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Note: We won't be sending Focal Point next week during our 44th Annual Primary Care Conference, but look for PCC updates in the following issue on June 15!
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Clinical
COVID-19 Survey Changes
In response to CHC feedback and to other factors, HRSA is reducing the frequency of the COVID-19 survey. Beginning with the report of June data in July, the survey will become monthly, rather than biweekly.
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Workforce
NCCHCA June Workforce Workgroups: **Special Educational Session*
Jumpstart Your Comprehensive Workforce Plan!
Wed., June 14, 2023 | 10:00 - 11:00 am
Register
Join us to take a deep dive into the Comprehensive Workforce Plan definition and associated planning resources. We'll discuss each section and share examples, applications, and potential ways to include JEDI initiatives where appropriate.
You and your CHC will benefit from a practical overview of comprehensive workforce planning timelines, goals, and examples of content, as well as how to approach planning and maintain momentum.
Application for New National Health Service Corps Sites Now Open
Eligible health care facilities can now apply for approval to become a National Health Service Corps (NHSC) site. NHSC-approved sites with an inactive status may also re-apply for approval. Visit HRSA’s website to learn more about eligibility requirements or to apply. Applications will be accepted through 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 22nd.
NACHC: Growing the Next Generation of Health Center Executives Through a Health Center Administrative Fellows Program
Thursday, June 15, 2023 | 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Register
Are you interested in developing the next generation of health center executives for your health center? An Administrative Fellowship might be a way to do so. This is a workforce pipeline program that trains master’s-level post graduate students on the delivery and management of healthcare services. The Moses/Weitzman Health System Administrative Fellows program administrator, who is also a graduate of the program, will share information from their experience including practical tools and implementation tips that can be applied in other health center settings. Additional information about how to establish an Administrative Fellowship Program, can be found in NACHC’s toolkit.
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Funding Opportunities
New: Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program (RMOMS)
Deadline: July 7, 2023
More info
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy is pleased to announce that the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program (RMOMS) is now open on grants.gov (announcement number: HRSA-23-049) and accepting applications through July 7, 2023. A total of $2 million is anticipated to fund up to two health networks in this cooperative agreement program.
HHS Children and Youth Resilience Challenge: $1 Million in Funding
Deadline: Fri., July 7
More info
In response to the youth mental health crisis, HHS announced a $1 million Children and Youth Resilience Challenge. The challenge will fund community-led innovations and solutions that promote resilience in children and adolescents, birth - 24 years, impacted by COVID-19 and other disasters.
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Member Spotlight
Piedmont Health and CW Williams Receive HRSA Maternal Health Awards
Piedmont Health & The C. W. Williams Community Health Center, Inc., received funding through HRSA's FY23 Quality Improvement Fund to improve health outcomes for patients at highest risk of maternal morbidity and mortality. Currently, Black and American Indian/Alaska Native women are two to three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women.
Piedmont Health and C.W. Williams will partner with patients and community members to develop innovative models of maternal care delivery that can be scaled across the Health Center Program. Read the HRSA release.
Share Your Updates
Please share your health center news with Stacie Borrello, NCCHCA's Communications and External Affairs Manager! You can also contact Stacie for information on joining the communications and marketing workgroup.
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Policy & Advocacy
PCC: Special Guests Will Accept Legislative Awards, 340B Briefing at Board Meeting
Several public officials are scheduled to speak at next week's Primary Conference, and two have RSVP'ed to accept legislative awards in person. We hope you'll join us! Register for PCC here.
Also, as a reminder, the quarterly NCCHCA Board Meeting on Wednesday, June 7, will include an update on 340B policy, as well as other pertinent matters. If you have not yet RSVP'ed, contact Alice Pollard.
Biden Plans to Pick NC's Mandy Cohen to Lead CDC
( Washington Post)
President Biden plans to select former North Carolina health secretary Mandy Cohen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to three people with direct knowledge of the pending announcement.
Biden’s formal announcement is expected later this month, after White House officials finalize Cohen’s paperwork. Cohen would replace Rochelle Walensky, who is stepping down on June 30.
Register on our New Advocacy Platform
NCCHCA is using a new advocacy action platform, and we hope you'll sign up to receive those action alerts here.
