Legislative Session
The Tennessee legislative session is in the final weeks. This week the House and Senate passed a budget that included approximately $29M in Safety Net funding, after approving a $5M budget appropriations amendment for additional non-recurring Safety Net funds. This is an increase from last year’s Safety Net funding amount of $24.9 M.
Thanks to leaders Senator Jack Johnson and Representative William Lamberth for sponsoring the budget amendment, and to Governor Lee for including a provider rate increase in his budget proposal.
Along with enhanced Safety Net funding, TPCA and community health centers have been advocating for legislation to increase access to care, support post-pandemic transformation, and improve social determinants of health:
Public Chapter 766 removes a sunset date that requires telehealth visits to be reimbursed at parity with in-person visits in the commercial market, ensuring on-going reimbursement. The legislation was enacted as Public Chapter 766, effective April 1, 2022.
Public Chapter 807 requires reimbursement for audio-only medical visits when other means are not available. The legislation was enacted as Public Chapter 807, effective April 8, 2022.
Public Chapter 749 increases direct access to Naloxone for community entities. The legislation was enacted as Public Chapter 749, effective July 1, 2022.
SB2043/HB2565 allows the Department of Health to utilize the remote use of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in 2022. The legislation passed the Senate but has not come up before the House for a vote.
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FY23 Budget
President Biden released his FY2023 budget request last month, which included an additional $155M for community health centers, bringing the annual appropriation to $1.839B and total funding to $5.7B.
NACHC and TPCA have been advocating for additional investments in community health centers during the appropriations process.
Congress is currently on recess but will return next week to begin in-depth work on the budget.
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TPCA COVID-19 Resources Page
TPCA created a COVID-19 Resources page that contains information and tools for health centers and the general public on a variety of COVID-19 related topics including COVID-19 vaccines, updates, human resources & operations, telehealth, and PPE.
TPCA Members may also access the COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit for the latest in TN COVID-19 Vaccine distribution as well as timely and relevant resources. |
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The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Cherokee Health Systems have entered into a new partnership to address health issues in the region and advance the development of health education and research to improve the well-being of communities in Tennessee and beyond.
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Interested in saving up to 5% on your health center's medical supplies and equipment?
Contact Tom Whelan
Member Resource Consultant
CommonWealth Purchasing Group
251-508-2854
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Strategic Workforce Planning Toolkit
The Strategic Workforce Planning Toolkit provides a list of toolkits, reports, templates, and previously recorded trainings available to health centers to assist with developing or enhancing trainings program and partnerships.
If you have any questions about any of these resources, please email Dr. Desiree' Kelly at desiree.kelly@tnpca.org.
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ADDITIONAL NEWS & RESOURCES |
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FREE Webinar from NACHC:
Eyes on Access:
Comprehensive Vision Services in Health Centers
April 28 from 3:00-4:30 pm ET &
June 9 from 3:00-4:30 pm ET
Is your health center considering integrating vision services into your primary health care delivery? Is your health center looking to increase the vision services offered or facing challenges in the beginning stages of vision service integration?
Join the National Association of Community Health Centers, Prevent Blindness and the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved for a two-part webinar series, Eyes on Access, to learn strategies and models of investment from vision care experts and peers from health centers across the country.
Each session is approved for 1.5 online American Academy of Family Physicians elective credits.
Who should attend?
Health Center Professional Staff (C-Suite and Relevant Administrators), Primary Care Providers, Health professions students (including but not limited to optometry students), School-Based Health Center staff, all FQHC staff
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Grant Funding for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs)
SAMHSA has published two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) to support a major expansion of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model:
The CCBHC has many similarities to CHC model, including Federal requirements to:
- provide care to all individuals, regardless of ability to pay
- use a sliding fee scale
- be governed by a Board whose members are representative of the individuals being served
In addition, CCBHCs:
- are required to coordinate with area FQHCs
- are reimbursed by Medicaid reimburses based on a PPS
CCBHCs have been operating as a Medicaid demonstration for that last several years, and there are now around 430 CCBHCs nationwide. These NOFOs will lead to a major expansion in the number and impact of CCBHCs across the country. SAMHSA plans to make over 150 awards under each opportunity, and each award will be for approximately $1 million annually for a four-year project period.
Applications for both grants are due Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
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HHS Announces $90 Million to Support New Data-Driven Approaches for Health Centers to Identify and Reduce Health Disparities
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), announced the availability of nearly $90 million in American Rescue Plan funding to support new data-driven efforts for HRSA Health Center Program-supported health centers and look-alikes (HRSA-designated health centers) to identify and reduce health disparities.
“Health centers are vital to increasing equitable access to primary health care,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. “The Biden-Harris Administration has made historic investments in health centers, and this funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan will further enable health centers to utilize data to meet the needs of their community and help reduce gaps in care.”
Applications are due Monday, May 23, 2022.
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Grant Funding for Community-Based Doulas
HRSA is making $4.5 million in grant funding available for hiring, training, certifying, and compensating community-based doulas in areas with high rates of adverse maternal and infant health outcomes. This opportunity will increase the total number of Healthy Start doula programs from 25 to approximately 50 nationwide, with an average grant award of $180,000.
Applications are due Tuesday, May 31, 2022.
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Share your news!
We want to help spread the word about what's going on at Tennessee's health centers.
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This publication is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of awards totaling $1,367,898 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources, $875,593 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources, $297,184 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources, and $195,000 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.
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