June 16, 2014
National PTSD Awareness Month
June is National PTSD Awareness Month. The US Department of Veterans Affairs has developed lots of great resources to share with your communities. Visit their website here or click the images above to be taken to the National Center for PTSD website.
In This Week’s Issue
Announcements
Trainings & Webinars
Funding Opportunities
SBIRT
Ask CHCACT!
Upcoming CHCACT Meetings
Resources
This Week in Health Policy News
Events/Educational Opportunities
Announcements
It would be greatly appreciated if you could post the links below (English and Spanish) about the settlement of the Shafer v. Bremby Medicaid applications delay class action on your respective websites. The judicial hearing on approval of the settlement is set for September 22 at 2PM, and it is important that we reach as many class members as possible so they know about it and have the opportunity to comment if they would like to do so (written comments due September 8):
Have You Applied for Medicaid? Or do you think you may in the future?
If you have applied for Medicaid (also known as HUSKY A, C, or D) or you must submit medical bills to get on Medicaid (“spend down”), then you should read this notice. It tells you about the proposed settlement of a lawsuit intended to fix the problem of delays in getting on Medicaid.
http://ctlawhelp.org/files/flyers/HUSKYSettlementNotice.pdf
¿Ha Solicitado los Beneficios de Medicaid? O piensa usted que pueda en el futuro?
Si usted ha solicitado los beneficios de Medicaid (también conocido como HUSKY A, C, o D) o debe presentar facturas médicas para obtener los beneficios Medicaid (“spend down”), entonces usted debe leer este aviso. Le informa sobre el acuerdo propuesto de una demanda destinada a solucionar el problema de los retrasos en obtener los beneficios de Medicaid.
http://ctlawhelp.org/files/flyers/HUSKYSettlementNotice-ES.pdf
2nd CMS Call on Medicare PPS for FQHCs. As required by the Affordable Care Act, FQHCs will transition to a Prospective Payment System (PPS) beginning on October 1, 2014. This National Provider Call provides information on operational requirements of the new payment system. June 25, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM. More details are available here.
SAVE THE DATE! Join United Community & Family Services (UCFS) for a ribbon cutting ceremony as they celebrate the completion of their renovation/expansion project and National Health Center Week. August 13, 2014 from 7:45 AM – 9:30 AM in Norwich. More details are available here.
Take Action Now: Access is the Answer Support Letter Collection. NACHC has a goal set for every Health Center to collect 5 letters of support from local elected officials and 10 letters of support from community partners. The local support letter drive is a crucial step in the Access is the Answer Campaign. Click here for more details.
Send us your success stories! How are the outreach and enrollment efforts going at your health center? How many people have you helped so far? We’d love to know. Please send your success stories to ask@chcact.org.
Tweet of the Week
Congratulations to Generations Family Health Center on their newly renovated and expanded site in Danielson! pic.twitter.com/wzv4g7A5GZ
— CHCACT (@CTHealthCenters) June 13, 2014
Follow Us
New on Get-Centered
Our New Get-Centered Blog features a reflection from our CEO, Evelyn Barnum on the recent farewell event for Norwalk Community Health Center’s Larry Cross.
SBIRT in Your Corner
Learn more about CT SBIRT here!
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Trainings & Webinars
Scope Alignment Validation Webinar. Last Week’s BPHC scope alignment validation webinar is now scheduled for Wednesday, June 18 from 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM. Click here for more details.
Health Centers Serving LGBT Populations Enrichment Webinar. BPHC is hosting a webinar to provide an overview of LGBT health disparities, Demographics and terminology, as well as key strategies for bringing high quality care to the LGBT community at health centers. June 24, 2014 from 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM. Click here for the webinar.
COPE (Collaborative Opioid Prescribing Education) for REMS. Prescribing opioids safely ultimately depends on the trust between prescriber and patient. Training can enhance trust by improving communication and collaborative skills. COPE-REMS is an interactive, self-paced, online training developed at the University of Washington-Seattle. This no-cost, online CME course is aimed at opioid prescribing providers—including physicians, registered nurses, ARNPs, physician assistants, psychologists—and other care managers who are involved in treating patients with chronic pain. Click here for more information.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Million Hearts® initiative, and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) invite you to join a special Webinar on June 17, from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM to discuss research findings on stroke prevention for patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Pending accreditation, the Webinar is expected to offer participants 1.0 continuing education credit. Registration is available here.
