TARGET AUDIENCE:  Anyone in your CHC involved in workforce, i.e. CEO, COO, CMO, Human Resources, Workforce specialist, etc.

Please mark your calendars for our upcoming "Annual CHC Leadership Retreat" that will take place on September 19-21, 2021. After careful consideration, we have decided to have this year's conference as an in-person event and it will be held at the Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, WV.  Registration and additional details will be coming soon.

Plan year 2021 Marketplace registration and training for agents and brokers will close, or “go dark,” on the Marketplace Learning Management System (MLMS) on Monday, August 2, 2021 at 6:00 PM ET, to prepare for the launch of Marketplace registration and training for plan year 2022. During this “go-dark” period, assisters will not be able to access the certification training. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services anticipates that the 2021 Assister Certification Training will be available later this summer.

Assisters who need to take the current training before the 2021 training is available should complete the 2020 Assister Certification training prior to its removal on August 28.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report on current trends and challenges to accessing affordable health care in rural America. Analysts found that, although uninsured rates have fallen in rural areas, other barriers to care such as geographic distances, infrastructure limitations, and provider shortages contribute to rural health disparities. The report comes less than a month before the special enrollment period for qualified individuals and families ends on August 15. As noted in the HHS brief, 65 percent of the 1.9 million rural uninsured individuals in HealthCare.gov states may be able to find a zero-premium plan on the platform.

The COVID-19 Collaborative and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine released a new tool that shows data on people’s openness to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine by zip code and county for the entire United States. With more than 30,000 zip codes, compared to only 3,000 counties, this tool offers a ten-fold increase in the localization of data on vaccine intention and will be a significant contribution to vaccine uptake efforts. Current existing visualization maps show only up to the county level. Some vaccine intention rates in counties mask the low level of intention within zip codes in those counties, so it is critical to have this level of data.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) extended the federal public health emergency (PHE) for another 90 days, through October 20, 2021. The PHE has been in place since January 27, 2020, and must be renewed every 90 days.

West Virginia doesn’t plan to offer additional incentives to residents who get vaccinated against COVID-19 after the conclusion of the “Do It For Babydog” sweepstakes, Gov. Jim Justice said.

The winners of the final drawing in the state’s vaccine incentive lottery are scheduled to be announced Aug. 4, which will be the last chance for vaccinated West Virginians to get rewarded, Justice said.

“Right now, we don’t have any other plans (for incentives),” Justice said. “So I would highly incentivize anyone to go get vaccinated now and get in these drawings.”

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring 200 people across 27 states who may have been exposed to monkeypox after a person who traveled from Nigeria to the U.S. was recently diagnosed with the rare illness.

The U.S. resident who contracted the virus was hospitalized in Dallas as of July 15. On July 8, the patient traveled from Lagos, Nigeria, to Dallas, with a layover in Atlanta July 9.

After it was confirmed a U.S. resident had contracted monkeypox, the CDC issued guidance for clinicians, advising them to consider the virus in patients exhibiting symptoms who were on the same flights or in the same airports as the infected patient. Clinicians should isolate those with a suspected case in a negative pressure room, maintain proper isolation precautions to prevent further spread and contact their state health department or the agency's monkeypox call center, the guidance said.

Monkeypox typically starts with flu-like illness and swelling of the lymph nodes, followed by a widespread rash on the face and body. The infected U.S. patient contracted a strain of the virus commonly seen in parts of West Africa, the CDC said, adding that this strain is fatal in about 1 in 100 people, but can be higher in those with weakened immune systems.

Visit the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Optimizing Virtual Care technical assistance (TA) webpage for the Notice of Funding Opportunity, pre-recorded TA webinar, and other resources.

Justin M. Harrison is a labor & employment lawyer with Jackson Kelly PLLC. He is available for consultation through a special retainer relationship with the WVPCA. Justin can be reached at 304.340.1358 and via email at justin.harrison@jacksonkelly.com.

The Risk Management Manual for Health Centers is now available on the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website! Designed to support a proactive approach to risk management at health centers and free clinics, the Manual provides background, tips, and how-tos in a manageable format.

View an archived webinar that provides a guided tour of the Manual and key features. For access to the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website or any other questions, email clinical_rm_program@ecri.org.