March 10, 2016 Edition

Community Health Center Supporters Take Their Message to Albany on Advocacy Day
On Monday, March 7, nearly 650 community health center advocates joined CHCANYS in Albany to ask policymakers for immediate help in filling a $54.4 million gap in annual reimbursement for care for indigent patients and to explain why meaningful investment in community health centers is so important. The standing-room-only event was a huge success, thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of the health center patients, staff, board members and supporters in attendance, many of whom traveled long distances to bring attention to the shortfall in indigent care funds and to tell their stories. A big thank you to all who participated. The New York Senate and Assembly are scheduled to release their one-house budget bills next week. In the meantime, the CHCANYS Policy Team will continue to build upon the incredible momentum of Monday’s Advocacy Day in its ongoing work to ensure the stability of New York State’s FQHCs.

NACHC Policy and Issues (P&I) Forum Hill Visits
The NACHC P&I Forum is less than a week away! This year’s visits to the Hill will take place on Thursday, March 17. If you are planning to attend and have not already let CHCANYS know of your plans, please contact Kate Graetzer or at 518-434-1115 as soon as possible in order to help us streamline the meeting scheduling process.  Appointments have already been requested, and in many instances secured, with all offices of the NYS Congressional Delegation. Group meetings with the offices of Senators Gillibrand and Schumer have been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively and are open to all New York State FQHC attendees. Additionally, the New York State Delegation meeting is scheduled for 5:45 – 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 in Room Roosevelt 1 of the Marriott Wardman Park hotel. As always, we encourage all those participating in Hill visits to attend this meeting; CHCANYS staff will be on site to brief you on the policy agenda and distribute visit packets and awards. See you soon in Washington, D.C. 

Ask Your Members of Congress to Sign the FY17 "Dear Colleague" Health Center Support Letter 
A “Dear Colleague” letter expressing general support for the Health Center Program is currently circulating in the U.S. House of Representatives, and your help is needed to ensure that all members of the NYS Congressional Delegation sign on by the March 15 deadline. Please call your Members of Congress today and ask them to demonstrate their continued support for FQHCs by adding their names.   

State Announces Capital Restructuring Financing Program and Essential Health Care Provider Support Program Awards
At a press conference on Friday, March 4, Governor Cuomo and the Department of Health announced the release of $1.5 billion in Capital Restructuring Financing Program (CFRP) and Essential Health Care Provider Support Program awards, intended to transform and improve the delivery of health care across the state. Congratulations to all those who received funding. To see the list of awardees, click here. CHCANYS is aware that there is more need in the community and will continue its advocacy efforts to ensure equitable investment by the State in FQHCs and other community-based safety net providers that comprise New York’s health care safety net. 

Update: Wrap for Essential Plan Members
The NYS Dept. of Health (DOH) has become aware of an issue preventing FQHCs from billing the supplemental payment rate (rate code 1609) for the Aliessa population (former Medicaid) enrolled in the Essential Plan (EP). DOH is working with CSC to add rate codes 1609, 4026-4028 to a bypass edit which will allow these claims to pay. This edit will be effective from April 21, 2016, at which time providers will able to submit or resubmit claims for these rate codes for EP Aliessa members retroactive to January 1, 2016 by utilizing delay reason code 3.  Please contact bmcr@health.ny.gov with any questions.  

Program Requirement “Hot Issues” Part 2: Sliding Fee Discount Program & Governance  
Date: Monday, March 14, 2016 
Time: 9:30 – 11:00 a.m. 
Presenter: Marcie Zakheim, Feldsman Tucker Leifer and Fidell LLP

Part of the 5-part webinar series jointly hosted by CHCANYS and the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut (CHCACT) and CHCANYS, this presentation will cover eliminating barriers to care through the sliding fee discount schedule; billing and collection policies and procedures for self-pay patients; and  the role of the governing board.  For more information, including dates, times and registration link for this webinar as well as others in the series, click here. 

The National Safety Net Advancement Center Announces Grant Opportunity 
Payment reform represents an opportunity to improve the quality and value of care in safety net organizations, but can also present safety net providers with significant technical and operational challenges. The newly-established National Safety Net Advancement Center at Arizona State University—with funding from  the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation—is seeking proposals for grant-funded projects aimed at implementing replicable, high-impact solutions to payment and delivery reform barriers.    

Evaluating Possible Brain Injury in Veterans 
The Department of Veterans Affairs is offering three training videos to help health professionals learn how to evaluate possible traumatic brain injury (TBI) in veterans and to hone their ability to converse with veterans regarding TBI. These learning tools are available via VHA TRAIN, a free service of the Public Health Foundation providing a comprehensive catalog of public health learning products. To learn more about VHA TRAIN and create an account, click here. 

Telehealth 101: How NYS Health Centers Can Get Started
Date: March 23, 2016
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

This webinar will educate Health Center Program grantees about the state law enacted on January 1 that requires payment parity for telehealth services. Participants will get an overview of telehealth benefits through the experiences Finger Lakes Community Health, a FQHC that has emerged as a national leader in telehealth. The presentation will define telehealth and provide information on equipment, best practices, workflow integration, and reimbursement. Data illustrating successful use will also be shared. 

February Medicaid Update 
The Office of Health Insurance Programs of the New York State Department of Health has approved the release of the February 2016 Medicaid Update. To access it, click here.

