Rural Spotlight

MCH Training and Research Alert, Volume 18:07 Available Now

July 17, 2023

MCH Training and Research Alert, Volume 18:07 Available Now

The Maternal Child Health (MCH) Training and Research Alert, Volume 18:07 is now available.

Topics include:

HRSA Funding Opportunities:

Informational:

Training & Educational

Training & Educational Webinars

Training & Educational: Webinar Archive

Click Here for Recent Issues of the Alert

Tips and Tools for Completing the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Application

July 17, 2023

Tips and Tools for Completing the Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Application

The Pediatric Specialty Loan Repayment Program application is open now through July 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Gathering and submitting the necessary documents is an important part of the application process. Review the criteria listed in the Application Program Guidance (pages 37-39) and have the following documents ready.

  • Proof of Status as a United States citizen, national or a permanent resident – You may include a copy of a birth certificate, the ID page of a current United States passport, a certificate of citizenship, or naturalization of copy of Permanent Resident Card (greencard). Note: Copies of a driver’s license or a Social Security card are not acceptable documents.
  • Health Professional License, Certification or Registration – Submit proof of tour current, full, permanent, unencumbered, unrestricted health professional license, certificate or registration (whichever is applicable), with an expiration date in the state in which you intend to practice under or from any state if practicing in a federal site.
  • Health Professional License, Certification or Registration – Submit proof of completion of your health professional degree.
  • Loan Information Verification – Provide two types of documentation for each loan that is being submitted for consideration.

Account Statement. This document is used to provide current information on your eligible loans. Often borrowers receive monthly statements indicating the status of your loan balance.

Disbursement Report. This report is used to verify the originating loan information.

  • Additional Supplemental Documentation (if applicable):
    • Specialty Certification
    • Postgraduate Training
    • Completion Verification
    • Postgraduate Training Acceptance or Good Standing Verification
    • Substance Use Disorder Certification/License
    • Verification of Existing Service Obligation

Final Q & A Session:

Thursday, July 20, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET

Join on Zoom

Complete Your Application

For application or password reset questions contact: Customer Care Center 1-800-221-9393 or TTY: 1-877-897-9910

Registration is Open for the 2023 NTP Virtual Workshops

July 14, 2023

Registration is Open for the 2023 NTP Virtual Workshops

Registration for the 2023 CMS National Training Program (NTP) virtual workshops is now open.

Please click on the hyperlinked event title(s) to register for each event that you are interested in attending. You will be prompted to log into the NTP webpage. To log in, use the same email address and password you use to register for all NTP webinars. If you don’t have an account you’ll need to create on before you can complete registration.

After you register for an event, you’ll get an email confirmation which will include a calendar appointment.

Please email NTPHelp@cms.hhs.gov if you need help with your account or registration.

Sessions will start at 1:00 p.m. and conclude no later than 3:30 p.m. ET.

Sessions will be recorded for later viewing.

Training Schedule:

July 2023

This workshop will explain drug coverage under the different parts of Medicare and describe how Medicare drug coverage (Part D) works, coverage rules, eligibility, enrollment, and Extra Help.

This workshop will explain Medicare health plan options other than Original Medicare with a primary focus on Medicare Advantage (sometimes called Medicare Part C).

 

Qualifying for Medicare based on a disability is different from qualifying based on End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) or age. This workshop will explore the enrollment process and unique scenarios like returning to work while getting disability benefits. We’ll also discuss programs that can help with medical costs.

August 2023

This workshop will explain different payers’ responsibilities when people have both Medicare and certain other types of health and/or prescription drug coverage.

This workshop will walk through examples of Medicare coverage scenarios in a casework format to evaluate the case, review possible resources and options, and discuss appropriate solutions.

This workshop will explain Medicare for people with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). It includes information on eligibility and enrollment, coverage and health plan options, and provides additional resources.

This workshop will explain tax-favored health programs and basic information about how those programs work with Medicare.

This workshop will demonstrate how to shop and compare Medicare plan options using Medicare Plan Finder on Medicare.gov.

This workshop will explain CMS current priorities, initiatives, and recent programmatic updates.

