Health Center Bills Signed by Governor Stitt
Governor Stitt signed two OKPCA request bills into law this week.
HB 1690, sponsored by Rep. Carl Newton and Sen. Darcy Jech, was signed on Wednesday. The bill removes health center boards of directors as “public bodies” for the purposes the Open Meeting Act and codifies that Medicaid shall pay health centers FQHC PPS at minimum or a PPS-equivalent or greater amount in an alternative payment method. The bill was passed with an emergency clause and was effective immediately upon the Governor's signature.
HB 1071, signed Monday, will add community health centers to the list of provider types exempt from receiving certification from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) in order to provide substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services to patients. Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Boatman and Sen. Brenda Stanley, the bill removes a barrier to providing medication assisted treatment (MAT) and other SUD services.
These bills are the result of years of hard-fought advocacy and relationship building, and we're grateful for all the health center advocates who made their passage possible!
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Health Center Leaders Meet with Congressman Hern
Last week, health center CEOs in Oklahoma's first congressional district met with Congressman Kevin Hern and members of his staff (pictured below). The Congressman thanked community health centers for stepping up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and praised health centers for "cutting out the distance between access and affordability" and bringing access to patients.
340B
This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) signaled a willingness to act soon to support 340B providers. Last Friday, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) sent the HHS Secretary a recommended list of new appointees for the Administrative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Board. In a letter submitted Monday to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, HHS argued that HRSA's new list of proposed Board members will “correct for shortcomings in the prior slate of appointments.” HRSA shared this list with Secretary Becerra, who will need to approve the proposed list of ADR Board members, and publish it in the Federal Register so the Board can then begin its official work on the lawsuit brought by the National Association of Community Health Center (NACHC) and other similar cases.
HHS also stated in Monday's letter that it is "actively considering additional options for agency enforcement the 340B statute.” No additional details were given, but the suggestion is that the agency will not wait for the ADR/legal process to run its course before taking enforcement action. It is expected that HHS will seek to impose Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) on drug makers who refuse to ship 340B-priced drugs to contract pharmacies.
FCC $250 Million Telehealth Program
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that the seven-day window to submit applications for funding under Round Two of its COVID Telehealth Program will run from 11:00 AM on Thursday, April 29 through 11:00 AM Thursday, May 6. Health centers are encouraged to apply, particularly because:
- The application will be fairly simple. Applicants must provide some basic data, but no extensive narratives are required.
- Given the scoring system that the FCC has established, health centers are well-positioned to be approved for funding – particularly those who applied in Round One (last spring/ summer) but were not funded.
- Applicants can receive up to $1 million to support 100% of the cost of services and supplies needed to expand telehealth.
Health centers—particularly those in rural areas and those who applied but did not receive funding from this program last year—will receive significant priority points, including:
- 15 points for applicants who applied but were not funded in round one last year
- 10 points for being an FQHC
- 10 points for serving a HPSA with a score of 13 or higher
- 5 points for serving a rural area
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FCC’s EBB Informational Live Webstream
Tuesday, April 27
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Use link to join the day of the session
H8F Question and Answer Session 2
Wednesday, 4/28
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Phone number: 833-568-8864
Webinar ID: 160 386 9890
Use link to join the day of the session
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Medicaid Prospective Payment System (PPS) Change in Scope Process Panel: Health center finance teams are invited to attend this presentation and panel on the Medicaid PPS change in scope process on Tuesday, May 25 at 1:00 PM. Health centers' Medicaid PPS rates are bundled, cost-based payments for qualifying providers and encounters. Changes to the PPS rate can be requested when costs rise due to increases in services delivered or the intensity of services provided. Variety Care CFO Tim Reddout will lead a brief presentation and join Charlie Vest, CFO of Central Oklahoma Family Medical Center, and Felicia Belvin, CFO of Caring Hands Healthcare Centers, on a panel to answer questions. Register now!
Medical Marijuana Training with FTLF: OKPCA is hosting a training on medical marijuana with Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell on Friday, May 14 at 9:00 AM. Community health centers in Oklahoma are invited to attend this training on balancing state and federal law with federal grant obligations. Register now!
