Your CHCANYS

Paul Francis Replaces Courtney Burke as NYS Deputy Secretary for Health 
The Cuomo administration has selected Paul Francis to serve as NYS Deputy Secretary for Health. Mr. Francis, a former state budget director, replaces Courtney Burke, who is now Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Albany Medical Center. Mr. Francis also previously served as head of the Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission and was a campaign policy adviser to former governor Eliot Spitzer. He began his now job this week.

NYS 2014-15 Legislative Session Recap
While the NYS Legislature’s last scheduled day of session was June 17, non-health issues such as rent control and mayoral control of schools kept policymakers in Albany until late evening on June 23. For a brief recap of health care-related highlights of the  2014-15 session prepared by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC, click here. 

DSRIP Regulatory Waiver Requests, Round 2
The NYS Dept. of Health, the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities have invited DSRIP PPS leads to submit additional regulatory waiver requests by September 15, 2015; responses will be sent to the PPS leads by November 1 and posted shortly thereafter on the DSRIP website. read more >>

DSRIP Year 1 Timeline Updated
The DSRIP Year 1 Timeline has been updated to reflect recent changes to several key deliverables. Click here to view it.

FY 2016 Federal Appropriations Update
Both the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees have approved their Labor, Health, and Human Services (LHHS) bills for FY 2016. The House LHHS bill contains the full Health Center Program request for FY 2016: a discretionary funding level of $1.5 billion, combined with the $3.6 billion made available in H.R. 2, for a total of $5.1 billion. The Senate LHHS bill proposes utilizing a portion of the remaining unspent FY 2015 dollars to fund increases to the program in subsequent years, providing a total of $5.2 billion for the Health Centers in FY 2016 ($1.5 billion in discretionary funding and $3.7 billion in mandatory funding -- a $100 million increase). read more >>

What Are Your Plans for National Health Center Week 2015?
National Health Center Week (NHCW) 2015 is only 3.5 weeks away, and many of you are deep in the planning stages. CHCANYS wants to help spread the word about all of the exciting events taking place throughout New York State during the week of August 9-15. Please fill out our quick online form to let us know how your health center plans to participate! 

Healthy Together: Community Collaborations in Healthcare Delivery
Date: September 28-30, 2015; Location: The Westin Alexandria, Alexandria, VA; Hosted by: The National Center for Health in Public Housing. This event presents an opportunity for health center staff and other health care providers, public housing resident advocates, and community members to learn about the challenges residents of public housing face. Training and workshop sessions will highlight HRSA program requirements as well as health priorities, emerging health topics, innovative outreach strategies and programs to provide quality care to underserved populations. read more >>

Next Phase of Access is the Answer Advocacy Campaign Now Underway
The next phase of NACHC’s Access is the Answer advocacy campaign, which focuses on expressing appreciation to elected officials, community partners, and all of the other supporters who have worked so hard to ensure the continued stability of the Health Center Program, has officially been launched. Click here for more information, including an updated menu of action steps for all advocates to take!  

New Diabetic Eye Disease Tip Sheets Available from NEHEP
The incidence of diabetes among African Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Hispanics/Latinos, and older adults is increasing. With the growing potential for vision loss and blindness from diabetic eye disease among these groups, there is a greater need for tailored resources. The National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) has published four new tip sheets designed to help healthcare providers, diabetes educators, community health workers, and other professionals who work with diabetics discuss diabetic eye disease and the importance of annual dilated eye exams and other control measures to help prevent vision loss. To access them, click here. 

Provider Reporting: How to Report Diseases, Events, and Conditions to the New York City Health Department
In order to protect and promote the community’s health, the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) needs to collect timely and accurate information about diseases, conditions, and events that affect New Yorkers. To assist in this effort, NYC DOHMH has developed a guide detailing all reportable diseases and events, including instructions on how and when they should be reported. read more >>

Telemedicine: The Promise and Challenges
Telemedicine began over forty years ago with a small number of hospitals extending care to patients in remote areas. Now, in an effort to improve access to care, particularly in rural and underserved areas, and to lower costs, the field of telemedicine is taking off. A new Alliance for Health Reform toolkit, “Telemedicine: The Promise and Challenges,” provides a background on telemedicine and discusses policy issues associated with the topic, including: an overview of policy implications and uses for telemedicine; links to reports and news articles explaining and analyzing the issue; and contact information for leading experts on the issue. To access the toolkit, click here. 

