COVID-19 Vaccine Resources: What Partners Need to Know Now

As COVID-19 vaccines continue rolling out across the country, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking action to protect the health and safety of our nation’s patients and providers and keeping you updated on the latest COVID-19 resources from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and CMS.

With information coming from many different sources, CMS has up-to-date resources and materials to help you share important and relevant information on the COVID-19 vaccine with the people that you serve. You can find these and more resources on the COVID-19 Partner Resources Page and the HHS COVID Education Campaign page. CMS looks forward to partnering with you to promote vaccine safety and encourage beneficiaries to get vaccinated when they have the opportunity. For more information, visit the CMS COVID-19 Policies and Guidance page.

Know What Telehealth Resources are Available

CMS updated policy changes effective January 1, 2021, which included adding services to the Medicare telehealth list during the public health emergency during for the pandemic. See the fact sheet and the list of services payable under the Medicare PFS, which includes office visits, psychotherapy, consultations and other medical or health services, for more information. Providers may also find the CMS COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Toolkit helpful for coverage on administering the vaccine.

Medicaid covers some telehealth services, but coverage differs from state to state. CMS developed a Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth toolkit to help states accelerate adoption of broader telehealth coverage policies in the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) during the COVID-19 emergency.

In response to the increased use and expanded coverage of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, From Coverage to Care (C2C) released two new resources to support providers and patients in making the most of virtual care:

Telehealth for Providers: What You Need to Know Providers can learn how and when to use telehealth. Topics include how to set up telehealth services, how to conduct a successful visit, and how to keep up to date on telehealth payment (particularly for Medicare and Medicaid).

Telehealth: What to Know for Your Family – Patients can find out the types of care they can receive through telehealth, how to prepare for an appointment, what to expect during a visit, and more. This resource is also available in Spanish.

Providers and partners can download graphics to post on their social media channels and help spread the word about these new resources. All of these resources can be downloaded at go.cms.gov/c2ctelehealth

For more information, please contact us at: Partnership@cms.hhs.gov. 

Speaking of Vaccinations: An interactive Peer Learning Event

March 30, 2021
11:30 AM to 12 PM CST
Register Here to Participate Live or Access a Recording of the Event!

Have you ever wondered about the effectiveness or efficiency of your COVID-19 vaccination and management efforts? Are you curious about what other organizations, like yours, are doing to ensure their staff and patients are getting vaccinated? Or have you wondered about ways to help educate people who are reluctant to get vaccinated or want to learn more?

Then join the Health Quality Innovation Network (HQIN) and our community partners for a short 30-minute conversation with a Community Health Center in Virginia. Participants will have an opportunity to share successes, barriers, ideas, ask questions and connect with their HQIN Physician Practice peers.

This an opportunity to learn from each other and help HQIN tailor future vaccination learning events for you. Register now to participate live in this important event on March 30, 2021, or watch a recording at your convenience after the event.

Rural Health Workforce Conference

The Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA), in partnership with Missouri University School of Medicine and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), will host the Rural Health Workforce Conference Thursday, April 22 through Saturday, April 24, 2021.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, the conference will no longer be held in-person and will instead be entirely virtual. Participants are encouraged to safely attend from home. Updates will continue to be provided if more changes occur.

Tickets are $50 and refunds are not available. Links to access the virtual conference will be sent out prior to the event.

Click here for the conference link.

Click here to register.

BPHC Bulletin: American Rescue Plan Act Funding to Health Centers Announced

Today, the White House announced plans for the Department of Health and Human Services, through Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to invest more than $6 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act into HRSA-funded health centers nationwide to expand COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, and treatment for vulnerable populations; deliver preventive and primary health care services to people at higher risk for COVID-19; and expand health centers’ operational capacity during the pandemic and beyond, including modifying and improving physical infrastructure and adding mobile units. HRSA will provide funding starting in April to nearly 1,400 health centers.

Health centers will have 60 days following the upcoming fiscal year 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (H8F) Funding for Health Centers award release to submit information about planned activities and costs to be supported by the funding. Visit the H8F technical assistance page for the award submission guidance, information about upcoming question and answer sessions for recipients, and more.

For detailed information on how this funding is being distributed to health centers, including an interactive map of health centers that will receive funding, please visit the H8F awards page.

Join the first of two question and answer sessions for award recipients.

April 8, 2021
1:00-2:00 PM ET
Join the day of the session
If you prefer to join by phone: 833-568-8864.
When prompted, enter meeting/webinar ID: 160 299 2757.