NOTES:

  • Registration requests will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis until each session reaches capacity. The number of attendees from the same organization may be limited. If any session reaches capacity, we’ll work to schedule an additional offering for a later date.
  • Session materials will be available for download at the time of the events.

The NTP website has been redesigned. Even though the website may look different from when you registered, you won’t have to re-register for any of the events.

Now Accepting Applications: Virtual/Onsite Technical Assistance for Small Rural Hospitals and RHCs

July 14, 2023

Now Accepting Applications: Virtual/Onsite Technical Assistance for Small Rural Hospitals and RHCs

The Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) supported by FORHP and the National Rural Health Resource Center is now accepting applications for one year of virtual/onsite technical assistance for small rural hospitals and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) certified rural health clinics (RHCs).

Hospitals must meet all three eligibility requirements listed below; clinics must only meet the “rural area” requirement listed below:

  • “Eligible small rural hospital” is defined as a non-federal, short-term general acute care hospital that:
    • Is located in a rural area as defined in 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d) and
    • Has 49 available beds or less, as reported on the hospital’s most recently filed Medicare Cost Report
  • “Rural area” is defined as either:
    • Located outside of a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
    • Located within a rural census tract of a MSA, as determined under the Goldsmith Modification or the rural Urban Commuting Areas
    • Is being treated as if being located in a rural area pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1395ww(d)(8)(E)
  • Eligible hospitals may be for-profit or not-for-profit, including faith-based. Hospitals in U.S. territories as well as tribally operated hospitals under Titles I and V of P.L. 93-638 are eligible to the extent that such hospitals meet the above criteria

Additional Requirements

  • Must not be a current participant in an advanced payment Model
  • Must be financially stable
  • Must be interested in and motivated to becoming part of an APM
  • Must, if a small rural hospital, be meeting the quality data reporting requirements of Inpatient Quality Reporting, Outpatient Quality Reporting or the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project
  • Must not be a current participant in the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program, the Vulnerable Rural Hospital Project, the Small Rural Hospital Transition Project, or any other program that is duplicative in services

Applications are due August 15

Click Here to apply

Webinar: Rural Emergency Preparedness Resources

July 14, 2023

Webinar: Rural Emergency Preparedness Resources

Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) is hosting a webinar on accessing emergency preparedness and response resources for rural communities. This is the last webinar in a 3-part webinar series. Presenters will share local, state, and federal perspectives on how rural communities can access needed resources when responding to and recovering from a disaster or emergency.

Hear from a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Resilience Analyst working with state, local, and tribal emergency preparedness professionals in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming to better prepare, respond, and recover from disasters.

This webinar and the related Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response Toolkit were supported with funding from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

High-speed internet is required to participate

Cost: Free

When: Tuesday, July 18, 12:00 p.m. CT

Register Here

Connection details will be emailed to you immediately upon registration

NRHA Webinars Address Patient Surges, Utilizing Swing Beds

July 13, 2023

NRHA Webinars Address Patient Surges, Utilizing Swing Beds

NRHA Partner Eagle Telemedicine is hosting a webinar at 2 p.m. CDT July 19 on addressing patient surges and rising costs in rural health care. Gain insight into leveraging telemedicine for cost-effective recruitment and round-the-clock patient care. NRHA Partner will host a webinar at 1 p.m. CDT July 27 on swing bed culture and attention to wellness vital to rural health care. Transitional care makes available the full resources of the CAH and focuses on measured outcomes and evidence-based processes to ensure patients get the best care possible. Interested in discussing CAH-specific opportunities like these with experts? Join NRHA’s 22nd CAH Conference September 27 – 29 in Kanas City.

Register Here for “Addressing Patient Surges and Rising Costs in Rural Healthcare” webinar, July 19, 2 p.m.

Register Here for “Swing Bed Culture and Attention to Wellness Vital to Rural Health Care” webinar, July 27, 1 p.m.

Register Here for NRHA’s 22nd CAH Conference

Rural Horizons: Karriem Watson Dispels Rural Health Myths

July 13, 2023

Rural Horizons: Karriem Watson Dispels Rural Health Myths

The latest issue of NRHA’s Rural Horizons, the association’s quarterly magazine, is now available online featuring three new articles on timely topics including dispelling rural health research myths with All of Us Research Program Chief Engagement Officer Karriem Watson.

