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WVPCA Weekly Outlook
A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
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WVPCA News - Outreach and Enrollment
Workforce Development - State News - National News
Funding and Financial Resources - Training Opportunities
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CVS, Walgreens announce opioid settlements totaling $10B
Read the entire article from AP News here.
RSV Surge: Experts Discuss Symptoms, and When to Seek Medical Care
Read the entire article from Healthline here.
US agency softens opioid prescribing guidelines for doctors
Read the entire article from AP News here.
Strong RSV vaccine data lifts hopes after years of futility
Read the entire article from AP News here.
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Kennedy Participates in WV Center for Children’s Justice Handle with Care Conference |
Last month John Kennedy, WVPCA School-Based Health/Behavioral Health Director, attended the WV Center for Children’s Justice Handle with Care Conference assisting with the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Coalition of West Virginia booth.
The WV Center for Children’s Justice Handle with Care Conference focused on a trauma informed response to child maltreatment and children’s exposure to violence. The goal was to provide current information to better help serve those who have experienced child abuse, neglect and violence.
The ACES Coalition of West Virginia includes over 400 different organizations and individuals working together to improve the health and well-being of all West Virginians by reducing the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and preventing their occurrence.
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Important dates for Open Enrollment 10 |
The 2023 Open Enrollment Period (OEP) begins November 1, 2022 and ends January 15, 2023. Please note the important dates below:
- November 1, 2022: Open Enrollment starts — first day you can enroll in, re-enroll in, or change a 2023 health plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace®. Coverage can start as soon as January 1, 2023.
- December 15, 2022: Last day to enroll in or change plans for coverage to start January 1, 2023.
- January 1, 2023: 2023 coverage starts for those who enroll in or change plans by December 15, 2022.
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January 15, 2023: Last day to enroll in or change a 2023 health plan. After this date, you can enroll in or change plans only if you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
- February 1, 2023: 2023 coverage starts for those who enroll in or change plans December 16, 2022 through January 15, 2023.
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Understand the Annual Reporting Process |
As part of maintaining PCMH Recognition, each year NCQA Recognized practices undergo an Annual Reporting process. Practices attest to continuing to meet PCMH criteria and submit data and documentation.
At the conclusion of this webinar, you will be able to:
- Outline PCMH Annual Reporting requirements.
- Describe the Annual Reporting process, including timelines, submission and audit.
- Interpret Annual Reporting requirements for reporting year 2023
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HRSA Rural Virtual Job Fair |
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Virtual Job Fairs are free online recruitment events that connect career-seeking health care professional with representatives from health care facilities across the country.
Learn more about job opportunities, hear details about benefit packages, and find out how you can help underserved communities.
Connect with representatives from 36 health care facilities serving rural areas that are recruiting for hundreds of medical, nursing, dental, and behavioral health job opportunities in more than 36 disciplines.
This webinar will be November 16, 2022 from 6-9:30 PM.
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West Virginia Officials Concerned RSV Cases Could Further Strain Hospitals |
Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, has the potential to cause more complications for West Virginia’s health care systems, said officials..
RSV, along with the latest COVID-19 variants and the onset of flu season, could put further strain on hospitals and health care facilities already dealing with staffing shortages and other logistical issues.
“COVID may become a bit of an issue over the winter, plus with RSV and influenza, these three infections are causing us concern,” said Dr. Clay Marsh, the state’s COVID-19 czar. “We talked about the shortage in staffing, but the people who are working in hospitals are also at risk for this.”
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Lung Cancer Awareness Month |
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than colon, breast and prostate cancers combined.
Cigarette smoking is the top risk factor for lung cancer, with the Centers for Disease Control estimating more than 80% of all cases are caused by tobacco use. Unfortunately, about 70% of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage when survival rates are low.
Lung Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to educate the community about screening for lung cancer and how to reduce the risk for getting the disease.
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Uniform Data System Preliminary Reporting Environment Launch Delayed |
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has delayed the launch of the 2022 Uniform Data System (UDS) Preliminary Reporting Environment (PRE) by one week to accommodate some additional features in HRSA’s Electronic Handbooks (EHBs). The PRE will now open on Friday, November 4.
As of that date, Health Center Program awardees and look-alikes will be able to access the PRE through the EHBs reporting portal. The PRE allows you to enter and validate data before the UDS reporting period officially begins on Sunday, January 1, 2023.
Learn more about the PRE by attending the upcoming TA webinar:
Thursday, November 10 | 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET
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The Great American Smokeout |
The Great American Smokeout is observed every year on the third Thursday of November. This event, organized by the American Cancer Society, aims to encourage people in America to quit smoking, or at least make a plan to quit. On this day, smokers are challenged to not smoke for at least 24 hours, in what will hopefully inspire them to take the first step in quitting.
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Funding and Financial Resources |
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Federal Funding for Rural Telemedicine |
Rural hospitals and clinics fill a life-saving role to thousands of communities across the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that in 2020 46 million people resided in non-urban areas of the country. This is believed to have increased recently due to the migration of urban dwellers out of cities due to COVID-19.
Many rural hospitals and clinics are shutting their doors causing people to travel greater distances for critical health care. In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported that 80 rural hospitals had closed their doors during the previous seven years. This is why state and federal programs are important in assisting these facilities in keeping their doors open.
More and more, healthcare is being delivered to rural communities by medical specialists located many miles away in urban locales. This is done through the use of digital applications such as virtual telemedicine visits and physicians’ remote consultations with specialists. These applications utilize large bandwidth data circuits that connect rural areas to larger cities where the specialists reside.
