Rural Route December 2018

Opportunities for Medicaid 1115 waiver demonstrations addressing serious mental illness
Comments requested on the Draft Strategy on Reducing Burden
Request for information (RFI) on how to improve the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Proposed changes to:

Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Managed Care
Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Plans

Continue reading CAH Regulatory Updates .

Newsflash

Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Recognition Spotlight: River Hospital

Topic: Innovative behavioral/mental health initiatives

River Hospital, located in Alexandria Bay, New York, was recently recognized for the development of the River Community Wellness Program (RCWP). Through the RCWP, soldiers and veterans are supported with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as one focus of the program. RCWP works closely with Fort Drum and the Veteran's Administration to ensure all s oldier and veteran health care needs are met, including issues related to traumatic brain injury, substance abuse and issues maintaining healthy relationships.

Pictured: Ben Moore III, River Hospital, CEO; Karen Madden, New York State (NYS) Department of Health (DOH), Office of Rural Health Director; Brad Frey, RCWP Director; Helen Smith, NYS DOH, Office of Rural Health Flex Coordinator

TASC Updates

With the upcoming release of the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Flex Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), we would like to remind you that TASC is available to review one component of your cooperative agreement application prior to your final submission (examples: work plan, narrative). If you would like assistance, please choose one section of your proposal for TASC to review. Please submit your request to [email protected] by the end of January, 2019 and allow us five business days to review. TASC will respond with comments and suggestions, but we are unable to re-write content for you. Please note that the exact date requests must be submitted by will be adjusted based on the due date since the NOFO has been delayed - more information on this will be provided once it's available.

Resources to Support Your Flex Program Cooperative Agreement Application

Flex Welcome and Farewell

Welcome:

Emma Distel, Minnesota Flex Coordinator

Farewell:

Janice Johnson, Florida Flex Coordinator
Randy Calvert, Florida State Office of Rural Health (SORH) Director

Please keep your Flex staff contact information current by completing the State Flex Program Contact Information Form whenever there are staffing changes in your office.

MBQIP Updates

Updated Resources

Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) Fundamentals Guide for State Flex Programs

Updated MBQIP core measures: OP-5, OP-27 and Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Pain Management

MBQIP Data Reporting Reminders
MBQIP Monthly Newsletter

Please send your MBQIP questions to the TASC email address . TASC will ensure your question reaches the appropriate person.

Webinars, Recordings & Events

Save the Dates

January Flex Virtual Knowledge Group (VKG): Flex Program Support for Provider-Based Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

January 7, 2019 l 2:00 PM Central Time

Providers and Payers Working Together: The Rural Way webinar

January 16, 2019 l 11:00 AM Central Time

Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Project (SHIP) State Coordinator TA Webinar (Contact TASC for connection information)

January 17, 2019 l 2:00 PM Central Time

Physician Engagement for Value-Based Care Success and Quality Payment Program Update webinar

January 22, 2019 l 12:00 PM Central Time

Webinar Playbacks

New and Updated Resources

A full list of resources is available in the TASC resource library .

Substance Use

Many more resources can be found on the TASC website by searching for key words in the search field.

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