Webinar: HIV and Hepatitis C in Rural Areas: Prevalence, Service Availability, and Challenges

Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Time: 10:00 AM Pacific, 11:00 AM Mountain, 12:00 PM Central, 1:00 PM Eastern
Website: ruralhealthresearch.org/webinars/hiv-and-hepatitis-c
Zoom Link: https://und.zoom.us/j/97215444909

Speakers will highlight findings from recent work on estimating HIV prevalence and maternal hepatitis C prevalence in rural areas across the U.S. Speakers will also discuss findings from a qualitative study on the challenges and promising practices in addressing HIV and hepatitis C outbreaks in rural areas. Presenters for this webinar include Katherine Ahrens and Amanda Burgess from the Maine Rural Health Research Center.

Coverage to Care: Telehealth Resources

In response to the increased use and expanded coverage of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, From Coverage to Care (C2C) released two new resources to support providers and patients in making the most of virtual care:

  • Telehealth for Providers: What You Need to Know – Providers can learn how and when to use telehealth. Topics include how to set up telehealth services, how to conduct a successful visit, and how to keep up to date on telehealth payment (particularly for Medicare and Medicaid).
  • Telehealth: What to Know for Your Family – Patients can find out the types of care they can receive through telehealth, how to prepare for an appointment, what to expect during a visit, and more. This resource is also available in Spanish.

Providers and partners can download graphics to post on their social media channels and help spread the word about these new resources. All of these resources can be downloaded at go.cms.gov/c2ctelehealth

FORHP Announcements

March 25, 2021

HHS: Health Disparities by Race/Ethnicity During the Pandemic. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released a report with existing data on rates for infection, hospitalization, death, and vaccination by race and ethnicity. The brief discusses the drivers of these disparities, and offers policy recommendations for achieving health equity.

New: Coverage to Care Telehealth Resources. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released two new resources to support the use of telehealth. The first educates patients on what to expect during a telehealth visit, and the second supports providers in how to conduct a successful telehealth visit and how to keep up to date on Medicare and Medicaid telehealth payments. Social media graphics are also available.

CDC: Urban-Rural Differences in Drug Overdose Death Rates, 1999-2019. A new brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports on a higher rate of overdose deaths due to heroin and cocaine in urban areas. In rural areas, however, overdose rates were higher for natural and semisynthetic opioids, synthetic opioids (excluding methadone), and psychostimulants with abuse potential.

NIHB Legislative and Policy Agenda for Indian Health. The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) is a non-profit organization focusing on health care priorities for American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes. This annual report lists issue areas ranging from COVID-19 response to telehealth capacity to water and sanitation infrastructure.

Management of Stimulant Use Disorder

Health Center Clinician Office Hours

Management of Stimulant Use Disorder

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern

 Please join the National Clinician Consultation Center (NCCC) in partnership with the Health Resources & Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care for this webinar, developed for health center clinicians.

 The misuse of stimulants, comprised of methamphetamine, cocaine, and other amphetamines, is a growing public health crisis across the United States. In this webinar, a consultant from the National Substance Use Warmline (855-300-3595) will provide a detailed discussion of both well-studied and emerging practices in the management of stimulant use disorder. The goal of this webinar is for participants to more confidently assess and manage the care of patients with stimulant use disorder.  

 Following the webinar, participants will be able to:

1. Identify common trends impacting the care of patients with stimulant use disorder

2. Understand key components of evidence-based behavioral therapies that aid treatment

3. Discuss promising pharmacologic strategies in the treatment of stimulant use disorder

4. Feel equipped with practical knowledge to help optimize the primary care experience for patients with stimulant use disorder

Speaker Information:

Nicky Mehtani, MD, MPH is an internist specializing in Addiction Medicine and HIV. She is a consultant with the NCCC and works with the San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Street Medicine team as Medical Director of the HIV Homeless Outreach & Mobile Engagement (HHOME) program. Dr. Mehtani is a graduate of the Primary Care Addiction Medicine Fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco, where she currently serves as a volunteer Clinical Instructor and attends on the inpatient Addiction Consult Team at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. She completed an internal medicine residency and studied public health and medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.

Register in Advance:

https://ucsf.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUqcuyhpjkpHdK1vJQ8a4g3LZzIQ9C4kp1S

Participants will receive instructions on accessing the event with the above link.