COVID-19 UPDATES & RESOURCES |
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Coming Soon: Health Center Testing Supply Programs
As part of the Biden Administration's “ Path Out of the Pandemic,” health centers will have the opportunity to receive testing supplies through two separate programs launching over the next several weeks.
The Point-of-Care Testing Distribution Program: Health Center Program award recipients and look-alikes will be able to order BD VeritorTM diagnostic testing supplies, including point-of-care analyzers and test kits, at no cost for use at in-scope service sites. At-Home Testing Distribution Program: Health Center Program award recipients and look-alikes will receive free, convenient, at-home rapid tests for use by patients, staff, and the community at-large.
HRSA will share additional information regarding both programs, including the specific tests available, how to access supplies, and estimated shipping times, in the coming weeks.
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Claims Reimbursement for Monoclonal Antibody Therapy
The HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program aligns claims reimbursement for monoclonal antibody therapy with the CMS guidance issued on November 10, 2020.
Per CMS’s Medicare Monoclonal Antibody COVID-19 Infusion Program Instruction, “During the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), Medicare will cover and pay for these infusions the same way it covers and pays for COVID-19 vaccines (when furnished consistent with the EUA).” Information regarding coding and pricing can be found in the Medicare Monoclonal Antibody COVID-19 Infusion Program Instruction (PDF - 200 KB).
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Vaccine Mandate
Under CMS, community health centers are considered a “facility” and will need to comply as a condition for participating in the Medicare and Medicaid program. CMS is developing an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period that will be issued in October to provide more information.
TPCA is working closely with our federal partners to analyze the situation and provide updates as they become available.
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Roundtable Discussion with White House Vaccine Coordinator
On Thursday, September 23rd, TPCA members met with Dr. Bechara Choucair, White House Vaccination Coordinator, at Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center.
Dr. Choucair oversees the national vaccination efforts for the Biden Administration and met with community health center CEOs to learn more about vaccination efforts in CHCs, successes and challenges community health centers have experienced in vaccinating people against COVID-19, and to learn how the administration can better support community health centers in their vaccination efforts.
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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 TPCA’s 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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TTA Needs Assessment Launched to all Health Centers!
You may be aware that the 21-NTTAPs are currently fielding the National TTA Needs Assessment, which was delayed from the Spring in consideration of emergency operations and survey fatigue at health centers. The purpose of the assessment is to learn the professional development needs of health center staff at all levels of the organization across BPHC’s operational excellence domains. NACHC is charged by BPHC to coordinate the development, fielding and analysis on behalf of the 21-NTTAPs. The assessment was piloted in May with a small group of health centers.
- HRSA/BPHC requests the national training needs assessment to inform the development of TTA necessary to support health centers improve access to primary care as well as to advance quality and impact.
- All health center staff are invited to take this 20-minute assessment.
- The ultimate goal of this assessment is to help health centers rebuild in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure they are able to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving health system.
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Infrastructure
House committees with jurisdiction over portions of the $3.5 trillion social infrastructure package completed the process of drafting, marking up, and approving the legislation.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s legislation included $10 billion for community health center infrastructure and $6.3 billion for workforce. The House Energy and Commerce Committee also included provisions to expand Medicaid, stabilize the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, and expand Medicare coverage to include dental, vision, and hearing.
This portion of the package has been sent to the Rules Committee, which must compile the bills passed by each committee into a single bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) aims to pass the $3.5 trillion package by the end of September.
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Federal Budget
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current levels through December 3rd and to raise the debt ceiling, the cap on how much the federal government can borrow. The measure now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have indicated they will oppose the package. Congress has until September 30, the end of the fiscal year to pass funding to avert a partial government shutdown.
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340B
Representatives McKinley (R-WV) and Spanberger (D-VA) introduced the PROTECT 340B Act to combat discriminatory reimbursement policies that threaten health centers’ abilities to provide patients with 340B-eligible medications. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY), the House Republican Chair recently signed onto the PROTECT 340B Act and issued a press release expressing her support for the 340B program.
Please consider reaching out to your Members of Congress and asking them to support H.R. the PROTECT 340B Act of 2021.
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The Memphis Health Center held an event that helped both hungry people and people that needed COVID clinic services. The event included both a drive-thru food pantry and vaccination clinic Saturday in Piperton.
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More than 37 businesses, groups have signed on to 'Nashville Takes on Covid' campaign. The 'Nashville Takes on Covid' is composed of a coalition of health care providers and other organizations in Nashville that will launch on Monday. The campaign, which has content in both English and Spanish, asks Nashvillians to wear masks and get vaccinated to help stop the spread of COVID-19 infections.
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Neighborhood Health and Pruitt’s Discount Pharmacy debuted a full-service pharmacy, as the two organizations look to provide accessible pharmacy access to underserved communities.
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Last week, HHS awarded over $48 million to expand HIV prevention and treatment, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) related services, outreach, and care coordination.
Tennessee received one award totaling $338,735 in funding for Tri-State Community Health Center.
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ADDITIONAL NEWS & RESOURCES |
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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 an award totaling $1,830,669, with 15 percent 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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