Community Health Center Vaccination Program Launching Next Week
The White House announced this week that community health centers will begin receiving direct shipments of COVID-19 vaccines in order to reach underserved communities. According to the release, "the program will be phased in, with the first centers able to start ordering vaccines as early as the week of February 15. The initial phase will include at least one Community Health Center in each state, expanding to 250 centers in the coming weeks."
The program will eventually be open to all community health centers, and participating health centers must use the directly-shipped vaccines to immunize their existing patients. In a press release, the CEO of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) responded, “While our health centers are in the locations where need is greatest and we have a proven and trusted track record in reaching people most vulnerable, there is an urgent need for sustained resources, supplies, and predictability of vaccine doses to effectively plan and reach out to these special populations. A direct and consistent allocation of vaccine doses to health centers will certainly go a long way toward achieving equity.” Read the press release from NACHC.
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Governor Stitt Signs Open Meeting Act Amendment Emergency Extension Bill
On Wednesday, Governor Stitt signed SB 1031, which reinstates temporary amendments to the Open Meeting Act to allow public bodies to hold fully virtual meetings. Community health center boards are currently considered public bodies for the purpose of Oklahoma's Open Meeting Act. The bill permits fully virtual meetings until Feb. 15, 2022, or until 30 days after the governor's COVID-19 state of emergency ends, whichever comes first. It requires that any documents or other materials provided to members of the public body or shared electronically between members of the public body during a meeting are made immediately available on the organization's website. It specifies that public notices including an option for videoconferences may not later modify the method of meeting described in the notice It also requires that a code or password be included in the public notice if a code or password is required to access the videoconference meeting. Read the bill.
Provider Groups Challenge OK Managed Care Plan
The Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA), the Oklahoma Dental Association, the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association, the Oklahoma Society of Anesthesiologists, and the Oklahoma Chapter of the Academy of Pediatrics have filed a lawsuit in the Oklahoma Supreme Court seeking an injunction to prevent the state from moving forward with a managed care plan for the state's Medicaid program. Read more.
U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee Releases Draft Including Health Center Funding
The budget reconciliation bill passed last week by Congress last week directed committees to report back with legislation matching the bill's budget targets. The committee draft includes $7.6 billion for community health centers as well as $800 million for the National Health Service Corps. There is also a significant funding boost for Teaching Health Centers, financial incentives for the 12 remaining states to expand Medicaid, and a provision that could expand health centers’ 340B savings on Medicaid drugs.
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E/M Changes Training with OKCPA: Oklahoma Primary Care Association is hosting a training to discuss the proposed rules on the 2021 E/M Changes. Shellie Sulzberger, LPN, CPC, ICDCT-CM will be discussing the following during this training:
- E/M changes for 2021
- How providers can select new and established patient visit based medical decision making (MDM)
- New guidelines for using time
- Revised MDM guidelines
The training will be held virtually on Tuesday, March 2 at 10:00 AM. The member cost is $50 per person. Register now!
CHCNEO Hosting Suicide Prevention Virtual Event: Join Community Health Center of Northeast Oklahoma (CHCNEO) on March 10 for a live, interactive virtual event, with 6 nationally known experts. The three-hour training will include an hour-long Q&A session with and is eligible for two hours of CLEET and Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services(ODMHSAS) continuing education credits. Learn more!
Final Week for 2020 Uniform Data System Reporting: All health centers are required to submit complete and accurate Uniform Data System (UDS) reports of calendar year 2020 data by Monday, February 15. The 2020 UDS Manual and other resources are available on HRSA’s website to help you complete an accurate report.
We recently added content to our UDS COVID-19 Resource Guide to address questions about 2020 UDS reporting elements related to COVID-19.
Discontinuation of Operational Site Visit Performance Analysis: In an effort to streamline Operational Site Visits (OSV) and focus on compliance assessment, OSVs will no longer include a focus on a health center’s diabetes or other clinical measure and root cause analysis. If you would like to request technical assistance (TA) related to strengthening a clinical measure and/or quality improvement activities, please contact your Project Officer.
Marketplace Special Enrollment Period: President Biden recently issued an executive order to create special enrollment period for plans sold in the federal Healthcare.gov market from February 15 to May 15. The enrollment period will allow individuals in the 38 states including Oklahoma that use the federally facilitated marketplace to enroll in health care coverage. Read more.
NACHC Collecting 2021-2022 Salary Surveys: NACHC's annual Health Center Salary & Benefits Report allows CHCs to access up-to-date compensation and benefits data as they develop effective strategies to recruit and retain highly qualified health care professionals. The questionnaire is due March 1, 2021. NACHC will distribute a complimentary copy of the report to all NACHC organizational members that participate in the survey. Please contact Rosanne Zabka at (201) 405‐0075, ext. 11, or at rzabka@hhcsinc.com with any questions. All OKPCA members can also access OKPCA's 2020 Salary Survey. Contact cheit@okpca.org to learn more.
Upcoming NACHC Trainings: The National Association of Community Health Centers is sponsoring several upcoming trainings for community health centers, including:
New Mail Order Option for Ready, Set, PrEP Program: HHS’s Ready, Set, PrEP program, which provides free HIV PrEP medication for people without prescription drug coverage, is offering a new mail order option for participants. By visiting GetYourPrEP.com or calling 855-447-8410, participants can choose to have their PrEP medication mailed to their preferred address or to their health care provider. Health centers can also use the website or call center to assist patients with enrollment, allowing “one stop shopping” at health centers, where a patient can receive PrEP services and then receive their medications by mail. Alternatively, they can choose to have their PrEP prescription filled at a local, participating pharmacy, including using the pharmacy’s mail order program.
Federal Poverty Guidelines Updated: The 2021 poverty guidelines have been published and are effective January 13. Health centers should review and update sliding fee discount scales appropriately.
Workforce Survey: Oklahoma Primary Care Association, alongside the Health Resources & Services Administration Bureau of Health Workforce (HRSA BHW) and Primary Care Associations across the country, are working to increase provider recruitment and retention. HRSA’s new Health Professions Education and Training (HP-ET) Initiative will enhance health centers’ capabilities to recruit, develop, and retain their workforce by exposing health and allied health professions students, trainees, and residents to education and training programs conducted at health centers. The HP-ET Initiative will use the Readiness to Train Assessment Tool (RTAT) to help health centers assess and improve their readiness to engage in health professions training programs. Ideally, a key contact at each health center will provide the RTAT survey link to all employees of the health center for completion. Access the link for the RTAT survey here.
HHS Postpones PRF Deadline: On January 15, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the deadline for providers to report on how they used their Provider Relief Fund (PRF) funding would be extended. This deadline had been set for February 15, but HHS has yet to set a new deadline. On the same afternoon, HHS also issued updated PRF reporting requirements, which supersede all previous versions. The most significant update is the option to define “lost income” using “any reasonable method.” Read more.
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- Medical groups ask Oklahoma Supreme Court to halt plan to outsource Medicaid (The Oklahoman)
- Oklahoma says vaccines will be distributed to teachers and residents with health issues, beginning Feb. 22 (The Lawton Constitution)
- Affordable Care Act’s 2021 Special Enrollment Period begins next week (KFOR)
- Vaccine Equity Is ‘North Star,’ Feds Say, and Clinics Are Key to Fair Distribution (Kaiser Health News)
- Biden Administration Recruits Community Clinics To Help Solve Vaccine Inequities (NPR)
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