecticut.
Project ECHO, is looking for participants! Project ECHO is a video based intervention that joins primary care medical and behavioral health providers and specialist to discuss cases and brief didactics to improve health outcomes for patients with complex conditions. Click here to learn more.
AmeriCares is looking for Arabic and Farsi speaking nurses and doctors who are willing to volunteer to help with the Syrian humanitarian crisis. AmeriCares will cover all costs associated with travel to and from Lesbos, lodging, food and incidentals while on the island, and will coordinate all logistics. AmeriCares is seeking people who can making at least a 2 week commitment; 3 weeks or more is ideal. Please contact Garrett Ingoglia at gingoglia@americares.org or 202.487.4484 for more information.
National Association of Community Health Centers has partnered with Migrant Clinicians Network (MCN) and the Florida Association of Community Health Centers (FACHC) and designed a four day course for clinicians new to the world of FQHCs. Click here for more information.
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Trainings, Webinars & Conferences
Please check our Calendar of Events for upcoming trainings!
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Funding Opportunities
Check out the new CHCACT Funding Opportunities page here!
NEW! Invest Health, a pioneering, multi-sector initiative to improve health in mid-sized cities across the country, has released a Call for Proposals. Click here to learn more and submit your letter of intent.
The State Departments of Social Services (DSS), Mental Health & Addiction Services (DMHAS) and Children & Families (DCF) are seeking applications from agencies who treat adults and wish to seek designation as Enhanced Care Clinics. This RFA is for Regions 1 & 5, the Southwest and Northwest areas of the state. Learn More!
The Bureau of Primary Health Care solicits applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Oral Health Service Expansion (OHSE) funding. The purpose of this supplemental funding opportunity is to increase access to oral health care services and improve oral health outcomes for Health Center Program patients. Learn more!
The RGK Foundation awards grants to nonprofit organizations in the general areas of education, community and health/medicine. These grants are not geographically-restricted and are awarded on an ongoing basis. Learn more!
The Cigna World of Difference Grants Program looks for nonprofits with which to collaborate on projects to overcome barriers to their health and well-being. Learn more!
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Ask CHCACT!
“Ask CHCACT” features Outreach & Enrollment and other questions from health center staff, answered by your favorite CHCACT staff members! Send your questions to ask@chcact.org!
Arianne Cacciatore answers this week’s question:
Q: Do people on HUSKY have coverage for dental care? How about people who have bought plans through Access Health CT?
A: Yes, children and adults on HUSKY have dental coverage. Children can get two cleanings per year; adults can get one cleaning per year. Other services, such as fillings and root canals are covered with prior authorization. Most of the FQHCs offer dental services; if you need to find a dental provider outside an FQHC, call the CT Dental Health Partnership, at 1-855-CTDENTAL.
Consumers enrolled in a QHP through Access Health CT have dental coverage for children. However, adults have to purchase a standalone dental plan, which is also available through Access Health CT. Please note that many restrictions and limitations apply to the dental QHPs.
Oral health care is as important as other medical care – so everyone should take care of their teeth!
Upcoming CHCACT Meetings
Coffee & EnRolls. Coffee & EnRolls will be held at 9:00am every Tuesday. To join, please call: 866-670-8282, passcode 240 419 3770#. Please contact Deb Polun for information.
All CHCACT Staff can be reached by calling 860.667.7820.
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This Week in Health Policy News
Here is a sampling of health policy news from around the state. If you see something in your local newspaper that you would like featured here in future weeks, please contact Deb Polun at dpolun@chcact.org. Check out all the Health Policy News from the past month here!
Featured Stories
12.15.15 HealthDay: Today is the Last Day to Enroll in Obamacare Coverage (feat. Southwest)
12.14.15 Stratford Star: Optimus Health Care Welcomes New Director of Organizational Advancement
State Health News
12.18.15 CT Mirror: Raul Pino Named Acting State Health Commissioner
12.18.15 CT Health I-Team: State Aims to Eliminate Barriers to Medical Care for Mentally Ill
12.16.15 Hartford Business Journal: CT Children’s $381K Grant to Create “Asthma Neighborhood”
12.15.15 Fairfield County Business Journal: Connecticut Drops in Health Rankings for 2015
ACA/Health Reform News
12.21.15 Kaiser Health News: Health Plans’ Coverage of Some Drugs Source of Consumer Confusion
12.17.15 CT NewsJunkie: Connecticut Opts Not to Follow Feds; Won’t Extend Health Insurance Deadline
12.15.15 CT Mirror: In Year 3, Slower Traffic on First Obamacare Deadline
National/Other Health News
December 2015 Governing: Emergency Department Wait Times – State Averages
12.17.15 Kaiser Health News: Baby Boomers Set Another Trend – More Golden Years in Poorer Health
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Resources
CHCACT maintains and regularly updates resources on clinical issues, human resources, HIPAA, SNAP and more! Click here to check out CHCACT’s Resources!*
2014 UDS data for FQHCs are available here!
The TB Toolkit for CHCs/FQHCs is a web-based product that includes tools that can be used by community providers as well as TB programs and health departments for outreach to community health centers. Tools include existing resources that have been developed by the Global TB Institute, the other RTMCCs and CDC. The toolkit is meant to be a dynamic product which can be continually updated based on the availability of new information and user feedback. The first draft of the toolkit is posted at: http://globaltb.njms.rutgers.edu/educationalmaterials/tookitfqhc.html.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health has new resources, including data, for chronic diseases on its web site. Check out the information here!
Weekly Outreach & Enrollment Newsletter. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) produce the CMS Weekly Assister Newsletter. This weekly Newsletter is the best resource for O/E staff to stay up-to-date on information on health insurance marketplace changes, frequently asked questions, and general advice. To sign up, email CACQuestions@cms.hhs.gov with the subject line: “Add to listserv”
Scope of Project Webpage: HRSA has released a new “Scope of Project” Page on the BPHC website. This page provides a “one-stop-shop” for Health Center Program Scope of Project and Change-in-Scope policy, process, and resources. View the new Scope of Project webpage.
Capital Link Publications. As part of their assistance to health centers, Capital Link has developed a collection of resource publications to assist health centers in accomplishing specific tasks related to the capital development process. These publications are provided to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Primary Care Associations (PCAs) free of charge. Their resources, including publications, reports, and past webinars are available here.
* Some Resources are password-protected. If you would like a password for www.chcact.org, please contact Tasheenah Brown.
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Events/Educational Opportunities
Click here to view our full events calendar. Click here for NACHC Seminars/Conferences/Webcasts.
Welcome to our events calendar! The calendar is updated on a regular basis with upcoming events, webinars, educational opportunities, outreach activities and more. You can sort the calendar by category and subscribe to calendar updates by clicking here.
Categories
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