Oklahoma Dental Professional Workforce Webinar Featuring Health Centers: Register now for the Oklahoma Dental Professional Workforce webinar on Friday, April 30 at 11:00 AM. The webinar will feature several panelists, including health center representation from Dr. Patrick Tran with The Health and Wellness Center and Bob Burger with Panhandle Counseling and Health Center.
- Stories from the Frontlines Panelists
- Bob Burger - Panhandle Counseling and Health Center
- Dr. Patrick Tran - Health and Wellness Center
- Dr. Christopher Bailey - Choctaw Nation Health
- High Impact Solutions Panelists
- Board of Dentistry Update on Telehealth - Susan Rogers, Oklahoma State Board of Dentistry
- Dental Loan Repayment Programs - Ebony Freeman, OK State Department of Health
- Community Dental Health Coordinators - Marsha Beatty, OU College of Dentistry
- Dental Therapy - Brett Weber, National Indian Health Board
- Expanded Scope of Practice Dental Hygiene - Laurie Humphrey, Oklahoma Dental Hygienists’ Association
Learn more and register.
Outreach and Enrollment Workshops: OKPCA is partnering with Steve Goldman, a Navigator with expertise in health center outreach and enrollment, to help health center certified application counselors (CACs), community health workers, and other enrollment staff to prepare for Medicaid expansion. Workshops will provide a combination of training on Medicaid and Marketplace enrollment assistance as well as a place for enrollment teams to ask questions and share best practices.
Upcoming workshops will be held Thursdays at 1:00 PM on April 29; May 6, 20; June 10, 24; July 8, 15, 22; August 5, 19. Webinars will be recorded and materials will be posted on the Outreach and Enrollment Community on OKPCA's member portal. Learn more and register now.
Upcoming BPHC Deadlines: Community health centers should be aware of the following Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) deadlines:
- Friday, 4/30 – End of Project Period for H8E (Expanded Capacity of COVID Testing) funding for health center grantees. Health centers that have not spent down all their funds by this date should contact their Project Officer.
- Monday, 5/3 – Firm deadline to report that health centers have hired an FTE with their FY2019 Integrated Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) funding. As of 4/15, over 300 CHCs still need to report to BPHC on this issue.
Updated Medicaid Expansion Flyers: The Cover OK Coalition, led by the Oklahoma Policy Institute, has produced flyers in English and Spanish for health centers to use to get the word out to existing and potential patients about Medicaid expansion. The flyers now reflect that the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) will begin accepting applications June 1.
Capital Improvement Funding: On the last Today with Macrae call, BPHC clarified that the formula-based capital funding that will be made available to all health center grantees for projects costing at least $500,000 and will be called “C8E. BPHC plans to issue a NOFO soon. For legal reasons, health centers cannot combine funding from their H8F (regular ARPA funds) and C8E (ARPA capital funds) for the same project.
HRSA Healthy Grants Workshop Registration: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced that registration for the 2021 Healthy Grants Workshop – Presented as a Web Series, is now open. Register now for up to eight sessions. There is no cost to attend and you can attend as many sessions as you would like. The first session begins in May, followed by a new session every two weeks through August 24. Each session includes two to three topics, from grants policies, financial monitoring, and grant budgeting, to Prior Approvals, an Electronic Handbooks overview, and more.
First HPSA Rescore Preview Now Available: Community Health Centers are now able to view their first preview of the National Shortage Designation 2.0 Update on the automatic Health Professional Shortage Area (auto-HPSA) portal. In late March, HRSA updated the scores using the 2020 census data and the latest infant mortality data. The census data will likely have the greatest impact on your scores. It is a key determinant in the provider-to-population ratio, which accounts for 40% of the primary care and dental HPSA scores and 28 percent of the mental health HPSA score. Let us know If you are having problems accessing your portal.
