Significant Mental Health Legislation Advances Within House
COVID-19 Bivalent Vaccine Boosters Now Available
Free COVID-19 Therapeutics Remain Available
Closeout Approaching: RHC Testing and Mitigation Program
Noteworthy News
NARHC 2023 Institutes
NARHC Store Opening for a Limited Time
Bill Finerfrock Health Policy Fellowship
Upcoming Webinar: Benchmarking
Member Spotlight
South Carolina Office of Rural Health Wins NOSORH SORH Innovation Award
Member Benefit Highlights: Benchmarking
Consultant's Corner
What Your "Proposed for Withdrawal" HPSA Means to You
RHC Cost Reports: A Look At Your Cost Reports from 10,000 Feet
Understanding the ROI of a Chronic Care Management Program
Preventative Services for RHCs
MIPS and Its Impact on Rural Clinics and Hospitals
What to Know About COVID Vaccines in the Nose
NARHC DC OFFICE UPDATES
Significant Mental Health Legislation Advances Within House
The House Ways and Means Committee marked up several bipartisan mental health bills this week and advanced the legislative package to the full House of Representatives. Of note, H.R. 432would add mental health counselors and marriage and family therapists as covered Medicare providers, including in the RHC setting. READ MORE HERE.
COVID-19 Bivalent Vaccine Boosters Now Available
COVID-19 Bivalent Vaccine Boosters are now available for order on VPOP! CMS-certified Rural Health Clinics may now access free COVID-19 bivalent vaccine boosters through the HRSA RHC COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Program! The bivalent COVID-19 booster is an updated vaccine booster that includes components of the original virus strain and the Omicron variant to provide better protection against COVID-19.READ MORE
Free COVID-19 Therapeutics Remain Available
All CMS-certified RHCs are still eligible to enroll and place weekly orders in the HRSA RHC COVID-19 Therapeutics Program. By enrolling in this program, RHCs gain direct access to free COVID-19 therapeutics, Paxlovid and Lagevrio (Molnupiravir). READ MORE
Closeout Approaching: RHC Testing & Mitigation Program
Reporting Deadlines, Allowable Expenses, and More!
RHCs have less than 90 days to spend the HRSA RHC Testing & Mitigation (RHCCTM) program funds! In 2021, eligible RHCs received $100,000 per clinic from this program. These funds must be spent between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022, and monthly testing data reports continue to be required on rhccovidreporting.com. READ MORE
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
Bill Finerfrock Health Policy Fellowship
Application Now Open!
The National Association of Rural Health Clinics is thrilled to announce that the application for the 2023 Bill Finerfrock Health Policy Fellowship is now open!
The Bill Finerfrock Health Policy Fellowship Program was created in 2022 to celebrate the remarkable legacy of Mr. Bill Finerfrock. Bill was the co-founder and long-time Executive Director of the National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC) until his retirement in June 2022. READ MORE
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
South Carolina Office of Rural Health Wins
NOSORH SORH Innovation Award
Congratulations to NARHC Member: South Carolina Office of Rural Health for winning the 2022 NOSORH State Office of Rural Health Innovation Award! READ MORE
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
CONSULTANT'S CORNER
What Your "Proposed for Withdrawal" HPSA Means to You
Thousands of Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA’s) across the U.S. are currently in Proposed for Withdrawal (PWD) status. The majority of HPSA’s that are Proposed for Withdrawal will be fully withdrawn by July of 2023. The PWD status essentially excludes any facilities within the PWD HPSA from accessing a majority of their HPSA benefits.READ MORE
Understanding the ROI of a Chronic Care Management Program
Chronic conditions can play a detrimental role in an individual’s life and lead to more serious health issues, such as a heart attack. But according to a study by Mathematica Policy Research, participation in a Chronic Care Management (CCM) program can lead to fewer hospitalizationsand emergency room visits. READ MORE
RHC Cost Reports: A Look At Your Cost Report From 10,000 Feet
As the end of the year approaches, rural health clinics (RHC) and other healthcare facilities are preparing for annual Medicare cost reports – a complex series of worksheets required for participation in the Medicare program. The cost report process is often outsourced and overlooked by facility managers, but it is important to understand the process in order to optimize the reimbursement. READ MORE
MIPS and Its Impact on Rural Clinics and Hospitals
If you haven’t heard already, performance feedback for the 2021 Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance year is now available. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the performance feedback, final scores, and associated payment adjustments on August 25th, 2022.READ MORE
Preventative Services for RHCs
Best Practices for Reporting Preventative Visits and Sick Visits
Many of us remain confused over how to properly report preventive services. Most of the confusion is around preventive services which are rendered at the same time as a medically-necessary, face-to-face encounter. We have to focus on the difference between payable as a separate encounter, and whether a service is REPORTABLE with another encounter. We need to stop focusing on whether the result will be two RHC Encounter payments.
As we all attempt to put the COVID-19 outbreak and the years of “new normal” behind us, the virus continues to increase its transmissibility, emphasizing the need for a population-wide solution to immunity. Research strongly proves that relying on intramuscular shots alone does not provide tissue-level mucosal immunity and highlights that mRNA vaccines do not achieve respiratory mucosal immunity against Omicron in people. READ MORE
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