Month: January 2022

Technical Assistance Opportunities Coming Soon…

Date: January 19, 2022

Quality and Equity Eligible Learning Collaborative (LC) Series

This virtual LC will focus on challenges and solutions specific to rural health providers to support improvement in health equity and reduction in health disparities. This interactive collaborative will include four live virtual one-hour learning sessions and additional brief readings and/or reflections between sessions to support understanding of disparities to address those. Registration to participate in this TA opportunity will open in February 2022. Stay tuned for more details.

2022 – 2023 RHPTP Application Opening February 2022

Date: January 19, 2022

The National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center) is excited to share that the Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) Project Year 2022 – 2023 application will be opening in February. Technical assistance will run from September 2022 through August 2023. Applications will be accepted on an open and rolling basis and may be submitted any time during the year. Applications will remain on file and eligible organizations will be considered for future openings. Stay tuned for further information next month!

Register for our upcoming HELP webinar!

Date: January 19, 2022

Register for our Upcoming Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) HELP Webinar

ACOs: A tool to achieve quality, savings, and a return on your investment

Webinar Date: Wednesday, February 02, 2022

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM Central Time

Speaker: Paul Kleeberg, MD

Accountable care organizations were designed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide incentives to increase the quality of care while reducing its cost. They also allow participants to share in some of the savings generated by this model. A key element is to manage patients from a preventive perspective by getting more insights into their care, anticipating their needs, and slowing their disease progression. This adds value to both the facility and its patients. By understanding and anticipating their needs, caregivers can optimize their patients’ health and improve their quality of life.

This presentation identifies the key elements in leading a successful Accountable Care Organization (ACO) to improve quality, reduce healthcare costs and enable you to share in the savings that you generate.

By attending this webinar, participants will be able to: 

  • Describe how ACOs contribute to Value-Based Care
  • Name the key elements in ACO success
  • Explain the value in documenting risk
  • Identify the benefits of transitional care management and ED follow-up

Register for this HELP webinar today!

Free at Home COVID-19 Test

Date: January 18, 2022

Get free at-home COVID-19 tests.  Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. Order your tests now so you have them when you need them.  https://www.covidtests.gov/

If you need a COVID-⁠19 test now, please see other testing resources for free testing locations in your area, or visit the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services COVID-19 FREE Testing webpage.

TODAY: Prepare Your EMS Agency for the No Surprises Act

Date: January 19, 2022

No Surprises Act Preparation for EMS

Speaker: Brian Werfel, Esq. & Scott Moore, Esq.

Webinar Today: January 19, 2022

Time: 1:00P ET

Free to Members

Register Now

Are you prepared for the consumer, staff and other parties’ questions that could be generated by the January 1, 2022, implementation of the No Surprises Act? While most ground ambulances are not included this could mean an additional need to communicate to patients why they are still getting a bill, and why ground ambulances were excluded. This can also provide you with the opportunity to proactively educate your patients on the costs of providing service. This webinar will provide a general overview of the Act’s requirements, steps that EMS agencies should take to prepare their staff and contracted partners for the questions they will inevitably receive, and an overview of balance billing tools and resources they can utilize at their agency to reduce the confusion.

American Ambulance Association Webinars

January 19 | Preparing Your Agency for the Implementation and Potential Confusion from the No Surprises Act
February 15 | Bad Bosses
On-Demand | On Demand | Quick Take: Steps for Cost Collection Readiness in January 2022
On-Demand | Prior Authorization for Dialysis Ambulance Transports: What You Need to Know for 2022
On-Demand | Facebook Live: Office Hours w Scott Moore

Special Announcement – New Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Funding Opportunity

Date: January 18, 2022

Rural Communities Opioid Response Program – Behavioral Health Care Support

Application Deadline: April 19, 2022

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), announced the availability of $13 million in funding to increase access to quality behavioral health care services in rural America through the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program–Behavioral Health Care Support (RCORP-BHS). RCORP-BHS is a part of the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), a multi-year initiative administered by HRSA that has provided over $400 million in direct grants and technical assistance to rural communities addressing behavioral health care challenges, including substance use disorder since 2018.

All domestic public and private entities, nonprofit and for-profit, are eligible to apply for RCORP-BHS, including, but not limited to, Rural Health Clinics, community- and faith-based organizations, and Federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations.

Approximately 26 award recipients will receive $500,000 each per year for a four-year period of performance. During the course of the grant, RCORP-BHS award recipients will implement activities that are aligned with the following overarching program goals:

  • Address structural- and systems-level barriers to improve rural residents’ access to quality, integrated SUD and other behavioral health care services.
  • Improve the quality and sustainability of rural behavioral health care services through supporting rural health care providers to offer coordinated, evidence-based, trauma-informed SUD and other behavioral health care services.
  • Improve the capacity of the behavioral health care system to address rural community risk factors and social determinants of health that affect the behavioral health of rural residents.  