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Medicaid
NEW: Solution to Medicaid FQHC Taxonomy Site Enrollment/Re-Verification Problems
NCCHCA previously reported that some FQHC sites were being suspended from Medicaid or losing their FQHC taxonomy based on how Medicaid was verifying Medicare participation by the FQHC. This disproportionately affected FQHC sites that do not typically enroll with Medicare (e.g., pharmacy, dental, and pediatric practices). Fortunately, NCCHCA and Medicaid have worked together to identify a solution.
Effective immediately, when verifying an FQHC’s participation in Medicare as a prerequisite for Medicaid enrollment or re-enrollment of a practice site under the FQHC taxonomy, NC Medicaid’s vendor GDIT will verify that an FQHC site meets the Medicare participation requirement if any site under the same FQHC organizational name and tax identification number is also enrolled in Medicare.
In effect, this this will allow confirmation based on the “parent” organization, without requiring that “child” sites or those typically serving non-Medicare populations or services to enroll in Medicare. This applies to reverification of existing FQHC sites as well as existing FQHC organizations adding new sites and locations.
Timely Filing Extended to 365 Days
NC Medicaid has announced an extension of the timely filing period for Standard Plans. For claims with a date of service on or after July 1, 2023, the Managed Care timely filing will be changing to 365 calendar days of covered service or discharge. For claims with a date of service falling between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2023, the Managed Care timely filing will remain within 180 calendar days of covered service or discharge. The timely filing for retroactive enrollees is 365 days of the approved enrollment. Read more details here.
Enhanced Medical Home Payments Extended Through Sept. 30, 2023
Enhanced medical home payments of $20 per member per month (PMPM) for Advanced Medical Homes (AMHs) serving members eligible for Tailored Care Management (TCM) will continue through Sept. 30, 2023. These funds are continued to cover initial implementation time spent and costs incurred by primary care offices engaging with care managers serving beneficiaries eligible for TCM.
Primary care offices are expected to respond to communications from Tailored Care Managers reaching out to the practice to support their patients. To verify a caller is with an approved TCM provider, refer to Certified CMAs and AMH+ providers on the NC Medicaid webpage. The patient’s assigned TCM provider is also listed in NCTracks.
Medicaid Expansion Updates: Application and Enrollment & PCP Auto-Assignment
Application and Enrollment: As part of Medicaid expansion, NC has opted to give HealthCare.gov the authority to determine eligibility and enroll people in the expanded Medicaid program. While the new functionality is still planned, we recently learned that it will likely launch a couple of months after expansion go-live.
The best system for health centers to assist patients and community members with Medicaid enrollment will be ePASS, a website that allows people to apply for benefits including Medicaid, SNAP, and energy assistance. Unlike HealthCare.gov, there is no certification required to assist someone with an ePASS Medicaid application. Additional opportunities to learn about ePASS will be available to health centers soon.
PCP Auto-Assignment: Under Medicaid expansion, Managed Care-eligible Medicaid beneficiaries will be auto-assigned a PHP and then the PHP will assign the beneficiary to a PCP based on Medicaid claims history, among other factors.
However, many newly eligible beneficiaries will not have a claims history with Medicaid; NCCHCA previously shared that NC Medicaid was working hard to identify ways other than claims history to identify current relationships with providers in order to preserve patient-provider relationships in the safety net. However, given the limited time before expansion, no changes are expected, and NC Medicaid will continue to rely on the same algorithm in place today.
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Events and Trainings
Click "view entire message" below or this link to view the complete events section.
NCCHCA Events
Registration for NCCHCA's Primary Care Conference Closes Tomorrow
June 7-9, 2023 | Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club, Durham, NC
Register for the Conference | View the Program
Registration closes for our 44th Annual Primary Care Conference tomorrow, Friday, June 2. We are excited to welcome our attendees next week - and announce that public figures will be joining us on Thursday, June 8, and Friday, June 9!
We will make legislative and member award presentations, and give away raffle prizes throughout our conference next week.
Also, don’t miss the 8:00 am opening plenary on Thursday, led by Building for Mission’s Natalie Thomas. Natalie is an experienced community organizer and trainer who studied under Marshall Ganz. She also will be leading a skill-building session on Building Power through Narrative on Thursday afternoon.
