On Tuesday, July 12, 2022, CHCAMS CEO Terrence M. Shirley welcomed Regional Director Antrell Tyson from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 4 office and Mississippi health care advocates to the Dr. Ollye Shirley media room at the Jackson Medical Mall in Jackson. Health Center leaders, and other health care advocates, briefed the regional director. Representatives from Congressman Bennie Thompson's office also participated in the briefing. The link to the WLBT-TV report of the visit is here.

From immunizations and sports physical promotions to backpack and school supply giveaways, health centers are gearing up to see youth in clinics to get ready for the 2022-23 school year. Most K-12 schools commence around the first of August in Mississippi. Health centers have been busy with outreach events and seeing patients in clinics!

Coastal Family Health Center has expanded services to Moss Point. A free-standing pharmacy recently opened and received media coverage on its ribbon cutting of the new facility. To see the story, click here.

National Health Center Week is an excellent opportunity for community health centers to celebrate accomplishments, increase community engagement and awareness, and invite elected officials and community stakeholders to our events. Please use the hashtag #NHCW and tag @CHCsofMS in your social media posts, so we can like and share.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is granting Mississippi final approval of its Statewide Transition Plan (STP) to bring settings into compliance with the federal home and community-based services (HCBS) regulations found at 42 CFR Section 441.301(c)(4)(5) and Section 441.710(a)(1)(2). Upon receiving initial approval for completion of its systemic assessment and outline of systemic remediation activities on May 25, 2017, the state worked diligently to make a series of technical changes requested by CMS in order to achieve final approval. The approval can be viewed here.

New! CMS Framework for Health Equity: On July 8, CMS released a new Framework for Health Equity as an update to the 2015 CMS Equity Plan for Medicare. The updated 10-year framework serves as a foundation for CMS to address health disparities across Medicaid, Medicare, and CHIP. It outlines five priorities that CMS plans to embed in its development of programs that better serve historically marginalized communities.

New! Families USA Issue Brief on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution: Families USA recently released a report on their findings related to equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution based on their Building a New Normal Vaccine Equity Initiative. The report outlines three policy recommendations for states to pursue as they focus on addressing inequities through continued vaccine efforts.

New! 2023 Proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule: Earlier this week, CMS released the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) of the 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule which aims to advance the agency’s overall value-based care strategy of growth, alignment, and equity. The rule includes the following proposals: changes to the operational and quality reporting/performance in the Medicare Shared Savings Program; modernizing coverage for behavioral health services; new coverage of certain dental services; allowing certain telehealth flexibilities to extend beyond the PHE; and expanding the list of billable providers. Comments are due September 6, 2022.

New! Guidance to Pharmacies on Reproductive Health Services: The Office for Civil Rights within Health and Human Services released guidance to retail pharmacies on safeguarding access to comprehensive reproductive health care services. It reminds pharmacies that as recipients of federal financial assistance, they are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in their programs and activities, per federal civil rights laws. This includes any discriminations regarding supplying medications, making determinations regarding the suitability of a prescribed medication for a patient, or advising patients about medications and how to take them. The guidance also provides examples of pharmacy situations that could be considered discrimination. 

Register Now! NACHC’s July 340B Office Hours: Join NACHC and 340B experts from the field on Thursday, July 21 from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. CT to discuss the latest operations, compliance, and 340B policy updates. July’s Office Hours will include a health center presentation from Howard Brown on their partnership with Louvir, a 340B data monitoring platform. Register for all upcoming office hours here. Contact regulatoryaffairs@nachc.org for questions.

COVID-19 Clearinghouse FY21-2022 Archives Accessible through Linktr.ee at https://linktr.ee/CHCAMS