Award recipients are required to be part of a consortium of four or more separately owned entities and all services must be provided in HRSA-designated rural areas. Additionally, award recipients will submit a Behavioral Health Disparities Impact Statement during the period of performance that details how their project will address health disparities within their target rural service areas.

FORHP will hold a technical assistance webinar for applicants on Thursday, February 3, 2022 from 1 – 2:30 p.m. ET. A recording will be made available for those who cannot attend. For dial-in information, view the NOFO on Grants.gov, click the Package tab, then Preview, and Download Instructions; technical assistance information is on page (ii). You do not need to register in advance for the webinar. Please email ruralopioidresponse@hrsa.gov for a link to the recording.

Applicants can begin the RCORP-Behavioral Health Care Support application process on Grants.gov and apply by Tuesday, April 19, 2022 at 11:59 PM, ET. Visit the Notice of Funding Opportunity for more information.

Happening Now: Ask Your NHSC Application Questions

Date: January 18, 2022

There is still time to apply for up to $100,000 in student loan repayment.

The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) knows the last two years have stretched clinicians in ways you never imagined, yet you continue to come to work each day, giving your best to those who need it most. 

NHSC also wants to relieve some of your burden by repaying the student loans that made your work possible. NHSC is awarding loan repayment to the most clinicians in program history and NHSC wants you to apply!

NHSC wants to thank you for serving – in community health centers, tribal health centers, rural clinics, and other NHSC-approved sites.

The NHSC Loan Repayment Program is accepting applications until Thursday, February 3 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Apply here!

Happening Now! 

NHSC Loan Repayment Program Q&A Session
TODAY, January 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET

Ask a Question

Application Help

HRSA Announces Loan Programs for Public Schools

Date: January 18, 2022

HRSA Announces School-Administered Loans for Public Schools

Applications accepted until: Tuesday, February 15, 11:59 pm ET.

The Health Services and Resources Administration (HRSA) is urging public schools and educational institutions to take advantage of its School-Administered Loans. These programs provide schools with funding to offer low, fixed-rate loans to students pursuing health care careers. 

The application process is simple for qualified public schools and educational institutions. HRSA anticipates that students receiving these loans will work in communities where people lack access to basic health care needs.

There are four loan programs to support eligible medical areas of study:

1.   Loans for Disadvantaged Students (LDS)

2.   Health Professions Student Loans (HPSL)

3.   Nursing Student Loans (NSL)

4.   Primary Care Loans (PCL)

Applicants are encouraged to apply to more than one loan program by submitting one application per program the applicant is interested in.

Find out which loan program is right for your institution and apply. 

Have questions? 

Join us for an informational webinar and Q&A session and get your questions answered in real time.

  • Wednesday, January 26, 2022
  • 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. ET. 

For dial-in only:

  • Phone Number: 833-568-8864
  • Meeting ID: 160 145 8254
  • Passcode: 87805195

Register to Attend: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Lunch n’ Learn – HIV & Diabetes

Date: January 18, 2022

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

On February 7, 2022, from 12-1 p.m., the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services will honor National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day by hosting a virtual Lunch n’ Learn. The topic for this event will be HIV and Diabetes. Alicia Jenkins, MSA and Chief of the Bureau of HIV, STDs, and Hepatitis will moderate the event with a presentation by Dr. Idethia Shevon Harvey, DrPH, FGSA; Associate Profession at the University of Missouri – Columbia, and Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence.

Date: February 7, 2022

Time: 12:00P – 1:00P CT

Link to Register.

Save-the-Date for the 2022 Quarterly Community Forums: Women – March 12 & 15, Older Adults/Disabilities – June 11 &14, Disease Intervention Specialist, HIV and Partner Services – September 10 & 13, and Ending the HIV Epidemic Year in Review – December 10 & 13.

#NBHAAD 2022

Supreme Court Upholds CMS Vaccine Mandate in All 50 States

Date: January 14, 2022

Today, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling to reinstate the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) COVID Vaccine Mandate policy in all 50 states.

For RHCs, this means that RHCs will be expected to comply with the Vaccine Mandate policy as soon as January 28th. There may be some additional time allowed for RHCs in states where this policy was blocked by the injunction, and the National Association of Rural Health Clinics assumes that CMS will re-issue or update this guidance with a clarification soon.

This ruling settles the on-again, off-again nature of this mandate for the time being. The Supreme Court did not rule on the fundamental constitutionality of the policy. Instead, they ruled on the authority of CMS to enforce this rule while the underlying court cases challenging the constitutionality of the rule work their way through the court system.

The bottom line is that RHCs should prepare their COVID vaccine mandate policies and procedures immediately. Eventually, all employees will need to be fully vaccinated, or properly granted a medical or religious exemption. For a detailed overview of the Vaccine mandate, please review the article here.