2021 OKPCA Annual Conference - Call for Presenters: OKPCA is seeking abstracts through May 7 for breakout workshops and panels for our conference September 30 - October 1, 2021. This year's conference will be held at the Sheraton Oklahoma City Downtown Hotel. OKPCA is looking for sessions lasting 1 hour and 15 minutes in the following areas:
- General Sessions
- Clinical (Care Innovations)
- Enabling Services
- Operations/Finance
- Behavioral Health
- Board Governance
- Population/Rural Health
- Workforce/HR
- Health Equity/Social Determinants of Health
- Telehealth/Care Delivery Systems
- Payment Transformation
- HIV/Infectious Disease
- Emergency Preparedness/Business Continuity
Use this link to submit an abstract by May 7.
Azara 2021 User Conference - Free Three-Day Event: The Azara Healthcare 2021 Annual User Conference is a free, three-day virtual event taking place May 4-6, 2021. Sessions will cover topics for all levels of users, new to advanced, and aim to broaden and deepen the use of products and modules. Brooke Lattimore, COO of The Health and Wellness Center, will be speaking alongside dozens of other health center experts. Register today!
Emergency Broadband Benefit Program: Health center patients can apply for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program when it opens in late April. $3.2 billion in funding will be available by the end of April to provide qualifying households a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute $10-$50 toward the purchase price. Learn more on the EBB webpage or read the fact sheet. OKPCA will provide social media shareables and handouts when information on how to enroll is available.
Providers Encouraged to Apply for NHSC: The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has received a $800 million increase in funding this year, and many applicants from facilities with scores considered too low to be competitive in the past will receive awards this year. Click here to watch a recent recording about how to access and view Update Preview results within the Auto-HSPA Portal, how to submit a system data rescore request, and more information on the system data rescore review processes and timelines. On a recent call with the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), a representative said that NHSC may have enough funding to fund scores as low as 2, whereas a 17 was considered the threshold for competitiveness in years' past.
ECHO Series - AIDS Education & Training Center Program: Click here to register for upcoming OUHSC Infectious Diseases & HIV TeleECHO sessions, including:
- 5/5, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Women & HIV
- 6/23, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: HIV & Aging
Coverage for the Uninsured: Fact Sheets on COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage: In response to concerns of access barriers some patients face regarding documentation requests prior to receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and individuals inappropriately being sent bills for COVID-19 vaccine fees, HRSA created fact sheets to help patients and providers better understand their rights and responsibilities regarding access to COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 vaccines are free to anyone living in the U.S.
Learn more on HHS’ COVID-19 Care for Uninsured Individuals webpage.
Value-Based Reimbursement and Integrated Behavioral Health Community of Practice: Value-based reimbursement (VBR) offers a more equitable, integrated, and person-centered approach, but health centers may need support to navigate this complex process. HRSA invites health center staff to join an upcoming community of practice to learn VBR basics and what providers need to know and do as they work toward health care that is viable and sustainable for all. Because VBR cuts across all areas of a health center, participating teams can include managers in integration, quality improvement/quality assurance, health information technology (HIT), population health/data analysis, finance/billing, and, senior staff responsible for strategic planning. Participants can earn 1.5 CE credits for each session they attend, with a maximum of 9 CEs for participation in all six sessions.
Registration is open for two cohorts:
Webinar: Round 2 FCC COVID-19 Telehealth Program Application: The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau will begin accepting applications for Round 2 of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program on Thursday, April 29 at 11:00 AM. Applications will be accepted through May 6. View the Round 2 FCC COVID-19 Telehealth Program Application webinar on Monday, April 26 at 3:00 PM to learn more.
Fact Sheets on Uninsured COVID-19 Services: COVID-19 vaccines are free for every individual living in the United States regardless of insurance status. Fact sheets are available for patients and providers:
- Patient Fact Sheet
- Provider Fact Sheet
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- Are Health Centers Facilitating Equitable Access to COVID-19 Vaccinations? An April 2021 Update. (KFF)
- McEntire wins passage of State-Run Medicaid Plan (The Duncan Banner)
- Health care professionals making case against new healthcare program (OKC FOX 25)
- Inside Oklahoma’s Police Training For Mental Health 911 Calls (Oklahoma Watch)
- Proposed new Oklahoma legislative districts revealed (NonDoc)
- Premier asks CMS to give ACOs more time to prep for new MSSP quality reporting requirements (Modern Healthcare)
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