Capital Link: The Impact of a Capital Project on Your Health Center. This webinar discusses a recent report from Capital Link and Capital Fund on 118 health centers that completed capital projects over a five-year period. The resulting report describes the effect of facilities expansion on health center operations and financial performance, and points to several key findings that can be used to help your health center’s management, board and stakeholders prepare for the organizational transformation that often occurs as a result of a capital project. Wednesday, June 18, 2:00 – 3:00 PM. Click here to register.
Capital Link: Building Fund Development Capacity. This webinar is designed to help health centers begin to organize a fund development strategy and identify the right personnel to help improve fundraising efforts. With the right plan in place, health centers can diversify revenue sources for greater sustainability. Thursday, June 19, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM. Click here to register.
Community Health Vote. Best Practices for conducting an effective voter engagement program. Nonpartisan voter engagement can help health centers and other safety net providers meet their organization’s mission and maximize effectiveness by educating and engaging the public. By fully and energetically working to engage staff, board and patients, you help ensure that the promise of our democracy is fully realized. The Community Health Vote program is conducted in a completely nonpartisan manner in compliance with the law governing organizations with 501c3 status. June 25, 2:00 PM. Click here to register
NACHC Corporate Compliance. The Maine Primary Care Association is hosting a Corporate Compliance training July 23-24 in Portland, ME. The training will be led by a team from Feldesman, Tucker, Leifer, Fidell, LLC, and is intended for FQHC CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CMOs, Board Members, Compliance Officers, QA Directors, and Site Directors. Full registration details are available here.
Motivational Interviewing for health Practitioners. Facilitating successful shifts in patient health behavior is a key challenge for practitioners and a measure being scrutinized by insurers. There is considerable evidence that Motivational Interviewing (MI) is effective in strengthening people’s own motivation to change attitudes and behaviors related to diet, exercise, substance misuse, smoking, diabetes management, depression management, medication adherence, HIV/AIDS risk reduction, and more. This weekly training will meet Thursdays from July 10 – August 7. More information, including registration details, can be found here.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Behavioral Health Integration: A Key Step Towards the Triple Aim. It’s no secret that behavioral health and physical health are inseparable — when patients have both behavioral health and chronic medical conditions they experience poorer outcomes and higher costs than patients with a medical condition alone. Integrating behavioral health and primary care is a key component of the Triple Aim, leading to better outcomes, better patient experience of care, and lower per capita costs, particularly for patients with multiple chronic conditions. Begins August 14, 2014. Details are available here.
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Funding Opportunities
REMINDER from HRSA: There are several critical actions you must take to ensure competitive Health Center Program applications can be submitted successfully. First, your organization must have an active SAM.gov registration at the time of application submission. Second, you must have an active AOR (Authorized Organization Representative) in Grants.gov that is approved to submit an application. As a matter of HHS grants policy, without a current SAM.gov registration and a registered AOR, your application will be rejected in grants.gov without further consideration.
Click here to view all of HRSA’s open funding opportunities.
New Markets Tax Credits Allocation Awards Announced. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced $3.5 billion in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation awards aimed at revitalizing low-income communities and increasing economic opportunity nationwide. More information is available here.
The Office of Minority Health has released MP-CPI-14-003 to support organizations identify and assist minority populations, to educate them about the Health Insurance Marketplace (Marketplace) and to assist them with enrollment, completion of the application to determine their eligibility and purchase of health insurance offered through the Marketplace. Application deadline: June 16, 2014. Full details are available here.
The Aetna Foundation announces the opening of its 2014 Regional Grants Program – GoLocal: Cultivating Healthy Communities. This grant program will help to support initiatives that encourage healthy eating and active living, particularly within low-income, underserved and minority communities. Grants will be awarded for $25,000 and $50,000 over two cycles. The second cycle is June 16, 2014 – July 30, 2014. Visit the Aetna Foundation website for more information.
Fiscal Year 2014 ACA Health Center Expanded Services (HRSA-14-148). HRSA has released the FY 2014 Health Center Expanded Services (ES) supplemental funding opportunity (HRSA-14-148) for current Health Center Program grantees. ES funding will support increased access to comprehensive primary health care services, including oral health, behavioral health, pharmacy, and/or vision services, at existing health center sites. All eligible grantees should have received an email communication with an access code for this EHB-only application. Applications are due by 5:00 PM on July 1, 2014. More information is available here.
Ask CHCACT!