Value-Based Payment Readiness Self-Assessment Tool-Now Available for FQHCs to Purchase
We hope you participated in the Value-Based Payment Readiness Webinar: A Self-Assessment Tool for FQHCs that CHCANYS hosted on February 23, 2016.  As discussed, HMA and CohnReznick’s online self-assessment tool is now available for purchase. Interested FQHCs should click here, complete the form, and agree to the terms and conditions by close of business on March 16, 2016. FQHCs who submit by this deadline will be eligible for the HMA discount and CHCANYS subsidy. 

Annual Survey of Health Insurance Marketplace Assister Programs and Brokers  
The 2015 Kaiser Family Foundation survey of Health Insurance Marketplace Assister Programs and Brokers provides an overview of the experiences of assisters and brokers in helping consumers to enroll in health insurance coverage and captures their insights into how ACA implementation is progressing, what is changing and what challenges remain.  Information about the forthcoming 2016 survey was recently distributed to assisters and brokers. For more details and/or to participate in this year’s survey,  contact Karen Pollitz or 202-654-1307.

Call for Abstracts: CHCANYS 2016 Annual Conference  
CHCANYS welcomes your proposal to share expertise, innovative strategies, cutting-edge ideas and measurable implementation plans with our 2016 Conference attendees. Conference dates are October 30 – November 1.

The deadline for submission is April 11, 2016.   To view abstract guidelines and submit your proposal, click here. To view the full CHCANYS16 website, click here.

Webinar: Introduction to HRSA's Web-Based Nursing Supply and Demand Model
Date: March 16, 2016
Time: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

During this webinar, the Health Workforce Technical Assistance Center will introduce HRSA's web-based nursing model, a powerful new tool designed to help health workforce planners and researchers better understand future nursing supply and demand. The new web-based application allows states to examine the future supply of RNs and LPNs by practice setting in relation to demand for their services, as well as to explore alternative scenarios by modifying key parameters such as graduation and retirement rates. For more information, click here. 

NHSC Loan Repayment Program Application Cycle Now Open 
The 2016 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program application cycle is now open to support primary care medical, dental and mental/behavioral health clinicians committed to caring for underserved people where they are most needed. Health centers are strongly encouraged to recruit and retain qualified health care providers through the NHSC. The competitive application cycle will close on Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. 

Improving the Quality of Contraceptive Care in Primary Care Settings
On March 1, Public Health Solutions (PHS) released Improving the Quality of Contraceptive Care in Primary Care Settings:  A Toolkit for Practitioners, the culminating product of a Quality Improvement (QI) Collaborative that PHS piloted with four non-Title X-funded FQHCs in New York City. The toolkit offers materials and guidance for providers undertaking QI initiatives to improve contraceptive care in their practices. To download it and to access additional information on training and technical assistance offered by PHS, please click here.  

CHCANYS Family Planning Subcommittee Seeking New Members
As part of CHCANYS’ Clinical Committee, the Family Planning Subcommittee works to tackle issues related to the access and delivery of family planning services within health centers. The Subcommittee is seeking new members to provide additional insight and a diverse perspective as it moves forward  through problem-solving issues around the ACA, LARC reimbursement and training, and lending a training hand to those providers and organizations who need assistance. Telephone meetings are held  on the third Wednesday of each month and are open to all New York State health center practitioners and staff. To join the Family Planning Subcommittee, please email Mercy Mbogori. To access previously recorded family planning-related webinars and materials, visit the CHCANYS Clinical Committee web page. 

Saving Lives: How New York State is Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates 
Date: March 17, 2016 
Time: 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.  
Hosted by: School of Public Health, SUNY University at Albany

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death among men and women in New York State. A national initiative known as 80% by 2018 is focused on eliminating CRC as a major public health problem. Community-based organizations, health care systems and government entities are coming together to take action toward this shared goal of reaching 80% of the eligible population being screened for CRC by 2018. The New York State Department of Health has pledged to be a part of this initiative and is taking a leadership role in coordinating a multi-layered approach to increasing colorectal cancer screening rates. This webcast will outline the rationale for a statewide focus on the 80% by 2018 goal and highlight key evidence-based approaches in both health care and community-based settings. For more information, click here. 

Preventing Diagnostic Errors in Health Centers and Free Clinics  
Dates/Times: March 23, 2016 at 3:00 p.m. and March 24, 2016 at 12:00 p.m.

Hosted by ECRI Institute on behalf of HRSA, this webinar will cover common contributing factors related to diagnostic error, such as cognitive bias, as well as guidance for minimizing risks in this area. The interactive program will include case studies, discussion of the most common and most dangerous diagnoses for particular diseases and conditions, and considerations for recognizing dangerous clinical presentations. Strategies such as maintaining an accurate patient history and problem list, tracking diagnostic tests, and referring patients to specialty care will be discussed.

Click here to join the March 23^rd webinar

Click here to join the March 24^th webinar

Emergency Preparedness in the Community Health Center 
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2016
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Hosted by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), this webinar will teach participants how to develop an internal emergency and disaster plan to address the risks to their health center; how to implement simulation-based training using clinical scenarios; and how to develop corrective action plans based on the evaluation of health centers’ drills to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency management.  To register, click here. 

Zika Virus Update
The NYS Dept. of Health has updated its Zika web page with the most recent educational materials, health advisories and webinar links. CHCANYS highly encourages health centers to view and/or download this information. Other recommended resources include web pages maintained by the CDC and the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene.  

Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming PCEPN Events 
Additional details and registration links will be coming soon.  

• Second Annual Full-Day Emergency Management Seminar  
  Date: April 14, 2016 
  Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
  Location: at Baruch College  
  
  
• Coordinated Tabletop Exercise for Primary Care Networks and Partners  
  Date: May 19, 2016 
  Time: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
  Location: Baruch College