NEBRASKA RURAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION
Past Newsletters
September 2007
In This Issue: NeRHA E-News -
March 2008
• HRSA Proposes Rule to Revise, Combine HPSAs, MUPs
HPSAs, MUPs• NRHA’s 31st Annual Rural Health Conference
• EMS.gov Goes Live
• Two new grants available!
• HHS Secretary Invites Communities to Apply for an Innovative Electronic Health Record Demonstration Project
• Proposed Project: Data Collection Tool for Rural Health Community-Based Grant Programs
HRSA Proposes Rule to Revise, Combine HPSAs, MUPs
The notice, Designation of Medically Underserved Populations and Health Professional Shortage Areas; Proposed Rule, printed in February 29, 2008 Federal Register, consolidates the criteria for designating medically underserved populations (MUPs) and health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) into a single new methodology called the Index of Primary Care Underservice.
The proposed rule meets goals of the revision, which were to:
• create a simpler system for those who seek designation by consolidating the two existing procedures and their sets of criteria;
procedures and their sets of criteria;• incorporate better measures of health status and access;
• improve identification of new, currently undesignated areas of need and currently designated areas no longer in need; and
• minimize unnecessary disruption.
“The new methodology offers a significant improvement in the identification of communities experiencing limited access to primary care services,” HRSA Administrator Elizabeth Duke said. “The revisions will help the Department target resources more effectively to areas of greater relative need.” The MUP and HPSA designations currently are used in a number of HHS programs. The major use of MUP designations is to determine health centers' eligibility to receive federal grants, since health centers are required to serve medically underserved populations.
The major use of HPSA designations is by the National Health Service Corps; the NHSC relies on HPSA designations to assign clinicians, who must serve in areas with shortages of health professionals. HHS' Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services uses geographic and population-based HPSA designations among the criteria to determine if an entity qualifies as a Rural Health Clinic, a status that results in special methods of determining Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement . The Index of Primary Care Underservice will provide CMS and HRSA with a single measurement for identifying underserved areas and populations.
Additionally, federal government agencies and state health departments can recommend waiver of the return-home requirements for an International Medical Graduate physician who came to the United States on a J-1 visa in return for three years of service by that physician in a particular HPSA. A 60-day public comment period commences from the date the notice appeared in the Federal Register. Information on submitting comments is included in the FR notice.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week proposed a new rule that will improve the way underserved areas and populations are designated and target federal resources to the people and communities who need them most.
EMS.gov Goes Live
The Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) at NHTSA is pleased to announce the launch of http://www.ems.gov/.
This innovative Web site, developed to meet the varied needs of the EMS community, contains not only the latest news from OEMS - but also functions as a portal to other EMS Web sites and resources. Here you'll find background and updates on groundbreaking Federal initiatives and programs, including Emergency Medical Services for Children, the National EMS Information System, the Federal Interagency Committee on EMS, Enhanced 9-1-1 and Next Generation 9-1-1, the National EMS Advisory Council, and more.
Clearly our Nation's EMS Community is too diverse for a single Web site to meet all its informational needs. But by providing links and contact information for other trusted resources, EMS.gov strives to provide EMS professionals and stakeholders with the closest thing to a "one-stop shop" for Federal EMS Information available online today.
HHS Secretary Invites Communities to Apply for an Innovative Electronic Health Record Demonstration Project
This initiative is also part of HHS’ bold vision for health care reform built on the four cornerstones of value-driven health care, and a major step toward the President’s goal of most Americans having access to a secure, interoperable electronic health record by 2014.
“Communities have a tremendous opportunity to help transform health care delivery starting at the local level,” Secretary Leavitt said. “Broad adoption of interoperable electronic health records has the potential not only to improve the quality of care provided, but also to change the way medicine is practiced and delivered.”
Over a five-year period, financial incentives will be provided to as many as 1,200 physician practices that use certified electronic health records to improve quality as measured by their performance on specific clinical quality measures. In addition to the incentive payments, bonus payments may be awarded based on a standardized survey measuring the number of EHR functionalities a physician group has incorporated into its practice. Total payments under the demonstration for all five years may be up to $58,000 per physician or $290,000 per practice. On average, it is expected that approximately $3.5 million in incentive payments will be made to participating physician practices in each of the 12 sites under this demonstration.
“By implementing this demonstration project in a dozen health markets across the country, we’ll help move this nation toward a system that delivers better quality health care at lower cost for more Americans,” Kerry Weems, Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said.
The application period is open now through early May for communities interested in becoming one of the pilot program’s 12 sites. CMS expects that the demonstration will start with four communities in 2008, with the remainder beginning in 2009. Once communities have been selected, CMS will begin working with the communities to recruit physician practices for participation in the demonstration.
HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt called on community leaders across the country to collaborate and apply for a new demonstration project that provides Medicare incentive payments to physicians for the use of certified electronic health records to improve patient care. The project, which will be open to small- and medium-sized primary-care physician practices, is expected to reduce medical errors and improve the quality of care for an estimated 3.6 million Americans..
NRHA’s 31st Annual Rural Health Conference
Sign up now for the NRHA’s 31st Annual Rural Health Conference in New Orleans, LA!
The NRHA’s largest conference, drawing more than 1,000 rural health attendees annually, will be held this year May 7-10th at the Sheraton New Orleans, just steps from the French Quarter.
Two new grants available!
Applications are available through HRSA’s Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement (Rural Quality) grant program to fund as many 60 rural public, non-profit or private healthcare providers, such as a critical access hospitals or rural health clinics, totaling $4.5 million in FY08 awards. Rural Quality funding helps improve patient care and chronic disease outcomes for patients with diabetes and CVD by assisting rural primary care providers with the implementation of quality improvement strategies. Improving the quality of chronic disease management in primary care settings can improve health indicators and decrease emergency room visits or admissions to hospitals.
Awards are expected to be made by Sept. 1. Access guidance on www.grants.gov. When searching for this grant opportunity, input announcement number HRSA-08-058 and CFDA number 93.912.
SAMHSA accepting applications for grants for substance abuse treatment programs servicing minorities with HIV/AIDS
Application deadline: March 27, 2008
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is soliciting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2008 Targeted Capacity Expansion Program for Substance Abuse Treatment and HIV/AIDS Services. This program aims at enhancing and expanding substance abuse treatment and/or outreach and pretreatment services provided in conjunction with HIV/AIDS services performed in the African American, Latino/Hispanic, and other racial and ethnic communities highly affected by the epidemics of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS. It is expected that $19.8 million will be available to fund up to 50 grants. To apply, call SAMHSA’s information line at 1-877-SAMHSA7 [TDD: 1 800-487-4889] or go here. Applicants are encouraged to apply online using www.grants.gov.
Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement grant applications available
Application deadline: March 20, 2008
Proposed Project: Data Collection Tool for Rural Health Community-Based Grant Programs
Comments are being requested from the Office of Rural Health Policy
on program performance measures for:
(1) The Rural Health Care Services Outreach Grant Program,
(2) the Rural Health Network Development Program,
(3) the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program,
(4) the Delta States Rural Development Network Grant Program, and
(5) the Network Development Planning Grant Program.