We look forward to grooving with you with live entertainment by Party Vibez at our Thursday evening reception!
Important agenda update: The workshop on Medicaid Provider Enrollment was rescheduled for Thursday afternoon at 2:30pm (and will no longer be held on Wednesday). The session is now part of the conference, without an add-on fee. Refunds will be processed for those who previously registered for this workshop.
Add-On Workshop Offered on Wednesday, June 7:
Building an Effective & Engaged Health Center Board
Wed, June 7 | 1:00-5:00pm | $225
This dynamic seminar, led by the Woods-Liddell Group, will offer essential tools to maximize the value of the health board for the health center and for board members. This Board Governance Workshop will be offered as a hybrid workshop, with options to join in-person or virtually. Registration is required for both options.
*To register for this add-on workshop, select the stand-alone registration or the ticket bundle with the full conference on the conference registration page.
Our Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club and JB Duke hotel room blocks are now closed. Please refer to this list of nearby hotels to secure your lodging accommodations.
Hotel guests can reserve a tee time up to 30 days in advance by calling the Golf Shop at 919.681.2288.
NCCHCA's Primary Care Conference is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $1,557,131 with 99 percent financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
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Digital Equity and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment
The NC Department of Information Technology is hosting two upcoming online events on the Digital Equity and Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) planning process that will inform statewide plans to close the digital divide. Please share these details with contacts in your organization and community who may be interested in participating.
Monday, June 5 | 2 p.m. (Virtual Listening Session)
Register
If you were not able to join one of our in-person listening sessions, participate in our virtual listening session to share feedback on your community’s high-speed internet access and digital equity needs.
Thursday, June 8 | 11 a.m. (Quarterly Update)
Register
Hear what we learned from stakeholders during regional listening sessions throughout the state, get details on new resources available and opportunities to provide input, and ask our staff questions during the quarterly broadband and digital equity planning update.
Who should register to attend these events? Individuals, community leaders, businesses, employers, internet service providers, tribal representatives, local, regional and statewide organizations, and anyone else interested are welcome to join. If you have any questions, please contact broadband@nc.gov.
Training Opportunity from BPHC Behavioral Health Technical Assistance
Topic: Behavioral Health Integration Skills and Practices for CHCs
Dates: Four remaining sessions on alternating Tuesdays, from June 6 | 2:00 – 3:30 pm
Presenters: Joseph Hyde, LMHC, CAS and Laura Ross, LMFT
Register
Over a series of eight 1.5 hour sessions, participants will learn about the most current, best, and promising practices for effective integrated behavioral health care in primary care settings, including multidisciplinary teamwork, treatment to target, brief counseling techniques, behavioral health consultations, and care management. Participants may earn 1.5 CEs per session (12 CEs total).
NC Tracks Training Sessions
Prior Approval Pharmacy
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Join
This course shows authorized users how to electronically submit and inquire about prior approval (PA) requests for a variety of medical services. After completing this course, authorized users will be able to submit PA requests electronically and conduct electronic inquiries about PA requests.
How to Add or Update Credentials
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Join
This course will provide instructions for adding and updating licensing or certifications to the provider’s record in NCTracks. Some taxonomy codes require the provider to be licensed, accredited, and/or certified according to the specific laws and regulations that apply to their service type.
Ordering, Prescribing and Referring (OPR) Provider Enrollment
Thursday, June 15, 2023 | 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Join
This course will guide the user through the process of submitting an Ordering, Prescribing and Referring (OPR) Provider Full and Lite enrollment application. At the end of the course the user will be able to understand the differences between a Full Provider Enrollment and an OPR Lite Provider Enrollment, and submit an OPR Lite Application. Upgrade from an OPR Lite provider to a Fully enrolled provider via Manage Change Request (MCR).
2023 Healthy Grants Workshops
Reconnect for Resilience in Healthcare Virtual Training
Thurs., June 15 & Friday, June 16 | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Register
Care Share Health Alliance will host a FREE Reconnect for Resilience in Healthcare Virtual Training in partnership with Resources for Resilience. The free training is open to any healthcare worker in North Carolina!
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