PCEPN EM-101: Emergency Management for Primary Care Centers
PCEPN EM-101: Emergency Management for Primary Care Centers is a 30-minute pre-recorded training session, that provides an overview of the four phases of emergency management, the key elements of an emergency management program and plan, and the role of the primary care center in emergencies and disasters. Recommended for health center staff of all levels, the training is a collaboration between the Primary Care Emergency Preparedness Network (PCEPN) and the NYS Dept. of Health. read more >>

CHCANYS 2015 Statewide Conference & Clinical Forum: Register Now!
The theme of this year’s conference, scheduled for October 18-20, 2015 at The Sagamore Resort, Bolton Landing, is From Vision to Value: The Health Center Movement at 50.  Policy expert Alan Weil, Editor-in-Chief of Health Affairs is the keynote speaker. Participate in thought-provoking policy, workforce, clinical/QI, and finance workshops,  network with peers, and meet with vendors to learn how their products and services can fulfill your business needs. To register and reserve lodging, click here.  

CHCANYS15 Sponsor and Exhibit Opportunities Now Available – Spaces are Limited!
CHCANYS15 is the venue for networking with over 400 FQHC leaders and decision-makers serving over 1.7 million patients at over 600 delivery sites throughout New York State. Learn more about the benefits of showcasing your products and services by clicking here and here. Don’t wait; vendor booths are available on a first come, first serve basis.  New this year: vendors may select their booth locations. The price will increase to $3,000 on August 1 -- register now to receive last year’s $2,500 rate. 

CHCANYS Presents the Jeffrey T. Latman Family Day at the Races
Join CHCANYS on September 19^th, 2015 at the Belmont Racetrack, home of Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh, as we “take over the reins” of the exciting annual Family Day at the Races event from the Jeffrey T. Latman Foundation. This fundraising event will help raise awareness of the CHCANYS mission and support the many programs providing primary health care to anyone in need, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. This year, we will honor the Latman Family for their many years of service and dedication. Don’t miss out on this day of horseracing and family fun!  For more information about the event and to purchase tickets, please click here. See you at the track!

Expanded Services Supplemental Funding Opportunity: Applications Due July 20
Several weeks ago, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced the FY2015 Health Center Expanded Services (ES) HRSA-15-153 supplemental funding opportunity. Approximately $350 million in ES funding is available through formula-based supplements to support increased access to comprehensive primary health care services, including medical, oral health, behavioral health, pharmacy, vision, and/or enabling services, at existing Health Center Program grantee sites nationwide. Applications are due in EHB by Monday, July 20, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. Instructions are available here. read more >>

HRSA Announces FY 2016 Service Area Competition (SAC) Funding Opportunity
HRSA has released information about the FY 2016 SAC Funding Opportunity (HRSA-16-004) for service areas with a February 1, 2016 project period start date. Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov by August 31, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. ET and via EHB by September 15, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. ET. Technical assistance materials for applicants, including frequently asked questions, are available here.

2015 Revenue Cycle 360° Seminar
Date: August 5-6, 2015; Location: Washington, DC; Hosted by: NACHC. This seminar is designed to help educate key staff in the unique and complicated reimbursement systems available to FQHCs and health centers. Access tools and techniques to help ensure that your health center’s billing and collections procedures result in acquiring all revenues due. read more >>

June Medicaid Update Now Available
The Office of Health Insurance Programs of the NYS Dept. of Health has approved the release of the June 2015 Medicaid Update. To access it, click here. 

Funding Available to Support Medicaid Providers with Health Information Exchange Adoption
Last summer, we announced that the NYS Dept. of Health, with support from CMS, established the Data Exchange Incentive Program to increase participation of Medicaid providers in the contribution of clinical data to the Statewide Health Information Network of NY (SHIN-NY). The program was designed to help defray the cost to provider organizations of connecting to the SHIN-NY via a RHIO (now known as a Qualified Entity, or QE). The ability to participate in electronic health information exchange is important to improving patient care and supports the achievement of Stage 1 Meaningful Use and participation in DSRIP projects. CHCANYS collaborated with the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) to roll out the incentive program to FQHCs. Organizations are eligible to receive incentive payments of more than $30,000 for signing a QE Participant Agreement and implementing an EHR interface to contribute data to the QE. The number of eligible providers was previously 40 per provider organization; it is now 40 per physical site. Please click here for a one-page summary of the program. Interested FQHCs may contact a QE directly.  A list of QE contacts is available here. read more >>

Doctors Across New York: Cycle IV Application Announcement
The NYS Dept. of Health, Office of Primary Care and Health Systems Management is pleased to announce that applications for Cycle IV of the Doctors Across New York (DANY) Physician Practice Support and Physician Loan Repayment programs will be accepted from July 8 through July 31, 2015. The Physician Practice Support (PPS) program provides up to $100,000 in funding for new practices, improvements, loan repayment or other support to physicians in exchange for a two-year service commitment to provide health care in an underserved region within New York State.  The Physician Loan Repayment (PLR) program provides up to $150,000 in loan repayment funding in exchange for a five-year service commitment to provide health care in an underserved region within New York State.  Please click here to review eligibility criteria.  Please click here to access application materials.