Member Spotlight
Jill Bishop, Executive Director
MPHCA is pleased to announce that all East Central Mississippi Healthcare sites were recognized as level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes! Recognized Patient-Centered Medical Homes focus on 5 key functions: comprehensive care, patient-centered, coordinated care, accessible services, and quality and safety. The goal is to create a central setting that creates great partnerships between patients, their physicians and the patient's family.
The four East Central Sites that have gained this qualification are in Sebastopol, Walnut Grove, Philadelphia, and Newton. Congratulations to Executive Director Jill Bishop, her entire team, and the communities that help make CHCs great!
RED ALERT!!
National Day of Demonstration
Tomorrow, February 6, is a nationwide day of activism for CHC funding.
Call your Congressperson and tell them you want CHCs funded!
Join us in wearing read to show your support. Take a picture of yourself in red, post it on social media, and tag MPHCA in it and use #RedAlertCHCs or #ValueCHCs and you could win a gift card to Starbucks or Walmart.
Patients of Health Centers and staff and board members are being invited again to the nation’s Capitol to meet with members of Congress and participate in a press conference in support of a cliff fix, based on patient stories and take action prior to February 8, 2018.

The government may experience another shut down or pass a new CR. What this means is that until a spending bill is agreed upon and passed by both parties, we don’t know the future of our program.    On Tuesday, February 6, please participate in a Call to Action for Day of Demonstration – Red Alert for Health Centers.
Medicaid Work Requirement
The Mississippi Legislature has applied for a Medicaid waiver work requirement known as the Mississippi Workforce Training Initiative. The waiver would require that all able Mississippians complete a work requirement of 20 hours per week (or comparable volunteer work or workforce training) to be eligible to receive Medicaid.

While the government claims this will save money and not meaningfully affect insurance coverage for Mississippians, the Kaiser Family Foundation claims that work requirements reduce the number of people with adequate coverage.

The Waiver is currently undergoing a public commenting period until February 22nd. Anyone may leave a comment on how they feel about the proposed rule change. Please view our commenting guidelines to see what makes an effective comment.
Need Take –Aways From Recent Trainings?
 
HRSA All-Program Webcast –
BPHC All-Programs Webcast
Health Centers and PCAs joined Jim McCrae
Tuesday, January 30, 2:30-3:30 p.m. EST
Jim Macrae gave updates related to the funding cliff and had members of the BPHC team share on the Site Visit Protocol
SVP, the Operational Site Visit season for 2018, and more.
Key Take-Aways from Jim Macrae
  • QIA Awards will receive broader recognition during the next award season as the administration wants to further highlight quality
  • New Site Visit Protocol Aligns with new HRSA compliance manual – instead of 3 reviewers, there will only be a primary and a secondary
  • Mandatory funding awarded to health centers through April 2018 and standby for details after February 8th Continuing Resolution
MPHCA Lunch & Learn Webinar hosted on February 2 nd
 
Few Key Take-Aways for those who weren’t able to attend:
Overarching Goals of the IPA
  • Contract Negotiations with Payers
  • Keeping members unified to continually view aggregate data across all payers & UDS as well as trends that inform us & reveal gaps;
  • Consistently assessing HRSA QIA award potential across the 8 variables & addressing gaps for potential PCA assistance;
  • Targeting diabetes measure as we review data to see if we can demonstrate compelling cases, both state & federal, regarding performance.
  • Others as identified by member/partners
 
Continues Every 1 st Friday of the Month, Approved for 1 hour CME & CEs.
Training Opportunities
IT'S NOT TO LATE TO REGISTER
OSV & New HRSA Compliance Webinar (February 8th)

Community Health Centers are becoming more of a focus for spotlight as the battle for funding continues. Health Centers are increasingly reviewed and audited for performance and compliance with program regulations and expectations....

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mphca.com
Boxing with Opioids (March 7th)

The Quality Improvement Workgroup will host their Spring One-Day Clinical Conference for community health centers and interested safety net providers. This training is actually important for all health center staff.....particularly health center...

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mphca.com
TARGET BP WEBINAR: (February 22nd)

"Learn how to submit your 2018 Target BP Recognition data successfully"

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mphca.com

Federal Torts Claim Act University (FTCAU)
July 19 - 20 | Sheraton Convention Center | Myrtle Beach, SC
The FTCAU is an innovative training conference hosted by the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association (SCPHCA) for members of the health care community. FTCAU allows both new and seasoned quality and risk management professionals to learn from experts, leaders, and government officials about FTCA, health care quality and risk management, and related subjects. Over the two-day course, attendees will participate in interactive presentations and exercises specifically geared toward health
center grantees in the Southeast. The SCPHCA has partnered with five PCAs (including GPCA) in the Southeast to host this FTCAU training. Register coming soon.
Remember To Update Your Sliding Fee Scale
U.S. FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES UPDATED

Federal Poverty Guidelines updated January 2018. Ensure that these are updated on your sliding fee tables. There are two slightly different versions of the federal poverty measure: poverty thresholds and poverty guidelines.

Read more
aspe.hhs.gov

Monthly "Office Hours" on 340B and Other Pharmacy Issues
Starting this month on Jan. 18, NACHC staff will hold monthly office hours on 340B and general pharmacy issues. These sessions, made possible by HRSA funding, will be an opportunity for health center and PCA staff to ask questions and share ideas and information about 340B and pharmacy activities. Each session will begin with a brief overview of a timely issue, and the bulk of the time will be left for Q&A and discussion. Office Hours will be held on the third Thursday of each month, at 2:00 ET. Participation is free, but you must  register here  by 2:00 ET on Tuesday Jan. 16. Contact  Colleen Meiman  at NACHC for more information.
Registration Opening Soon!
  FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES 


Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 21, 2018
T he SAMHSA, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) grants. The purpose of this program is to implement screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment services for adolescents and adults in primary care and community health settings. This program is designed to expand/enhance the state and tribal continuum of care for SUD services and reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) consumption and its negative health impact, increase abstinence, reduce costly health care utilization, and promote sustainability and the integration of behavioral health and primary care services.


Application Deadline: Friday, February 23, 2018
Up to 20 rural public and nonprofit entities forming a consortium of three or more organizations will be awarded total funding of $2 million from HRSA to assist in the planning and development of an integrated health care network at the local level. Emphasizing the role of networks, the program creates a platform for medical care providers, social service providers, and community organizations to coalesce key elements of a rural health care delivery system to improve local capacity and coordination of care. Previous grantees have focused on behavioral health and health information technology. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Sara Afayee at SAfayee@hrsa.gov
Funds Care Coordination, Among Other Projects

Application Deadline: Varies
See UnitedHealthcare's free Grant Guide that features more than 50 opportunities from state and federal government and national foundations. You can also register for UHC's Creating a Competitive Proposal webinar, facilitated by experienced grant writer Allison Rojas, offered on the second Wednesday of each month.

Application Deadline: Rolling
Support well-established nonprofit organizations across the nation that address issues within four major areas of interest: education, health, culture, and social service. Health interests include cancer, geriatrics, neonatology, perinatology, pediatrics, women's health, and the disabled.