The FCC’s Rural Health Care (RHC) program helps fund these high-cost circuits for health care providers. The RHC program provides support to eligible public and non-profit health care providers (HCPs). Eligible HCPs include any:
- Not-for-profit hospital
- Rural health clinic
- Post-secondary educational institution offering health care instruction, including a teaching hospital or medical school
- Community health center or health center providing health care to migrants
- Local health department or agency
- Community mental health center
- Skilled nursing facility
The RHC program provides discounts to eligible providers for services such as Internet, data circuits, voice and some equipment like routers and firewalls. It returns 65 percent of the cost of these services and you don’t have to change providers.
In 1997, the FCC established the program and caped the funding at $400 million annually and has since increased it to $571 million. This money has enabled rural facilities to not only access Internet services but increase the speed of their circuit to better handle the increasing load of data being pushed across their circuits. The RHC program runs from July 1 through next June 30 each cycle year. All applications must be submitted during the filing window that opens December 1 and closes April 1.
Once the applications are approved, the discounts are typically delivered through the service providers as credits on the monthly service invoices.
Geoff Boggs, President of USF Healthcare Consulting which assists over 1,200 facilities in 36 states, facilitates with the annual RHC program applications. Please contact Geoff via email or call at 502.228.1907 to learn more.
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Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Planning Grants Initial Announcement |
The purpose of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Planning Grants is to support states to develop and implement certification systems for CCBHCs, establish Prospective Payment Systems (PPS) for Medicaid reimbursable services, and prepare an application to participate in a four-year CCBHC Demonstration program.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) expects that the program will meaningfully involve consumers, youth, family members, and communities in the development, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of the state’s planning efforts to develop CCBHCs and prepare to apply for the CCBHC Demonstration. With the planning grants, SAMHSA aims to further expand opportunities for states to improve access to and delivery of coordinated, comprehensive behavioral health care through Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. SAMHSA plans to issue 15 awards of up to $1,000,000 per year for 1 year
Applications are due by Monday, December 19, 2022.
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Call for Applications: Grants To Start or
Expand Eye Health & Vision Care Programs
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The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) with the generous support of the Centene Corporation is now accepting applications from federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and look-alikes for $25,000 grants to help start or expand permanent and comprehensive eye health and vision care programs.
Vision loss causes substantial social and economic tolls, and eye health is critical to patients' overall health. However, many individuals in medically underserved areas face significant barriers to accessing eye health and vision care. Health centers are ideally suited to help patients access these vital services due to their focus on integrated care, but many organizations lack the resources to provide these services.
Since 2018, ACU has assisted 24 health centers in establishing and expanding permanent eye health and vision care programs. Descriptions of many of these programs are available on ACU's website. This year, we are excited to award up to five health centers with these new grants. Each organization will receive:
- $25,000 for the start-up or expansion of permanent and comprehensive eye health and vision care programs.
- Direct training and technical assistance from members of ACU's Vision Services Committee and other subject matter experts.
- Flyers to promote a patient-story program: each participating patient will receive a $100 gift card.
Interested in learning more? Read the flyer for more details and grant requirements.
Applications are due by December 31, 2022.
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Upcoming Training Opportunities |
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Trauma-Informed Leadership |
Join the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, as expert presenter, Cindy Manginelli of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, guides the audience through an introduction to trauma-informed leadership.
Cindy will provide strategies staff can use to build their own leadership skills, and those of others in their organization, to better serve employees with a history of personal or vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, moral distress, and moral injury.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
2:00 PM ET
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Concurrent Treatment of Smoking Cessation and SUD in Primary Care |
Join the National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) and the National Nurse-led Care Consortium (NNCC) in a webinar focused on strategies to support smoking cessation and substance use disorder (SUD) in primary care for residents of public housing. Speakers will present gaps in knowledge regarding policy related to public housing and smoking, more recently around the increased use and concern of vaping.
Subject matter experts will discuss the importance of clinical interaction, readiness to change, and implementation of motivational interviewing in mental health treatment while addressing substance use disorder. This session is intended for clinicians, RN care managers, social workers, and intake coordinators.
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
2:00 PM ET
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Community Health Center Resources |
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Jackson Kelly attorneys provide limited consultation to all members of the WVPCA at no charge, as part of the WVPCA contract. There is no limit to the number of calls which any member may make. All inquiries within the scope of professional competence of firm attorneys will be addressed. Inquiries which require expertise not available through the firm will be promptly identified and, when requested, Jackson Kelly will assist in referring the matter to accounting firms, insurance agents, or others as circumstances warrant.
All inquiries, responses and consultation services provided by the firm lawyers will be provided without additional charge beyond the retainer amount, except for matters which require formal opinions, representation of record in litigation, transactional work, e.g. the purchase or sale of real property, or matters which require continued representation, research or consultation beyond a single inquiry or document review.
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.
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Risk Management Manual for Health Centers Now Available! |
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.
Specific areas that are covered include:
Risk Management Programs & Plans
Claims and Lawsuits
Role of the Risk Manager
Patient Grievances and Complaints
Communication with Patients
Credentialing and Privileging
Communication among Providers, Staff, and Community Partners
Tracking Systems for Diagnostic Tests, Referrals, and Hospitalizations
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Debra Boyd | Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
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To sign up to receive the WVPCA Weekly Newsletter: |
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1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE
Charleston, WV 25314
Phone: 304.346.0032
Toll Free: 1.877.WVA HLTH
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This project is/was supported partially/fully by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number U58CS06834 State and Regional Primary Care Associations. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. |
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