State Special Legislative Session
After three days of rigorous debate on over 80 bills, the Tennessee General Assembly passed an omnibus 21-page bill HB9077/SB9014 related to COVID-19 in the early morning hours of Saturday October 30th and then adjourned until January, or at the call of the Governor. Federally Qualified Health Centers, as healthcare facilities, were not included in the most detrimental sections of the bill and further protections were provided in the included exemptions. The bill has yet to be signed into law by Governor Lee. Without signature, the bill will become law and go into effect 10 days (excluding Sundays) upon receipt.
Specific provisions in the bill that do apply to health centers include:
- Prohibition of any health care provider from giving the COVID-19 vaccine to a child without parental consent
- Allowance of a physician to use their professional judgment in prescribing the monoclonal antibodies treatment for patients
- Extension of unemployment benefits to employees who voluntarily leave their place of employment because of their employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy, with retroactive applicability
The bill also addressed masking, proof of COVID-19 vaccination, mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, liability for mandated vaccination adverse effects and quarantining procedures, among other things in schools, business and government settings.
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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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Partner With TPCA in 2022!
Take advantage of TPCA’s opportunities to reach health center leadership and staff,
industry players, and community stakeholders!
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Infrastructure
Congress Passes Bi-partisan Infrastructure Package
On Friday, November 5, the House of Representatives passed the $1.2 trillion bi-partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The Senate passed the legislation in August and it will now head to President Biden for signature. The legislation includes $550 billion in new funding for traditional infrastructure, including roads, bridges, airports, and $65 billion to improve broadband.
House Rules Committee Releases Update Version of Build Back Better Act
The House Rules Committee released an updated version of the larger ‘social infrastructure’ package, the Build Back Better Act last week. The Build Back Better Act includes the following funding for community health centers:
- $2 billion for community health center infrastructure
- $3.37 billion for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program
- $2 billion for the National Health Service Corps
- $500 million for the Nurse Corps
The legislation includes several other health care provisions designed to strengthen Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including:
- ACA tax credits (including for populations in states that have not expanded Medicaid)
- Permanent expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
- Investments in outreach and enrollment
- 1 year of continuous Medicaid coverage for pregnant and postpartum individuals
- 1 year of continuous Medicaid coverage for children
- Drug pricing plan that includes Medicare negotiation for a limited set of drugs in Part B and D, inflationary rebates, and a cap on out-of-pocket spending on insulin.
House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) indicated the House may vote for the legislation as soon as November 15. Please consider reaching out to our members of the House and urging them to support the Build Back Better Act.
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340B
PROTECT 340B Act of 2021
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.
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Cherokee Health Systems is partnering with Noteworth, a virtual care delivery platform that uses remote patient monitoring, artificial intelligence and powerful data analysis tools to improve patient outcomes, to accelerate proactive interventions, boost clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, and reduce care costs.
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Mercy Community Healthcare hosted its annual Fall Dinner benefiting mental health services on Friday, October 29th at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin.
The event included multiple speakers, a catered meal, music by Director of Music and Liturgy John Angotti, and a silent auction.
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James Lovett, CEO of Mountain People’s Health Councils Inc., was recently featured on the Inside Scott podcast to talk about the various services offered by his clinics and how MPHC is striving to make Scott County healthier.
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ADDITIONAL NEWS & RESOURCES |
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Funding Opportunities
Substance Use Disorder
HRSA’s Office of Rural Health Policy recently released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for 50 grants of roughly $1 million each available to providers in underserved rural areas to enhance prevention and treatment of Substance Use Disorder. Community health centers are eligible to apply, provided they are part of an established network that includes at least three other separately-owned entities.
Applications are due January 13, 2022.
Residency Programs in Rural Areas
HRSA published a Notice of Funding Opportunity to make 14 awards to develop accredited residency programs in rural areas, for primary care and other disciplines. Each award would be for roughly $750,000 annually. These awards are described as “start-up funding” and long-term funding is not assured.
Applications are due December 20.
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Digital Health Equity Event
Solutions for an Equitable Future: Digital Health Tools and Primary Care
Thursday, November 18, 2021 | 2:00 PM ET
Virtual
This event will highlight the role that federal policy has on health care access and health equity.
This event will showcase the findings of the Digital Health Tools Study (DHTS), highlighting the
pandemic’s impact on primary care and other historically underserved health care settings,
followed by a reaction panel of experts representing a variety of perspectives including primary
care practice, payers, patients, and health technology.
- Assess national priorities related to health care access, digital health tools, and health equity
- Discuss key findings from the DHTS, including barriers and facilitators to adoption and use of technology
- Identify policy and practice changes adopted to support and expand use of digital health tools during the pandemic
Presented by Morehouse School of Medicine National Center for Primary Care in partnership with United Health Foundation.
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TPCA Staff Spotlight Award
Have you received exceptional support from a member of the TPCA staff?
Please take the opportunity to nominate a TPCA staff member for the Spotlight Award
and share your story of what they did for your community health center!
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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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