“Ask CHCACT,” a new advice column, will feature questions from health center staff, answered by your favorite CHCACT staff members! Send your questions to ask@chcact.org! Ask CHCACT columns are also archived on the Outreach & Enrollment Resources section of the CHCACT web site. This site is now available to the public, with no log-in requirement!
William Simmons
Community HealthCorps Member, answers this week’s question.
Q: Are all deductibles and co-pays created alike?
A: No!
It is very important to read the “plan details” section of the plans. Even if deductibles look the same (for example, two plans may both have a $6000 deductible), they may not act the same.
First things first – a “deductible” is an amount that you need to pay out of your own pocket in health costs each year before your insurance even kicks in. This does not include your monthly premiums; it must be actual health services/supplies. So, if you have a plan with a $6000 deductible, you must spend $6000 on health care in that year before your insurance company will pay anything. This seems like a lot of money, but expenses can add up quickly, particularly with a hospital stay.
Next – preventive care is always free. So, don’t worry about getting your well-visit every year (or bringing your kids for theirs).
Ok, here’s where it gets complicated – some insurance plans actually don’t apply the deductible to every service. For example, some plans have the deductible apply to everything except preventive care. With those plans, if you see an orthopedist, you will pay out of your own pocket until you hit the point in the year where you have spent $6000 (or whatever your deductible is). However, other plans apply the deductible only to hospital inpatient and outpatient services. With these other plans, you will pay just a copay to see that orthopedist.
Unfortunately, the information is not always easy to determine and understand. For example, the plan may list a $75 emergency room copay; however, if you have a $6000 deductible that applies to hospital visits, you will actually pay the full cost of that visit, unless you have already spent the $6000 that year.
The key here is to look at the individual services in the plan details section and look at individual services. Look for the phrase “after deductible” because that means that the copay or coinsurance listed only applies after you have met your deducible.
Here’s an example: Let’s say we have a bronze plan and a silver plan and we want to look at emergency room costs for an imaginary $750 emergency room bill. The shopping screen shows a co-pay of $75 for the bronze plan, and a $150 co-pay for the silver plan. So the bronze looks cheaper right? Not necessarily.
When we click the “Details” button (in the upper right of each plan) we see that under Emergency Room Services the bronze plan says “$75 copay after deductible” while the silver plan says just “$150 copay.” This actually makes a huge difference:
Your costs under the bronze plan: It says $75 co-pay, but that’s only after the deductible. Because the bronze plan’s $6000 deductible comes first, if you haven’t met your deductible yet, you have to pay ALL of that $750 bill yourself.
Your costs under the silver plan: It says $150 co-pay. Even though the silver plan has a $3000 deductible, it doesn’t apply here (because it doesn’t say “after deductible”) so you pay just the copay, $150, and your insurance picks up the rest.
While this is a simplified example, I hope it clarifies the importance of paying attention to little details — for instance, when the deductible applies.
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Upcoming CHCACT Meetings
“Coffee and En-Rolls” – a bi-weekly meeting for Certified Application Counselors (CACs) and their supervisors, facilitated by CHCACT consultant Fran Freer and AmeriCorps member Will Simmons. Join us every other Thursday @ 9:00 am to share Best Practices and hear the latest news about Access Health CT and enrollment: 888-994-2509, participant passcode 519603#. (Please note new number). Upcoming dates: June 19.
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.
Featured Stories:
Spring 2014 Yale Medicine Magazine: Navigating the Health Care Maze (feat. Suzanne Lagarde)
State Health News:
6.25.14 Fairfield County Business Journal: Health Council Forum in Norwalk June 25
6.16.14 New Haven Register: CT Dentist Faces Hearing After Patient Death
6.16.14 CT NewsJunkie: SIM Committee Debates National Medical Home Standards
6.12.14 CT NewsJunkie: Governor Vetoes DSS Fair Hearing Bill
6.10.14 CT Mirror: Patients Will Get Notices About Facility Fees Starting in October
Health Reform/ACA:
6.16.14 CT Mirror: Anthem Rate Hike Proposal Will be Subject to Public Hearing
6.10.14 Kaiser Family Foundation: Medicaid Enrollment – An Overview of the CMS Update
National/Other Health News:
6.16.14 CT Health I-Team: Early Pregnancy Blood Test Reduces Need for Amniocentesis
6.15.14 NY Times: “Thinking of Ways to Harm Her” – New Findings on Maternal Mental Illness
6.15.14 NY Times: Artificial Pancreas Shows Promise in Diabetes Test
6.11.14 CT NewsJunkie Op-Ed: Skyrocketing Salaries for Health Insurance CEOs
6.10.14 CT NewsJunkie: Class Action Claims Medicare Claims Were Denied with a “Rubber Stamp”
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Resources
New Interactive Summer Safety Guide from Stamford Hospital. In the woods, at the beach, or at the park, this new guide provides facts and tips for keeping you and your family healthy this summer. Click here for the safety guide.
