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Hello everyone,
I hope you are well and healthy during this difficult time. As you might be adjusting to the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, please remember that
TASC is here help.
Thank you to everyone for using the
Flex Forum recently. We encourage you to keep utilizing it to ask questions and share updates from around the country.
Be sure to check out Flex Program Coordinator Tori Leach's update below on COVID-19 and the Flex Non-Competing Continuation (NCC), and the TASC Updates for more resources related to COVID-19.
As always, thank you for reading Rural Route. If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to me or TASC.
Best
,
Andy Naslund
Program Coordinator
Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC)
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Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) Updates
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and flexibility during these unprecedented times. We thank you for bringing your questions and concerns to our attention. We are working closely with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on
guidance around COVID-19. We understand that meetings, both virtual and in-person, may be reduced or canceled as a result of guidance related to COVID-19. If you need to make changes to your work plan, please stay in contact with your
FORHP point of contact.
Please continue to monitor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website for updates and to
find information about COVID-19 including what to do if you become sick.
As rural hospitals prepare to address COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is waiving the requirements that critical access hospitals limit the number of beds to 25, and that the length of stay be limited to 96 hours. CMS has developed a
COVID-19 fact sheet for health care providers that addresses this and other frequently asked questions.
Your Flex NCC is currently available and due in the Electronic Handbook (EHB) on May 15, 2020. I recommend downloading the guidance from the
TASC website for the most up to date links. A major change is the temporary suspension of Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) Eligibility/Waivers. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 (September 1, 2020 - August 31, 2021), we are suspending the MBQIP Eligibility criteria which would make all CAH eligible to participate in Flex funded activities.
CAH Regulatory Update
- Key provisions from the two new rules from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that implement interoperability and patient access provisions to improve patient access and advance electronic data exchange: the Interoperability and Patient Access final rule from CMS and the 21st Century Cures Act final rule from the Office of National Coordinator (ONC)
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- CMS's list of selected applicants who have been invited to participate in the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) payment model
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This month, please help us in welcoming Caleb Williams, Project Manager for the EMS Supplementary Grant in Kentucky. Welcome, Caleb!
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Coming Up:
MBQIP VKG webinar -- Thursday, April 16, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Central Time.
MBQIP Office Hours -- Wednesday, April 22, 2020
from 2
:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Central Time.
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 TASC Updates
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COVID-19 Resources
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TASC is fully prepared to continue providing resources and technical assistance to your Flex programs throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. We also highly recommend that you regularly monitor these other organizations and websites for updates.
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NCC TASC Assistance
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With the release of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Flex
Program Non-Competing Continuation (NCC) Progress Report
, we would like to remind you that TASC is available to review one component of your
cooperative agreement
progress report prior to your final submission (examples: work plan, narrative). If you would like assistance, please choose one section of your report for TASC to review.
Please submit your request to
[email protected]
by
May 1,
2020
and allow us f
ive
business days
to review.
TASC will respond with comments and suggestions, but we are unable to re-write content for you.
Please feel free post your questions in the
Flex Program Forum
. If you have a question, someone else likely does too and will benefit from seeing the question and answer.
- Non-Competing Continuation (NCC) Progress Report - Program Specific Instructions
- FY 2019-FY 2024 Flex Program Work Plan Template
- NCC Progress Report Technical Assistance Webinar Presentation
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This Flex Program project focused on improving the rate of rural ambulance agencies reporting quality data. Once reporting improved, the focus shifted to data quality. In this video, one rural ambulance service shares the value they realized in reporting and using data to improve organizational culture. They discuss their enhanced ability to identify improvement opportunities that move the needle on health outcomes for their patients, such as community paramedicine and an antibiotic protocol for sepsis.
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New From FMT: Patients' Experiences in CAHs: HCAHPS Results, 2018
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The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) has released its state and national reports on critical access hospital (CAH) performance and public reporting rates on the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey for 2018. The national report, with links to each state, may be accessed
here.
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The 340B Drug Pricing Program Guide is designed to provide rural hospital leadership with information regarding the 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B Program). It is also designed to assist State Offices of Rural Health directors and Flex Program coordinators to better understand the process hospitals must follow to participate in the 340B Program.
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This webinar introduced the 340B Drug Pricing Program Hospital Guide, discussed eligibility, compliance, billing, and benefits of participation in the 340B Program. The speaker presents key strategies for considering the 340B Program and shares legislative updates.
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MBQIP Updates
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Updated Resources
Please send your MBQIP questions to
[email protected]. TASC will ensure your question reaches the appropriate person.
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Webinars, Recordings & Events
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Webinar Playbacks
New and Updated Resources
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A full list of resources is available in the
TASC resource library.
Many more resou
rces can be found on the TASC resource library
by searching for key words in the search field.
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The most recent interview topics include rural medical education, holistic care in rural health clinics, investing in pulmonary rehabilitation at CAHs, hospital rehabilitation services, pulmonary and cardiac rehabilitation, and coding and billing for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) services.
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