During his 20-year career in public health education and research, Watson has seen firsthand the power of community engagement. All of Us is a national initiative aimed at engaging more than one million people from diverse communities to share health data so researchers can advance precision medicine.

“When you make relationships and build partnerships that are authentic and based on trust and aligned and shared priorities, it dispels a lot of the myths that some populations ‘don’t want to participate’ in research,” Watson says.

Rural Horizons features articles carefully selected to engage and inform everyone working to improve rural health care. You can subscribe in print by becoming an NRHA member. Email the editors to submit an abstract for potential publication, get information on editorial content, or purchase issues.

Subscribe Here

Submit an Abstract

How Can We Change the Perception of ‘Flyover County?’

July 13, 2023

How Can We Change the Perception of ‘Flyover County?’

Thought leadership and highlighting innovation are crucial to the media strategy for Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health, an NRHA member, helping change the perception that the upper Midwest is just “flyover country”.

NRHA recently launched the Faces of Rural Campaign to showcase the power of rural communities and shift the dialogue used to discuss and celebrate them.

You can share the faces of your rural community and the stories behind them on social media by using #FacesOfRural.

As an organization made up of diverse and passionate members and staff, NRHA is proud to lead the way in championing this effort.

Read Article

Faces of Rural Campaign

Faces of Rural Video

Hospitals to Receive $9B in Proposed 340B Remedy

July 13, 2023

Hospitals to Receive $9B in Proposed 340B Remedy

CMS would pay 340B-eligible hospitals $9 billion to offset payment cuts the Supreme Court deemed unlawful, the agency said in a proposed rule. The federal agency estimates that from 2018 through approximately the third quarter of 2022, certain 340B providers received $10.5 billion less in 340B drug payments than they would have without the policy. In June, 2022, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against the 340B payment rates, considering them unlawful because HHS failed to conduct survey of hospitals’ acquisition costs.

NRHA has curated advocacy campaigns for the latest issues and legislation so you can act today to urge Congress to protect 340B.

Click Here to Read More

Protect 340B

Medicare Cost Report Preparation Training

July 13, 2023

Medicare Cost Report Preparation Training

The American Institute for Healthcare Compliance (AIHC) has partnered with KraftCPAs LLC to bring you this exciting program and opportunity to certify as a cost report specialist. This training camp is designed for novice or seasoned cost report preparers who would like to enhance their skillset by obtaining a professional certification.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  • Prerequisites: Basic Knowledge of the preparation of Medicare cost reports, with some experience either gathering information for cost reports or actively preparing cost reports for an institutional healthcare organization.
  • Advanced Preparation: A number of documents will be provide electronically, before camp begins. Each attendee is responsible for reviewing the documents prior to the first day of camp.
  • Program Level: Basic
  • Instructional Delivery Method: Group Live
  • A hard copy training manual is provided at camp. Additional training materials are provided to you electronically

Who should attend:

  • Chief Financial Officers
  • Accounting Staff
  • Revenue Cycle Professionals
  • Reimbursement Professionals
  • Employees tasked with gathering information for Medicare cost reports, at healthcare organizations

Upon registration you are given ready access to downloadable information such as:

  • COVID and Cost Reporting
  • Overview of DSH
  • FAQ
  • E-Filing requirements
  • Documentation Requirements
  • Abbreviations & Terms
  • Sample cost report
  • Cost Report and Compliance Video

This program has been approved for 18 continuing education units (CEUs) by the American Institute of Healthcare Compliance. CEUs may be applied towards the Ethics or HIPAA Category CEU Renewal Requirements for all AIHC credentials.

Participants will earn 12 CPE credits/Field of Study: Specialized Knowledge

Participants must attend both days to earn CEU/CPE certificate.

When: October 24-25, 2023

Where: Dallas, TX

Cost:

  • AIHC members pay $695
  • Non-members (public) pay $825

Download Packet w/Camp Syllabus

Click here to register