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.
ECRI Institute has made the webinar “Building and Maintaining an Effective Triage System” available in its archive for those who were unable to participate last month. The webinar is available here. You will need log-in credentials from ECRI to access their resources. If you need access, send an email to Clinical_RM_Program@ecri.org or call (610) 825-6000 ext. 5200.
Key Findings from the 2013 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey –The 2013 Kaiser Women’s Health Survey addresses a wide range of topics that are at the heart of women’s health care as a result of the ACA. The findings presented in this report examine women’s coverage, access, and affordability to care, as well as their connections to health providers and use of preventive services. The report can be found here.
The National Institute for Children’s Health Quality has developed a free, interactive Collaborative Action Now to Defeat Obesity (CAN DO) Playbook. Details are available here.
SAMHSA has released a helpful Behavioral Health Barometer. It contains data that you may find useful for grants and reports. It is available on their website here.
The PBRN Resource Center is pleased to announce the recent launch of a PBRN Playlist on the AHRQ Primary Care YouTube Channel. This playlist contains video recordings of national webinars hosted by the AHRQ PBRN Resource Center. The channel and all recordings can be accessed here.
ECRI Institute announces new resources for Credentialing and Privileging Non-Physician Providers and Staff. Credentialing is not just for physicians and other clinical providers. HRSA Policy Information Notice (PIN) 2002-22 states that health centers must credential any individual who is required to be licensed, registered, or certified by the state, commonwealth, or territory in which the health center is located. This list includes, but is not limited to, licensed independent practitioners (LIPs) (e.g., physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives) as well as other licensed or certified personnel such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, physician’s assistants, laboratory technicians, social workers, medical assistants, dental hygienists, and nutritionists. The list should include locum tenens and volunteers as well. Click here to read their Get Safe! announcement and access their checklists and other resources.
The SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions Telebehavioral Health Training and Technical Assistance Series is designed to help safety net providers and rural health clinics understand and adopt telebehavioral health services. The implementation of telehealth services for mental health and substance abuse allows for increased access to these services, particularly in rural or underserved areas. The 6-session training will provide health centers with the tools/resources necessary to identify and implement a telebehavioral health program. Learn more here.
The American College of Physicians (ACP) has launched a High Value Care Coordination Toolkit intended to improve communication about referrals between primary care and subspecialist providers. The toolkit includes a checklist of information that must be provided in a generic referral to a subspecialist, a checklist of information that must be provided in a subspecialist’s response to a referral request, model care coordination agreement templates between several providers and care settings, and an outline of recommendations to providers that can help them prepare patients for referral using a patient- and family-centered approach.
Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! – HHS and the Administration for Children and Families has launched Birth to 5: Watch Me Thrive! to encourage healthy child development, universal development and behavioral screening for children, and support for the families and providers who care for them.
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.
New Rural Mental Health and Substance Abuse Toolkit Launched. The Rural Assistance Center, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, and the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis launched this toolkit, designed to help rural communities and organizations develop and implement programs that meet the targeted mental health needs of communities based on proven approaches and strategies.
ECRI has developed Asthma Care for the Pediatric Patient. Asthma is a challenging, common, chronic childhood illness associated with significant school absenteeism, emergency department visits, and hospital admissions. Racial and ethnic disparities in both asthma management and outcomes put safety net populations at particular risk. This self-assessment checklist will help healthcare providers assess and develop a patient-focused asthma treatment plan.
Check out the This Week in CHCACTion! Resources Archive on the CHCACT web site here! It’s chock full of webinars and other informative resources compiled from our weekly bulletins. You can also visit a password-protected FQHCs Resources Library which includes a message board to facilitate communication across centers. To gain access to the FQHC Resources, contact Deb Polun, at dpolun@chcact.org.
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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 new 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.
Agenda
Agenda
Day
Month
Week
Categories
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local event
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tobacco
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Tags
aca
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